The Legislative Branch

Teacher gives presentation onhow a bill becomes a law.

Students collaborate on adigital presentation of theprocess of creating new laws.(using prezi, power point, orgoogle slides)

Students create a graphicorganizer numerically numberingthe steps by which a billbecomes a law. Students mustadd full descriptios of eachstep and pictures, diagrams, orcharts. (Using Mindmeister.com)

Students read and answerquestions about the stepby step process of how abill becomes a law.

Assessment: Students willwrite a 2 paragraph essay onhow a bill becomes a law.(Rubric Needed)

Students will describe whathappens to a bill once it isreferred to a committee.

How A Bill Becomes a Law: TheHouse

Students choose a presidingofficer such as the Speaker of theHouse or the President of theSenate and describe their rolesand responsibilities in theirinteractive journals.

Students read and respond toa web search on thecharacteristics, similarities, anddifferences of the officers ofthe Senate and House.

Teacher lectures on the rolesof the presiding officers in theSenate compared to the Houseof Representatives.

Assessment: Students willcreate a power point, prezi, orgoogle slide presentation. Thiswill include images, charts, andgraphs outlining and describingthe roles of the presidingofficers in the Senate and theHouse.

Students will compare the rolesof the presiding officers in theSenate and the House.

Congress in Action

Students work in their tablegroups to identify federalspending of tax dollarsthrough analyzing yearlystatistics.

Students create pie chartsoutlining the purposes oftaxes and the limits ontaxing power.

Teacher gives lecture on theexpressed powers of moneyand commerce focusing ontaxing power.

Assessment: Students take aquiz using "Quiz-IZ.com" thatdifferentiates betweenpurpose and limits ofCongress's power to tax.

Assessment: Students create acomic strip using story boardsto summarize Congress's powerto tax. (Rubric Needed)

Students will summarize keypoints relating to Congress'spower to tax.

The Expressed Powers of Moneyand Commerce

Students analyze the originaldocument of the Constitutionand extract examples ofexpressed, implied, and inherentpowers into their interactivejournals.

Students identify powers thatbelong to Congress through theConstitution.

Teacher gives lecture on thescope of Congressional Powers.

Assessment: Students willcompose a 5-7 sentenceparagraph describing examplesof expressed powers throughthe wording of the Constitution,implied powers by reasonablededuction, and inherent powers.(Rubric Needed)

Assessment: Students take aquiz that differentiatesbetween the Congressionalpowersexpressed powers,implied powers, and inherentpowers.

Students will identify thethree types of Congressionalpower.

Powers of Congress

Students share each otherrhyme's, raps, and poemsthrough a table share andadd ideas.

Students meet in table groupsand compare and contrast size,terms, characteristics, andfunctions of the House ofRepresentatives and theSenate.

Students read about theSenate and identifycharacteristics of theSenate and create arhyme, rap, or poem.

Teacher gives presentation onthe Senate.

Assessment: Students willcomplete a Venn Diagramcomparing the House ofRepresentatives and theSenate. (Use Mindmeister)

Assessment: Students willcreate a rap, rhyme, or poemthat explains how and why asenators term differs froma representativesterm.(Rubric Needed)

Students will describe howstates have elected senatorsin the past and present.

The Senate

Students match Constitutionimages with Clue Sheet.

Students complete "Matchthe Scenario" activity withgraphic organizer.

Teacher gives lecturepresentation onConstitutionvocabulary. Teacherexplains and initiatesImages and ClueSheet Activity.Teacher initiates"Match the Scenario"activity.

Assessments (Formative &Summative)

Formative Assessment:Section Quiz using“Quiz-IZ” allowed studentsto tap into their knowledgeand play a fun competitivegame as a class. Eachstudent used their cellphone to record theiranswers and scores weretallied at the end giving thethree highest scores a prize.Teacher uses this as aformative assessment.

Formative Assessment:Paragraph Shrinkingreading strategy, studentstake turns reading, pausing,and summarizing the mainpoints of each paragraph.Students will verballysummarize with theirpartners and provide eachother with verbal feedbackto monitor comprehension.Teacher uses this as aformative assessment ofvocabulary and content.

Summative Assessment:Jigsaw Strategy withgraphic organizer allowsstudents to analyze the textthrough collaboration. Eachpair of students is assigneda specific section of the textand analyzes and discussesa summary. Each pair ofstudents writes theirsummary and presents theirsummary to the class. Eachstudent completes a “SixBasic Principles of theConstitution” cause andeffect graphic organizerand is responsible forwriting down each groupsection summaries in theirgraphic organizer.

Objectives: Students will be ableto understand the basicprinciples of government in theUnites States as set out in theConstitution. Students willunderstand the tensions amongvarious aspects of our politicalsystem and the ways in which theConstitution can be amended.

The Constitution