As part of the Legislative simulation today in class, I played the role of the President of the United States. Here I am in front of the White House, where the President lives in Washington, D.C. in 2010 (when I had a beard!).
Dear class,
I enjoyed the bill simulation today! As usual, there was also a lot of work in going through information about the Legislative Branch. Thank you for your focus and effort! 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: "Edge of the Ocean" by Ivy. Selected for today because I imagine that at least a few students visited a beach over Spring Break! Lyrics here.
AGENDA 3/29/16:
News Brief – Sophie
Review Congress Work
Legislative Simulation
Washington's Gridlock
Homework: Read the blog. Finish the Washington's Gridlock article and related questions. Next news brief: Sophie and Alex M.
News Brief: I had the news brief today, since Sophie forgot to bring one in, and I chose this article to talk about: CNN.com - Capitol shooting: Suspect in custody. We talked about this story from yesterday and anything interesting that happened over Spring Break. We also had an earthquake drill, fire drill, and long announcements, so it was quite the start to the class!
Alex M. was randomly selected for the next news brief.
Review Congress Work: The past two classes, we have been working on these handouts. First, Oregon reps in Congress:
We also looked at the demographics of the current representatives in congress:
Alex M. was randomly selected for the next news brief.
Review Congress Work: The past two classes, we have been working on these handouts. First, Oregon reps in Congress:
We also looked at the demographics of the current representatives in congress:
Here is a link to the website/pdf document that has the answers:
We went through most of the answers as a class, then I told students to keep them to prepare for the upcoming Legislative Branch test.
Legislative Simulation: Again, I really liked this. I split up the class into the House of Representatives and Senate (which had less students in it, because that's how it really works), then again into different committees. I then passed out all the ideas for bills that students gave me at the end of last class, to debate. The committees debated the ideas for bills, then chose what they thought was the best one to propose to their chamber of Congress, by answering these questions:
What are you proposing?
Who will it impact?
When will it begin or end?
Where (which states) will be impacted?
Why should this bill pass?
How much will it cost?
After the full House and full Senate debated the two bills that were put forward by the committees, they chose one bill each to vote on and send over to the other part of Congress.
Both sections of Congress debated the bills, changed them, then voted on them, sending them back to the other side (this would now be the conference committee). Eventually, only one bill passed Congress.
Acting as President of the simulation, I signed the bill into law, with the pen that Governor Kate Brown used to sign the highway safety legislation that was enacted after my dad was killed last year.
Here is the bill that had the most revisions, and ultimately failed!
What are you proposing?
Who will it impact?
When will it begin or end?
Where (which states) will be impacted?
Why should this bill pass?
How much will it cost?
After the full House and full Senate debated the two bills that were put forward by the committees, they chose one bill each to vote on and send over to the other part of Congress.
Both sections of Congress debated the bills, changed them, then voted on them, sending them back to the other side (this would now be the conference committee). Eventually, only one bill passed Congress.
Acting as President of the simulation, I signed the bill into law, with the pen that Governor Kate Brown used to sign the highway safety legislation that was enacted after my dad was killed last year.
Here is the bill that had the most revisions, and ultimately failed!
Washington's Gridlock: I think this is an important story to learn about, with why many people are very frustrated with the United States government, in that not much of consequence seems to get done. Here is the reading we did in class:
Here are the questions that go along with the article:
As part of the article, we will talk about redistricting and gerrymandering contributing to inaction in Congress. Here's an interesting article about the most gerrymandered congressional districts in America.
Please finish answering the questions for next class. Thank you very much!
Here are the questions that go along with the article:
As part of the article, we will talk about redistricting and gerrymandering contributing to inaction in Congress. Here's an interesting article about the most gerrymandered congressional districts in America.
Please finish answering the questions for next class. Thank you very much!
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