The Legislative Branch
by Luis Jauregui
1. Powers of Congress
2. Students will identify the three types of Congressional power.
3. Assessment: Students take a quiz that differentiates between the Congressional powers- expressed powers, implied powers, and inherent powers.
4. Assessment: Students will compose a 5-7 sentence paragraph describing examples of expressed powers through the wording of the Constitution, implied powers by reasonable deduction, and inherent powers. (Rubric Needed)
5. Teacher gives lecture on the scope of Congressional Powers.
6. Students identify powers that belong to Congress through the Constitution.
7. Students analyze the original document of the Constitution and extract examples of expressed, implied, and inherent powers into their interactive journals.
8. The Expressed Powers of Money and Commerce
9. Students will summarize key points relating to Congress's power to tax.
10. Assessment: Students create a comic strip using story boards to summarize Congress's power to tax. (Rubric Needed)
11. Assessment: Students take a quiz using "Quiz-IZ.com" that differentiates between purpose and limits of Congress's power to tax.
12. Teacher gives lecture on the expressed powers of money and commerce focusing on taxing power.
13. Students create pie charts outlining the purposes of taxes and the limits on taxing power.
14. Students work in their table groups to identify federal spending of tax dollars through analyzing yearly statistics.
15. Congress in Action
16. Students will compare the roles of the presiding officers in the Senate and the House.
17. Assessment: Students will create a power point, prezi, or google slide presentation. This will include images, charts, and graphs outlining and describing the roles of the presiding officers in the Senate and the House.
18. Teacher lectures on the roles of the presiding officers in the Senate compared to the House of Representatives.
19. Students read and respond to a web search on the characteristics, similarities, and differences of the officers of the Senate and House.
20. Students choose a presiding officer such as the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate and describe their roles and responsibilities in their interactive journals.
21. How A Bill Becomes a Law: The House
22. Students will describe what happens to a bill once it is referred to a committee.
23. Assessment: Students will write a 2 paragraph essay on how a bill becomes a law. (Rubric Needed)
24. Students read and answer questions about the step by step process of how a bill becomes a law.
25. Students create a graphic organizer numerically numbering the steps by which a bill becomes a law. Students must add full descriptios of each step and pictures, diagrams, or charts. (Using Mindmeister.com)
26. Students collaborate on a digital presentation of the process of creating new laws. (using prezi, power point, or google slides)
27. Teacher gives presentation on how a bill becomes a law.
28. The Constitution
29. Objectives: Students will be able to understand the basic principles of government in the Unites States as set out in the Constitution. Students will understand the tensions among various aspects of our political system and the ways in which the Constitution can be amended.
30. Assessments (Formative & Summative) Formative Assessment: Section Quiz using “Quiz-IZ” allowed students to tap into their knowledge and play a fun competitive game as a class. Each student used their cell phone to record their answers and scores were tallied at the end giving the three highest scores a prize. Teacher uses this as a formative assessment. Formative Assessment: Paragraph Shrinking reading strategy, students take turns reading, pausing, and summarizing the main points of each paragraph. Students will verbally summarize with their partners and provide each other with verbal feedback to monitor comprehension. Teacher uses this as a formative assessment of vocabulary and content. Summative Assessment: Jigsaw Strategy with graphic organizer allows students to analyze the text through collaboration. Each pair of students is assigned a specific section of the text and analyzes and discusses a summary. Each pair of students writes their summary and presents their summary to the class. Each student completes a “Six Basic Principles of the Constitution” cause and effect graphic organizer and is responsible for writing down each group section summaries in their graphic organizer.
31. Teacher gives lecture presentation on Constitution vocabulary. Teacher explains and initiates Images and Clue Sheet Activity. Teacher initiates "Match the Scenario" activity.
32. Students complete "Match the Scenario" activity with graphic organizer.
33. Students match Constitution images with Clue Sheet.
34. The Senate
35. Students will describe how states have elected senators in the past and present.
36. Assessment: Students will create a rap, rhyme, or poem that explains how and why a senators term differs from a representatives term.(Rubric Needed)
37. Assessment: Students will complete a Venn Diagram comparing the House of Representatives and the Senate. (Use Mindmeister)
38. Teacher gives presentation on the Senate.
39. Students read about the Senate and identify characteristics of the Senate and create a rhyme, rap, or poem.
40. Students meet in table groups and compare and contrast size, terms, characteristics, and functions of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
41. Students share each other rhyme's, raps, and poems through a table share and add ideas.
