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Target Age Group:
6-8th grade students
Project Duration: 1-2 days
Objectives: Help students gain an understanding of how a bill becomes a law
Vocabulary/Concepts: Bill, sponsor/co-sponsor, hopper, clerk, committee, report a bill, consider a bill, amendment, vote, enrollment of a bill, veto, override
Materials: (1) Access to the following Web pages: How Laws Are Made, Hot Bills, THOMAS, (2) Legislation worksheet (provided in lesson plan)
Notes: As an enrichment activity, encourage students research the legislative process for their home state
Procedures
1. Obtain a General Understanding of the Legislative Process
For a general overview of how a bill becomes a law, direct students to the How Laws are Made section of this website.
2. Distribute and Complete Part I of Legislation Worksheet
Download and distribute the following worksheet for student completion.
Legislation Worksheet (PDF)
In Part I of the worksheet, students will answer general questions about how a bill becomes a law. The questions were created from information contained in the How Laws are Made section of this website.
3. Create a Simulated Bill
Either individually or in groups, direct students to create a bill of their own. You may also wish to have students present their bills to the class. Students should address the question, "Why is this bill important?"
4. Visit the THOMAS website and Complete Part II of Worksheet
Students should then visit THOMAS to compare their simulated bills with real legislation. In Part II of the worksheet, students should record the simiarities and differences between their self-created bills and actual bills proposed in Congress.
5. Visit the Hot Bills website and Select a Bill to Research
Direct students to select and research a bill of interest to them. You may wish to refer students to the Hot Bills website, a depository of topics listed by subject or popular title. Make sure students record the H.R./H.J./H.AMDT. number associated with their chosen bill.
6. Conduct Research Using THOMAS and Complete Part III of Worksheet
Once students have selected their bill and recorded the proper bill number, direct students back to THOMAS for further research. Students should type their bill number in the Bill Number search field to retrieve information about their bill. Then, have students complete Part III of the worksheet.
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