Subjects: U.S. Government, U.S. History, Civics, Social Studies

Grade Level(s): 7-12, post-secondary

Time Frame: variable

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

1.0 Overall: Students will know what measures are used to describe the workload in Congress. Students will be able to compare and contrast congressional workload over different time periods. Students will identify and explore the factors that influence congressional productivity. Students will recognize the elements of a productive Congress. Students will be able to compare the productivity of Congress to other governmental and nongovernmental entities. Students will use Internet-based technologies to evaluate Congress's productivity.

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: List the various workload measures used to evaluate the House's productivity. List the various workload measures used to evaluate the Senate's productivity. Define the workload measures. Select two workload measures and name the five most productive House sessions according to each measure. Using the same two measures, name the five least productive House sessions according to each measure. Select two workload measurers and name the five most productive Senate sessions according to each measure. Using the same two measures, name the five least productive Senate sessions according to each measure. List the five Congresses in which the House and Senate passed the most bills. In which Congress did members work the most days? The least days? What is the length of a congressional session? What time period do the workload measures tables cover? What is the source of information for the tables? Does Congress pass a majority of bills that are presented to them? Basic Reference Resource: Congressional Workload Statistics

3.0 Understanding: Compare the most productive House and Senate sessions and describe the differences and similarities between the two. Describe the productivity trends in the House and Senate from 1947 to 1996 using two measures. Summarize the correlation between the number of days in session and the number of bills passed in each chamber. Calculate the ratio of the number of bills introduced to the number of bills passed and depict on a graph. Compare the number of bills introduced during periods of major conflict to peacetime periods. Compare the number of days members work in Congress to the number of days students are in school or at work.

4.0 Application: Construct workload measures for a city council, student council, the U.S. Supreme Court, or other policy-making group. Investigate the workload of the current Congress using the Internet sites listed in the Materials section of the lesson plan Using the House and Senate sites, predict the level of productivity during the current week (if Congress is in session). Investigate the workload of a state legislature. Investigate to determine if the introduction of televised proceedings led to an increase in days in session or to an increase in the number of committee/subcommittee meetings. Determine what historical events could impact legislative productivity. Investigate the correlation between election years and legislative productivity by any of these measures. How are committee meetings an example of productivity?

5.0 Analysis: Determine the average number of bills passed by each chamber in each decade. How does the number of bills passed in the House compare with the number passed in the Senate? What evidence can you find to support the statement that the House is more productive than the Senate? Analyze some of the factors that might account for different levels of productivity between the House and the Senate. Identify historical forces that might account for differences in workload from Congress to Congress. Classify congressional sessions in terms of party control of each chamber and the political party controlling the White House. How do these factors affect productivity? Hypothesize why the 89th and the 97th Congresses have been viewed as productive but have a low ratio of bills passed into law.

6.0 Synthesis: Design a new workload measure for legislative activity and explain how it would add to understanding the work of Congress. What might happen to workload measures if you combined the House and the Senate? If both houses of Congress were controlled by the same political party, how might that affect workload?

7.0 Evaluation: Evaluate the workload measures presented in the two tables and select and justify the one that best measures legislative success. Critique the following statement: "The U.S. Congress is not capable of conducting the nation's legislative business."

Materials:

Access to the Library of Congress Thomas Web site via the Internet.
Access to the House of Representatives's Web site via the Internet.
Access to the Senate's Web site via the Internet.
Information about workload or productivity measures for other entities, e.g., a state legislature, city council, or student council.

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]:

Grades 5-8: Standard III.B. What does the national government do?
Grades 9-12: Standard III.B. How is the national government organized and what does it do?

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

Author(s):
This lesson has been developed by several groups of teachers working in CongressLink orientation workshops. The Dirksen Center's Congress in the Classroom teachers, Class of 1999, began the project. The Center's Frank H. Mackaman coordinated the work. Contact him at fmackaman@dirksencenter.org.