The document outlines an agenda and lesson plan for teaching students about the structure and powers of the US Congress. The agenda includes analyzing the structure of Congress, the lawmaking process, and congressional checks on the executive branch. Students will work in groups to analyze an article and create a news report summarizing the key points about a current issue before Congress. Homework includes completing a review packet as semester grades will be finalized soon.

1. Read the text located on the front of your notes and answer the questions that follow.Be prepared with responses.If you raise your hand and provide a response, you will receive a hornet hundred.Warm-Up

2. Students will analyze the structure and powers of the Legislative Branch in order to describe them in a video news report. Agenda

3. AgendaStructure and Organization of the Executive BranchReapportionment and RedistrictingRegulatory Agencies of the Exec BranchStructure and Organization of CongressPowers of Congress and LawmakingPower and Roles of the Executive BranchElectoral College and Electing the PresidentState and Local Government

4. Objective and Warm-UpINM: Who is Congress?GP: How to make a news videoIP: Making a news videoExit SlipAgenda

5. Congress is ________________________, or consists of two different houses: Senate and House of Representatives.Both the Senate and the House meet in sessions, with each session lasting two years.They work at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.What is Congress?

6. You have to join a political party, campaign and win an election to earn a seat in Congress.Before that, you have to meet some basic requirements found in the U.S. Constitution:You must be at least 25 years old;You must be a U.S. Citizen;You must be a resident of the State you are running for election in.How do you become a member of Congress?

7. The Senate as a whole features 100 representatives—two for each state.The term for a Senator is six years. Senators are supposed to represent all people from their state.The Senate is led by the Vice President of the U.S.Who is the Senate?

8. The House of Reps as a whole features 435 representatives—with the number of reps for each state being based on its population.The term for a House Representative is two years.Representatives are supposed to represent the people from their district.The House of Reps is led by the Speaker of the House.Who is the House of Reps?

9. The Constitution delegated the powers of making laws to the Congress, as well as the other following powers:Coining money.Maintaining a military.Declaring war on other countries.Regulating interstate and foreign commerceWhat are the powers of Congress?

10. Before they can become laws, both houses of Congress, they must write, debate, and rewrite bills.The Senate and House of Reps MUST work together to make laws.Before a bill becomes a law, it must be approved by a majority of members in the House of Reps and Senate.Thousands of ideas for laws are proposed and discussed every month, but less than a hundred are passed per session of Congress.Lawmaking in Brief

11. Congress is responsible for many checks and balances on the other branches.The most important for you to know are:Congress can override a Presidential veto with a 2/3 vote by both houses.Senate can reject proposed treaties with a 2/3 vote.Senate can reject presidential nominations of federal officials or judges.Congress can impeach and remove a president or judge.How does Congress check the power of other branches?

12. Who has power in each house is decided by which political party has more seats during a session.Traditionally, both parties have had the same number of seats in each house, which has meant that the parties have to work together.The party with a majority of seats is called the majority party.Sometimes one party controls one house, and another controls the other, which means that they have to work across houses. Who has power in each house?

13. Bust out the clickers.It’s time to see what you know.

14. Based on the circle graphs, which of the statements is the most accurate?A. The Senate can pass laws without the House of RepresentativesB. The House of Representatives can change laws without the Senate C. The Democrats from the Senate and House of Representatives can pass laws without the support of Republicans. D. The two parties in the Senate and House of Representatives must work together to pass laws.

15. Which of these is an example of the main responsibility of CongressA. Debating and passing laws regarding immigration lawsB. Implementing border control regulationsC. Declaring border control actions illegalD. Influencing states to create laws increase deportations of illegal immigrants.

16. Congress may respond to United States Supreme Court rulings byA. declaring rulings of the court invalidB. rewriting a law overturned by the courtC. deciding which lawyers may argue the caseD. determining which justices will review a particular case

17. Which of the following is an example of an implied power of Congress?A. creating an army and navy.B. collecting income tax and borrowing moneyC. changing a lawD. regulating foreign trade

18. If the President and Congress disagree over a tax bill, the President can veto the bill. Congress can still pass the law, if they override the law. Which of these principles applies to this situation?A. checks and balancesB. judicial reviewC. representative democracyD. federalism

19. If the Republicans are in the majority in the House of Representative, which party will choose the Speaker of the House? A. DemocratsB. Republicans

20. Watch closely and pay attention. If you don’t, you’ll be doing a vocabulary sheet while everyone else is having fun.Guided Practice

21. You will first be assigned a group and an article on a particular topic.Guided Practice

22. You must read the article with your group (10 minutes)Guided Practice

23. You will then pull out facts from the article to create a news report.Guided Practice

24. If you want a challenge, I will assign you a political party and your news organization must show bias towards them.Guided Practice

25. Your key points have to do with the following:What is Congress currently trying to accomplish?Who are you talking about and which house of Congress is involved?What problems has the law/issue faced in trying to be passed?What do you expect to happen in the future?Why does it matter to the general public (a.k.a. you)? Guided Practice

26. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"The campaign to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," which bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U. S. military, gained a historic victory today with the Senate voting to end the policy and send the bill to President Obama's desk.Sixty-five Senators, including six Republicans, voted in favor of the measure. The House approved repeal earlier this week.Passage of the bill to end "don't ask, don't tell" is a major victory for Obama, who has promised to end the 17-year-old law and had come under intense pressure from gay rights groups to do so before Republicans take control of the House in January.

27. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell""It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly," Obama saidin a statement hailing the historic Senate vote.Still, advocates cautioned that gay and lesbian service members will not be immediately allowed to serve openly and could still face disciplinary action for revealing their sexual orientation.The legislative repeal gives military leadership control of a timetable for implementing the change, stipulating that it can only occur after the president, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Congress "certify" the military is ready. After certification, there would be a 60-day grace period before it takes effect.

28. Congress has recently overturned the law that has prevented Gays and Bisexuals from openly serving in the U.S. military. This law was 17 years old, and was commonly known as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ The Senate is involved. 65 Senators voted to pass the measure, 6 of whom were Republican, 58 who were Democrat, and 1 who was Independent. Democrats heavily favored the measure. President Obama initiated and strongly favored the passage of the bill as well. The law has faced strong opposition from conservatives (Republicans). The most outspoken critics of the repeal, include Senator John McCain. McCain, along with other Republicans, believe that the law threatens American security and that the policy doesn’t harm the strength of the U.S. Military.Obama will sign the bill and the repeal of Don’t ask, don’t tell will go into place in 2011. We suspect that the law will not be overturned due to the level of support given to it by Americans, but believe that Republicans will attempt to bring back Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.It will allow Gay and lesbian members of the military to serve openly, thereby increasing the civil liberties of the Gay and Lesbian Community.

29. Now, create a news report, just like this…Guided Practice

30. As soon as you have your key points written down, raise your hand and I will bring you a FLIP cam.Use it to record your newscast.Independent Practice

31. HOMEWORKYou must complete the Unit 3 Review Packet by Thursday.Semester grades go in NEXT WEEK!!!!!!B DAYYou must complete the Unit 3 Review Packet by Friday.Semester grades go in NEXT WEEK!!!!!!A DAY

32. You will have 5 minutes to complete today’s exit slip.Please circle only one answer.Complete it in silence.When you are done, carefully check over your answers.After checking your answers, please begin your homework.Exit Slip

33. What are 3 things that you learned today?What are 2 things that confused you?What is 1 thing you want to know more about?Exit Slip