Citizenship-B Curriculum

Unit 9: American Government: Legislative Branch

Lesson 1: The Legislative Branch and the Senate

Lesson Objectives: / Materials
Students will…
●read and answer questions about the Legislative Branch
●read and answer questions about The Senate
●use computers to research Minnesota’s Senators / ●USCIS Legislative Branch Intermediate Handouts, p. 1-2
●Politician pictures
“100 Civics Questions” covered in this lesson
13. Name one branch or part of the government.
16. Who makes federal laws?
17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?*
18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
20. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?
24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
Suggested Tasks & Activities
●Review the branches of government discussed during Unit 8: The Constitution. Check students’ prior knowledge (i.e., ask if students know what the Senate and House do, see if they know who our Senators are, etc.)
●Read about the Legislative Branch and The Senate, p. 1-2 and answer the citizenship questions listed there. Talk about current bills or recently passed laws that students may have heard about: health care bill, etc. Show the pictures of Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar.
Additional Activity
-Senator search: If you have access to computers, put students in pairs and have them search the internet for five facts on our Senators. Pair-share afterward then regroup as a class.

Citizenship-B Curriculum

Unit 9: American Government: Legislative Branch

Lesson 2: The House of Representatives

Lesson Objectives: / Materials
Students will…
●read and answer questions about the House of Representatives
●compare the Senate and House of Representatives / ●USCIS Legislative Branch Intermediate Handouts, p. 3-5
●Politician pictures
●Congress Sort
“100 Civics Questions” covered in this lesson
21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
23. Name your U.S. Representative.
25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
Suggested Tasks & Activities
●Review the questions from yesterday by having students quiz a partner
●Read about The House of Representatives, p. 3 and answer the citizenship questions listed there. Show the picture of your local U.S. representative
●Cut up information from Congress Sort WS and hand out papers to students. Have them sort the information on the board
●Have students complete pages 4-5 of the USCIS Legislative Branch Intermediate Handouts

Citizenship-B Curriculum

Unit 9: American Government: Legislative Branch

Lesson 3: How a bill becomes a law

Lesson Objectives: / Materials
Students will…
●Read about how a bill becomes a law.
●Put the steps of how a bill becomes a law into order / ●Bill to Law Chart WS
●School of Rock video:
“100 Civics Questions” covered in this lesson
None specifically, unless there is review done
Suggested Tasks & Activities
●Review from previous lessons
●Watch and discuss the School of Rockvideo on How a Bill Becomes a Law.
●Explain how a bill becomes a lawwith the Bill to Law chart. Fill in the blanks for the bill started by a representative
●Then cut up the other squares and have students put it in order with a partner
●Have students write their own bill and then try to pass it as a law. (This could also be used as a review activity for the following day.)
Notes for Teachers
●School of Rock video on How a Bill Becomes a Law: This video is intended for a younger audience, but the English still would be challenging for them.

Citizenship-B Curriculum

Unit 9: American Government: Legislative Branch

Lesson 4: Review

Lesson Objectives: / Materials
Students will…
●Be able to compare U.S. senators and representatives / ●Dictation PowerPoint
●USCIS Legislative Branch Intermediate Handouts, p. 6
●Congress Sort
“100 Civics Questions” covered in this lesson
Good chance to review and better understand questions 16-25:
16. Who makes federal laws?
17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
20. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?*
21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
23. Name your U.S. Representative.
24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
Suggested Tasks & Activities
●Review with USCIS Legislative Branch Intermediate Handouts, p. 6
●Complete Congress sort as a class again
●Dictation PowerPoint: Read each question for the students and have them dictate it. Afterward, see if they know the answer before reading it to them.

Minnesota Literacy Council

Citizenship-B Curriculum. CASAS 211 and above

March 2012