About Us
Congress: The Context
SUBJECTS
U.S. Government, Civics
GRADE LEVEL
9-12
OBJECTIVES
Students will 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.
LESSON PLAN
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 Co ngress 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.
RESOURCES
Students require access to the Internet to do research, primarily on CongressLink.
CREDIT
Dirksen Center Staff
