Subjects: Civics, American Government

Grade Level(s): 9-12

Time Frame: Varies

Objectives [What the student should know and be able to do at the end of the lesson]:

1.0 Overall: Students become aware of certain characteristics of the membership (i.e., ethnicity, age, gender, and political party affiliation) of the 65 freshman members of the 111th House of Representatives (2009-2010) and determine if these new members are representative of the public as a whole. Students will gain an understanding of the sociopolitical and sociological nature of Congress, an important aspect of "representation" and related to the unit What Every Student Should Know About Congress.

Bloom's Taxonomy: CongressLink lesson plans are built around Bloom's taxonomy. The purpose of the taxonomy is to provide a coherent format for lessons and to make it easier for teachers to design them according to CongressLink's standards.

2.0 Knowledge: Select a minimum five freshman from the list posted at Congresspedia [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Freshman_Members_of_the_111th_Congress.  NOTE:  The list includes freshmen senators, too. Make sure you pick only House members.]

3.0 Understanding: Illustrate or diagram the social and political characteristics of the Congress members you have selected. Consider such factors as prior occupation, religious affiliation, minority/gender identification, and political party affiliation. NOTE:  DemocraticFreshman.org has information about prior occupation, religious affiliation, and age for Democratic freshman only at http://democraticfreshmen.org/2009/01/111th-congressional-freshmen/.

4.0 Application: Determine general characteristics of the U.S. population by visiting such Web sites as “Composite U.S. Demographics” at http://www.adherents.com/adh_dem.html, the “World Fact Book” at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/us.html, and the U.S. Census Bureau at http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html.

5.0 Analysis: Compare and contrast the characteristics of the freshmen members of the 111th House with those of the general population. 

6.0 Synthesis: Formulate a plan to urge under-represented groups to run for Congress.

7.0 Evaluation: Each student will decide if a Congress member has to be of the same social group as they are in order to represent them.

Procedure/Sequence

Class 1
Divide students into groups of three to research congressional representation. Students will access the web sites above to select a minimum of five freshman members of the 111th Congress. They will determine which characteristics to use as the basis of their comparison of the freshman Congress members with the general population.

Class 2
Students will determine the demographic characteristics of the general population. Each group will create a pie chart comparing and contrasting the characteristics of the Congress members with the general population of the areas they represent. Students can also visit the Profile of Congress to compare the total congressional membership to the nation at large.

Class 3
Using the pie charts, students will compare and contrast the various characteristics of representation. In class discussion, students will make inferences about representation in Congress.

Class 4
Groups will formulate a plan of action to urge under-represented groups to run for congressional office. Groups will develop a two-minute television advertisement to encourage voters to support these candidates. Students will show their videos in class.

Class 5
After reflecting on the unit, students will write individual editorials expressing an opinion about whether Congress members should reflect the social and political makeup of the United States. They could also decide if they want their Congress member has to be of the same social group they are in order to represent them.

Materials:

Students require access to the Internet to do research, primarily on CongressLink.
Profile of Congress
See Web resources identified above.

National Standards Addressed by Lesson [based on National Standards for Civics and Government, Center for Civic Education, 1994. Citation based on section, subsection, standard of the document]:

I.A. 3. Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions on competing ideas regarding the purposes of politics and government and their implication for the individual and society.

I.D.3. Students should be able to evaluate the age, gender, religion, and ethnicity of Congress members to evaluate the different forms of representation.

I.B.4. Students should be able to identify the many forms of diversity in American society, e.g., racial, religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic.

Evaluation/Assessment: See: http://www.congresslink.org/rubric/pdf

Author(s):
Dirksen Center Staff