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| STRUCTURE
OF CONGRESS Objective: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the structure of Congress and its legislative process. Students will begin to understand the roles played by the Democratic and Republican parties, congressional leaders, committees and other groups to which members of Congress belong, as well as the formal process of lawmaking and differences between the House and Senate. This lesson includes:
Materials: Students will need access to their government/civics textbooks, computers with Web access (or printed copies of the articles below), and a copy of the U.S. Constitution (which can be accessed at http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/constitution/constitution.html) Online
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer-Extra (November 20,2002): Securing the Homeland Online
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer-Extra (December 31, 2002): New Leadership in a New Congress Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer-Extra (November 14, 2002): Party Picks http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/july-dec02/pelosi_11-14.html Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer-Vote 2002 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2002/index.html Introduction to the Legislative Process: Divide students into small groups and provide them with a handout, which includes study questions about the legislative process. The fill in the blank activity will familiarize students with important legislative terms and responsibilities. Websites resources: House
of Representatives Study Questions 1. Which party controlled the Senate before the elections? How many seats did each party have? 2. How many seats does each party currently have in the Senate? 3. Which party now selects the Senate Majority Leader and all the Senate committee chairs? 4. Which party controlled the House before the elections? How many seats did this party have? How many seats are needed to control the House? 5. Which party has a majority in the House after the elections? Did they gain or lose seats in this election? 6. What is the significance of one party controlling both houses of Congress and the White House? Fill in the Blank Activity: Fill in the blanks below. Section A--Provide the names, party affiliation, and state for each member in the new 108th Congress. Identify the role of each leadership position listed.
*Speaker of the House - __________________________
*House Majority Leader - __________________________ *House
Majority Whip - ___________________________
*House Minority Leader - ___________________________
*House Minority Whip - ____________________________
*Senate Majority
Leader - ____________________________
*Senate Majority Whip - _________________________________
*Senate Minority Leader - _______________________________
*Senate Minority Whip - ________________________________ Section
B--Congressional Committees and Other Policy-Making Groups-Define
and explain the significance of each of the following congressional policy-making
groups. Standing committees - Joint committees - Conference committees - Select committees - Caucuses - Political parties - Research the Legislative Process Procedure: In small groups, students will research the status of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (H.R. 5005) using the Library of Congress Web site-- (the bill summary and status can be accessed at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.05005:) and compare what actually happened to what they thought would happen. Discuss. You may wish to refer students to the NewsHour-Extra article Securing the Homeland. Each student should also receive a handout with the discussion questions. Discussion Questions 1.
Who introduced the bill? Were there co-sponsors? 7.
What happened once the Senate passed the bill? Further Discussion: Were there any differences or surprises? What happened to the bill between June 24, 2002 when it was introduced in the House and November 25, 2002 when it was signed into law by President Bush? Assessment - Homework or Classroom Assignment Focus Questions: House and Senate: Some Important Differences: Using your textbook, a copy of the Constitution, and any relevant Web sites, answer the following questions about Congress and the legislative process. 1. What does the Constitution say about the types of legislation that should originate in each chamber? How are these differences reflected in the committee make-up of each house? 2. The process a bill goes through from introduction to passage is largely the same in the two chambers but there are some important differences. What are they? For example, what is the role and function of the House Rules Committee? 3. Members of Congress are busy! They belong to a number of committees, subcommittees, caucuses, and other groups. Using relevant Web sites, research and identify which committees and other groups your senators and representative belong to. 4. Analysis: With so many bills introduced each year, what role do committees play? What do you think about the power committees and their chairs have over the futures of bills? What impact do other groups within Congress have on the legislative process? 5. Analysis: What can you conclude about the power and roles of Congressional leaders? How do they impact the legislative process? To what extent do they set the policy-making agenda. How do Senate and House leaders differ in how much power they have? 6. Define and explain the significance of the following terms related to the Senate filibuster. filibuster - double-tracking - cloture - supermajority - Role Play: Press Conference on the Homeland Security Act of 2002 Procedure: Divide students into small groups and ask each group to prepare to role-play one of the following: House Republican leader, House Democratic leader, Senate Republican leader, Senate Democratic leaders, or a member of the media. Tell them you will simulate a press conference in which each group of leaders will have the opportunity to "spin," or explain, the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The press should ask questions about the process and the length of time it took, amount of cooperation between the parties, impact of the elections, etc. After students have had time to prepare, simulate the press conference, giving each group of leaders the chance to answer the questions asked by the press. Discuss and debrief. MCREL
Standard: Understands major characteristics of systems of shared power and of
parliamentary systems. MCREL
Standard: Understands what is meant by "the public agenda," how it is
set and how it is influenced by public opinion and the media
MCREL Standard: Understands the formation and implementation of public policy NCSS
Standards: Author Lara Maupin teaches social studies at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. She is on leave during the 2002-2003 school year. She has a Master’s Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org. | ||
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