About Us
Congress: The Context
SUBJECTS
U.S. Government, Civics, U.S. History
GRADE LEVEL
7-12
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the complex job of a Congress member. While the U.S. Constitution outlines the general qualifications and responsibilities of the office, the tasks accruing to a Congress member because of pressures not expressed in the Constitution and the elastic clause make the job more complex than a casual observer might think. The United States Constitution, past/current events, and CongressLink resources will facilitate student understanding of the complex role of a Congress member.
LESSON PLAN
Class 1
Give each student 10 post-it notes. Have the students brainstorm what job-related tasks a congressperson may have to complete in a day. Give students several minutes to brainstorm. Be sure to denote that the students are to have one task per post-it note. Instruct students that a prize will be given to the student who has the most tasks that were not duplicated by others (this will give students an incentive to really think about tasks and perhaps generate ideas not normally discussed). Have students denote with a (s) for Senate and a (h) for House if a task is particular to a certain house. Have students get into groups of 4 to 5 students. Give the groups a few minutes to share their ideas in a round table format. Have students eliminate any duplication so that they have one master list. Give each group a large piece of paper. Have students categorize tasks on paper and label the categories. Choose one member of each group to stand and share their group's findings to the whole class, using the paper as a prompt. Discuss as a class the similarities and differences of the categories to determine as a class the main categories of a congressperson's roles. Some possible categories may involve constituents, committees, legislation, party membership, etc. Compare the classroom's classifications with that in your textbook, if applicable, and decide which categories you prefer. Have groups re-organize their poster if necessary in light of the class-generated categories. Also, have students copy lists to their notebook. Collect posters and save for the next day. You may want to go through posters and make corrections to inaccurate information before the next class.
Homework: Have students analyze Article One of the United States Constitution to add to their list any tasks they may have overlooked in their groups.
Adaptation: For a lower-level class, the teacher could generate the tasks for the groups and give them to the students to group on butcher paper already marked with categories. The class could then compare their posters and discuss why things were classified as they were.
Class 2
Have students return to their small groups from the previous day. Students are to use their homework assignment to add to their posters if necessary. Have students put their posters up throughout out the room Give each group one marker. Have students circulate in their groups through the "Congressional Poster Gallery". Groups are to check with the marker any tasks that were not on their poster.Give the group with the most "unique" tasks some positive reinforcement. Have groups add to their poster any tasks that were absent that other groups delineated. Answer any questions students may have. This is also the time to clear up any incorrect information that you observed in the poster gallery or add any information you see as lacking. Next, have students brainstorm individually what qualities are necessary for Congress members in light of the various responsibilities they identified. Discuss as a class the qualities they feel are important for a congressperson. Compare the list generated by the class to the constitutional requirements for senators and representatives.
Homework: Have students create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the qualifications and responsibilities of members of the House and Senate. Students could also create a classified job description of 25 words or less for Congress members, or create a "help wanted" poster for a congressperson, denoting what types of people need apply. Both products would identify both the formal qualifications for Congress, as well as "unofficial" qualities they think are important.
Adaptation: Give lower-level classes a list of attributes generated by the teacher. Students would then go through the list to determine which of items would be important for a congressperson to have, and which would not. On this list, you could include the constitutional requirements, and as the discussion ensues, point out that these are "must haves" according to the Constitution.
Class 3
Give students the following scenario: It has recently become apparent that a new postal distribution center has become necessary in your part of the United States. Your local Congress member from the area is a member of the Post Office Committee. It is his job to determine in which district the new distribution center should be located. The new postal distribution center would bring many new jobs to the area chosen for the site. Some citizens from your district would like the distribution center to go in your district. There is land available on a farm that is for sale. Others, however, would like to see this land go to build new soccer fields and yet others are wary of the traffic a new postal center would bring to the area. A neighboring state is also competing for the center. While community pressures for that site are similar to yours, studies done by the postmaster show that this site is actually closer to an airport, thus making it more cost effective. Your Congress member and several members of his party are coming up for re-election soon, and his colleagues would like to see the postal distribution center put on hold for a while. They believe the money should be used for a more "newsworthy" project.
Take on the role of a Congressman and announce that you are going to hold a town meeting tomorrow on the subject. Divide the students into various interest groups. Some possible groups may include: soccer parents, the Chamber of Commerce, political party members, community members who live near proposed site, environmentalists, local unemployed community members, members of a "Government Waste" watchdog group. Give students time to prepare what their particular group would have to say to the "Honorable" Congress member. Inform your constituents that your decision will be based on the quality of their presentation to you and how well they appeal to your various roles and responsibilities. Give students time to script their comments to you, make posters, bumper stickers, or any other props for the town meeting.
Adaptation: For lower level classes, teachers could script out their own town meeting and assign students roles to read.
Homework: Prepare for town meeting.
Class 4
Hold your town meeting. Ask prompting questions to the town about some concerns and questions you have if the discussion "drags" a bit. After discussion, list various community members on the board and have class identify the main arguments of each and which congressional role the argument would appeal to. Tell students you need the night to "sleep on it" and will make your decision in the morning as to what you will recommend to the committee.
Homework: Write a letter to the editor explaining what decision you believe the Congress memeber should make. Or, create an editorial cartoon expressing your opinion of the matter.
Adaptation: Students could write a newspaper article summarizing the town meeting.
Class 5-8
Announce your decision to the class. Take a brief moment to explain your answer and answer any questions they have. Introduce the culminating activity for the lesson. This activity will allow students to use the information they garnered to evaluate current/historical situations. There are many different options as to how this could be accomplished.
1. Assign U.S. history students to examine various dilemmas Congress members have had to face in U.S. history. Groups of students will take their assigned subject and research the issues involved, the constitutional clauses that gave the Congress members jurisdiction over the issue at hand, the roles the Congress members had to act in to address the issue, and finally the decision ultimately made. Students could then evaluate the decision made. CongressLink and other historical web sites are to be used to find information for their report to the class.
2. Assign groups of students to research current candidates for office in the area if it is an election year. Students can use Vote Watch to see how incumbents have voted on past issues. The League of Women Voters, the Republic and Democratic Party homepages, as well as local news sources, could be used to find information on candidates. Report to the class the attributes of the candidate they were assigned: background, experience, stand on various issues, etc. Student groups can then present the information to the class and, after presentations, students can be assigned to evaluate the candidates as to whom they would vote for based on their qualifications and how well they believe they can fulfill the congressional roles.
3. Assign groups of government students to research a current issue facing Congress using the C-Span and Thomas link on CongressLink. Once a group is assigned an issue, it is their job to report to the class what the issue is about, what constitutional provisions allow the Congress to have jurisdiction over the issue, and what congressional roles members must act in to address the issue. Students are then assigned to write their Congress member about the issue, again finding the appropriate address on CongressLink, urging the Congress member to take appropriate action on the issue.
4. Assign either history or government students to use CongressLink to find primary sources which illustrate a Congress member operating in a particular role. Students are to identify the document, the constitutional provision that gives the Congress jurisdiction over the issue, the history behind the document, and how it illustrates the Congress member acting in a particular role.
5. Students in lower level classes could create their own skit in small groups, an individual cartoon strip, or a storybook for smaller kids, illustrating the roles and responsibilities and qualifications of Congress member.
RESOURCES
United States Constitution (Article One)
CREDIT
Mary Ellen Daneels
Community High School District 94
326 Joliet Street
West Chicago, IL 60185
