SUBJECTS

U.S. Government, Civics, U.S. History

 GRADE LEVEL

6-8

This 10-week unit is designed to engage middle school students in a series of creative and multi-disciplinary activities that will help them understand representative government - how the ideas for representative government evolved, how our current Congress functions, and how today's citizens can participate in representative government. In the 15 lesson plans presented here, activities include students examining primary sources, conducting a Congressional Scavenger Hunt, acting out scenes from a day in a Senator's life, and writing letters to members of Congress. These lessons include reproducible activity handouts and graphic organizers created to help students with varied learning styles both visualize Congress in the past and present and break information down in comprehensible ways. While the materials comprise a cohesive unit, the individual lesson plans stand on their own.

The resources that accompany each lesson come primarily from the Internet in order to make these lessons accessible and functional for as many teachers as possible. The lesson plans can also be found on the CongressLink website, at www.congresslink.org.

This project is supported by a Robert H. Michel Civic Education Grant sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center, Pekin, IL.

The author is Hilary G. Conklin, formerly a middle school teacher, now pursuing her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 LESSON PLAN

Understanding Representative Government: Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to Representative Government
In this lesson, students compare rule-making by one to rule-making by many through simulations, class discussions, and the creation of a Venn diagram.
(4 classes)

2. Lessons from the Roman Republic
In this lesson, students learn about the influences of the Roman Republic on our government today. Students create an advertisement persuading people that representative government is the best form of government.
(3 classes)

3. The Great Compromise-a House Divided
In this lesson, students create their own solution to the problem of representation at the Constitutional Convention and read primary sources to gain different perspectives on the compromise that was actually reached. The lesson concludes with students creating a cartoon depiction of the final compromise.
(3 classes)

4. 2, 4, 6, 8…Who Knows What's in Article I, Section 8? (or Powers of Congress)
In this lesson, students read Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and create a poem, rap, cheer, or song that presents the powers of Congress creatively. As a wrap-up, students justify which Congressional powers they believe are most important.
(3 classes)

5. What Can You Learn about Congress from Pictures?
In this lesson, students examine different images of the Senate and House Chambers to draw conclusions about Congress. They "paint" a blank template of a Congressional Chamber with words describing the conclusions they have reached.
(3 classes)

6. A Congressional Scavenger Hunt
In this lesson, students work in groups to find names of Senators and Representatives, requirements to become a Congressperson, maps of states with many and few representatives, political cartoons and more for a Scavenger Hunt on Congress. Students create a poster or collage to display their findings.
(4 classes)

7. A Day in the Life of a Senator
In this lesson, students read a primary source document written by a former Senator and create skits depicting a scene in the life of a Senator. Finally, students evaluate their own potential as future Senators.
(4 classes)

8. Highlights of the Senate: Creating a Timeline of the Senate's History
In this lesson, students select facts and milestones of the Senate to create a timeline of the Senate's history. Students make judgments about which single event would be most important to know.
(3 classes)

9. Congress' s Accomplishments - What has Congress Done for You?
In this lesson, students use primary and secondary sources to become experts on a law Congress has passed and teach each other about the laws they have researched. Students then illustrate the impact of one of these laws with "before" and "after" pictures and justify the importance of the law in writing.
(4 classes)

10. How a Bill becomes a Law: Charting the Path
In this lesson, students learn the steps of a bill becoming a law and use this information to write a story about "the life of a bill." Students then evaluate the effectiveness of our system of creating laws.
(3 classes)

11. The Creation of a Bill: Mr. Smith and You
In this lesson, students view an excerpt of the classic film "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" to learn how a bill is created and presented in Congress. Students then work in groups to develop and present their own bills to the class.
(3 classes)

12. Getting Involved - How Can You Participate in Representative Government?
In this lesson, students examine the different ways people can participate in representative government through class discussions, group work, and investigation of primary and secondary sources. Students create commercials that inform viewers how to get involved in representative government.
(3 classes)

13. Making Your Views Known - Writing a Letter to Congress
In this lesson, students read sample letters to Congress, choose an issue of concern in the nation, and write their own letters to a Congressperson.
(4 classes)

14. Does it Matter if We Participate in Representative Government? A Socratic Seminar
In this lesson, students participate in a Socratic seminar to discuss and defend the importance of participating in representative government.
(1 class)

15. Final Assessment - Creating a Citizen's Guide to Congress
In this lesson, students bring all previous lessons together by creating a citizen's guide to Congress.
(5 classes)

RESOURCES

See above.

 CREDIT

Hilary Conklin