Legislative Branch, Day 3 - Class Recap

The office of Speaker of the House, which is currently controlled by Republicans, and Representative Paul Ryan. Photo taken in 2010.

Hi everyone,

Our last day together before Spring Break was basically another work/prep day for our legislative branch unit. Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Represent" by Weezer. Selected for today because we were continuing to look at Oregon's Representatives in Congress. Get it? Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/17/16:
News Brief – Alex J.
Review Oregon Reps
Create Bills
114th Congress

Homework: Read the blog. Create a bill idea if you did not in class. Finish the Oregon representatives handout and the 114th Congress profile. Have a great, safe Spring Break. Next news brief: Sophie.

News Brief: Alex J. had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CBS.com - North Korea warns of impending nuclear and rocket tests. We discussed the implications of North Korea testing nuclear bombs and threatening the United States, and what we (and the international community) are trying to do to respond. Thanks, Alex!

Finally, we discussed the presidential nomination process results from Tuedsay: NYTimes.com - March 15 Primary Results and took at look at Donald Trump's progress towards the Republican nomination: NYTimes.com - Rubio’s Exit Leaves Trump With an Open Path to 1,237 Delegates.

Sophie was selected for the next news brief.

Review Oregon Reps: Last class, we went to the Computer Lab and worked on this assignment, which is about knowing who represents Oregon at the federal level in Congress. We went through the assignment together, noting who your congressional representative is and where they are on the political spectrum.

Create a Bill: This was in preparation for next class, when we will be doing a simulation of Congress and the legislative process. Here were the questions I wanted you to answer in your bill proposals:

1. What are you proposing?
2. Who will it impact?
3. When will it begin or end?
4. Where (which states) will be impacted?
5. Why should this bill pass?
6. How much will it cost?

Bring these in next class if you did not turn them in today, please!

114th Congress: The last new piece from today was this handout, looking at the demographics of the current representatives in congress:

Google Drive - 114th Congress Profile Assignment

Here is a link to the website/pdf document that has the answers:

FAS.org - Membership of the 114th Congress: A Profile

I hope this helps!

For the rest of the class, we were in the computer lab, working on the Oregon representatives handout, as well as the 114th Congress paper and creating bills. Here is the handout that I passed out last class:

Google Drive - Oregon Representatives in Congress Handout

The main point here is to know who our representatives are and what they believe. It is important that we know who represents us in Congress, and what their ideas are!

Thanks for your work on this! See you next class, when we will be creating legislation of our own! Enjoy Spring Break!

Legislative Branch, Day 2 - Class Recap

This image of the US Capitol Building is actually the background for this blog! Photo taken in 2010.

Dear class,

Today, we talked more about the continuing Presidential Nomination process and the weekend. We also started up with looking at the Oregon congressional delegation. Here's the recap for today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Marry The Night" by Lady Gaga. Selected for today because it was so dark out this morning, due to the loss of an hour over the weekend, for Daylight Savings Time. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/15/16:
Wildcat News Brief – Vivian
Nomination Update
Oregon Reps in Congress
Computer Lab N210

Homework: Read the blog. Finish the Oregon representatives handout. Next news brief: Alex J.

Wildcat News Brief: Vivian had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: OregonLive.com - Oregon Senate approves minimum wage hike after marathon debate. Super interesting and relevant article and story to anyone that makes minimum wage or near minimum wage. We talked about the battle to get this bill passed into law, with the Democrats needing the majorities in the House and Senate, along with the Governor, to sign it. Here's a look at what the minimum wage increases will look like in the coming years, starting this July.

Thanks, Vivian!

Alex J. was randomly selected for the next news brief.

If you missed class, or wanted to see it again, here is Wildcat News for the day:

Nomination Update: We continued to talk about who the Republicans and Democrats will nominate to be president. Today, Florida (the home state of Republican Senator Marco Rubio), Ohio (the home state of Republican Governor John Kasich), Illinois, North Carolina, and Missouri vote to nominate candidates. I showed this website and talked about the state of the race to get the delegates needed: NYTimes.com - 2016 Primary Results and Calendar.

Oregon Representatives: Next, it was time to learn more about who serves Oregon as representatives in Congress at the federal level. Here is the handout that I passed out in class:

Google Drive - Oregon Representatives in Congress Handout

Note that opencongress.org doesn't exist any more (use the one that replaced it), and you don't have to find the "partisanship" score on the far right. The main point here is to know who our representatives are and what they believe. It is important that we know who represents us in Congress, and what their ideas are!

Computer Lab N210: For the rest of the class, we were in the computer lab, working on the Oregon representatives handout.

Thanks for your work on this! See you next class, when we will be creating legislation of our own!

Bill of Rights Test and Legislative Branch Overview - Class Recap

The United States Capitol Building, which is where Congress (the Legislative Branch of the US) meets. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Another quiz today! I hope it went well for everyone. Thanks again for your hard work! We also got started with a unit on the legislative branch. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "At the Beginning" from Anastasia. Selected for today because we are the start of a new unit: the Legislative Branch. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/10/16:
News Brief - Lexi
Bill of Rights Quiz
Legislative Branch Overview
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Study how a bill becomes a law handout - be prepared to write your own bill next class! Next news brief: Vivian.

News Brief: Lexi had the news brief today and selected this article: CNN.com - Marco Rubio says he's not 'proud' of Donald Trump attacks. We discussed the ongoing presidential campaign and how Rubio really needs a win in his home state of Florida next Tuesday, due to a lot of bad results recently for him (possibly attributed to the attacks on Trump).

Thanks, Lexi! Vivian has the next news brief.

We also checked in about the weekend and what people were up to, before moving on.

Bill of Rights Quiz: We prepared for this the past few classes, as well as a bit during class today, before the quiz. Thank you for giving your best effort on this! We will go over the results together next class.

Legislative Branch Overview/Work Time: This was a handout that went through some of through some of the specifics of the legislative process, like what the legislative branch does and who makes it up. Please review the flow chart on page two, specifically. You will eventually be tested on that and we are going to work through that process together in a simulation later this week:

Google Drive - How a Bill Becomes a Law Handout

Before we did some review, I showed this old Schoolhouse Rock classic:

I also showed a Washington, D.C. license plate and talked about "taxation without representation."

We finished going over the handout, including trustee and delegate styles of legislators. Please make sure to review this handout! Thank you! Have a great long weekend!