USF Lesson Plan

Teacher: Holli Ross Lesson Title: You Know The Rules

LESSON OVERVIEW
Grade/Level: 12th Grade
Content Area: US Government
Subject Matter: How a Bill Becomes A Law
Learning Goal(s)/Objective(s):
1. Students should be able to discuss the legislative process.
2. Students should be able to identify the steps in which a bill becomes federal law.
3. Students should be able to evaluate and take and defend positions on the scope and limits of rights and
obligations as democratic citizens.
Time Allotment: 50-80 Minutes
Activity Logistics: When students come into the classroom, they will be asked to write down one thing
they would change in the world if they could. These ideas can be shared aloud or in partners. The class
will then get a brief reminder of the process on how a bill becomes a law, the people involved, the process
and different routes it can take, and the final product. Students will then be explained the activity: You
Know the Rules and asked to fill out their handout after modeling and guided practice of the activity.
After students have filled out their worksheet with either two or three of their own laws we will enact the
steps of what can happen once the bill is introduced. Students will be broken up into groups: Congress,
committees, Senate, House of Representatives, and the President. The teacher can choose one student to
propose their law for one of the bodies to discuss. As a class or group, students will discuss whether they
would like the bill to continue, be amended, etc.The group of students discussing the bill will be in a
small circle (socratic style) to make their amendments or decisions. Each time it is passed on a new group
will enter the small circle. The process will continue as the bill progresses from each group. Conversation
should be constant when students are trying to figure out what could be the problem with the bill, how
can they make it better, how well will it bode in todays society, and what consequences could passing the
bill have?

MATERIALS & RESOURCES

Resources: Pocket Constitution, You Know the Rules Handout
Instructional Materials: Pocket Constitution, You Know the Rules Handout

LESSON SEQUENCE
Anticipatory Set: Students will enter the room and be asked to write down in their journal one thing they
wish or would like to change in the world without too much explanation. It can be anything they like but
must only be one thing. When students have finished this, ask students to share with a partner and then
the class what they came up with. Students will be asked to hang on to their idea as they rewind to the
unit they are covering on how a bill becomes a law. The teacher will remind or ask students to name the
simple steps in the process. Although more in depth explanation and learning on how a bill becomes a law
should have already taken place, the simple steps will help the activity to follow. After this has been
covered, the teacher will explain the You Know the Rules handout students are about to receive. Students
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will be asked to fill out at least two or three rules and explanations in the time allotted. They will be asked
to revisit their initial thought on a change they wish they could make in the world and try to create a law
that would enact that change. Before they begin or receive their worksheet the teacher will model an
example.

Rule No. 1:

I chose this rule because:

Modeling: The teacher will write an example on the board. Rule: Every person must take a series of tests
(IQ, Financial, Emotional, Personality) before having a child. Explanation: If everyone had to be tested,
there may be less people in the world creating less poverty, more jobs, and better our economy based on
less competition in business or housing market. The teacher will explain that after everyone is finished we
will split up into certain groups and have time to discuss certain laws that students come up with.
Guided Practice: The teacher can ask students to create a collective example based on their school rules,
whether that might be dress code or off campus lunch, etc. This will be quick and just serve as another
example for students if they do not understand the concept. The teacher can use discretion on whether the
students need another example or if they are ready to jump into working on their own. Giving a school
level example may help students conceptualize the idea of the worksheet better instead of something on
such a large scale.
Independent Practice: Students will be given time to fill out two to three of their own rules or laws on the
provided worksheet. They will asked to make sure they give a detailed explanation as to why, or any other
stipulations that may come with their proposed law. Ask students to really put some thought into their law
creations as something they would really like to change or make a difference with. Also, remind them that
if they choose their law may be known public although it can be anonymous, so be thoughtful and
respectful.
Closure: Before beginning the closure activity, the teacher should remind students of their class rules and
environment, to be respectful of each other and each others ideas, and that this is a classroom that
embraces differences and celebrates them. The teacher should take the time to ask students to be
respectful of their classmates creations and that this is not a place to put ideas down but to improve them.
Students who choose to use one of their laws should be prepared for amendments, vetoes, and
disagreements, which they should also embrace and learn from, not feel attacked.
The teacher will then ask if there are any students who would like to propose their rule/law as a bill. At
this point students will be split into groups: Congress, Senate, House of Representatives, and President(s).
When the teacher receives a few they will be given to the group of Congress to decide which one to start
as a proposal. Congress will present the proposed bill on the board after having a discussion in a socratic
set up with the rest of the class on the outside. The students will take the steps on how a bill becomes a
law to see if this bill will be passed. As each group is given the bill, they will enter the center of the circle
to discuss their opinions, amendments, or vetoes as they follow the process of a bill becoming a law. As
amendments are made or deleted the teacher may write these on the board so students know where the bill
ends up at the end of each group speaking. The teacher may provide time limits for students in each circle
to make sure the objectives are met and the whole bill to law process is completed, allowing for all
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students to be involved. Students in the outside of the circle will need to make sure they are paying
attention so they have the complete facts before they begin discussing or re-discussing the bill, writing
down quotes from the group or ideas that they can bring into the circle later. The teacher explains to
students that their notes will be collected at the end of class - they do not need to be in complete
sentences, can have drawings, bullet points,do not need to be neat, and just need to show that they were
paying attention during the inner circle conversation.
Assessment/Evaluation Plan: Assessment will be based on their completion of the You Know the Rules
worksheet as well as their participation in the activity. Participation is based on their involvement in the
conversation and the notes they take on the outside of the circle.
Follow--up: The next class will begin with a discussion on their experience from the How a Bill Becomes
a Law/You Know the Rules activity. If the class did not finish the process, it is an opportune time to
discuss how difficult it really can be to create a law. What we did was a very condensed version and this
can take weeks and months or years to happen in our government. The teacher may ask them when they
get into the classroom to get into groups, or individually, draw out the steps on how a bill becomes a law
to check for understanding as well as use as another assessment.

IMPLEMENTATION
Contextual Information: This would be at the end of a unit on how a bill becomes a law. It should be used
as a way for students to apply what they have learned in the lesson on how a bill becomes a law, therefore
they should know more in depth how the constitution lays out the process and what all of this discourse
means and applies to the situation: lobbyists, citizens, local and state congressmen, Congress, Senate,
House of Representatives, vetoes, filibusters, letting a bill die, the two-thirds rule in case of a veto, etc.
Teaching and Learning Strategy Overview: The You Know the Rules worksheet as well as the students
working together to pass or kill a bill works as a critical thinking strategy for students to create their own
bills/laws, and analyze and evaluate the process of how a bill becomes a law by being a part of it. Giving
students the opportunity to become part of the process allows for differentiation and active participation.
Letting student be a part of it first hand, invests them more in the process and gives them something to
relate the content to. Their recall of the legislative process will hold value in their minds as they
remember their piece in the puzzle during the class.
Accommodations/Modifications: You can do this same process but instead of laws in our country, school
or classroom rules. If students are not at a level that creating a law that may affect the whole country is
easily grasped, doing the same sequence of events but with school rules will be just as effective for most
of the objectives in this lesson plan or unit. This modification is really dependent on the students in the
class and can be used at the teacher discretion. It may also be better to use school rules if this is used
outside of at 12th grade class.
If the teacher knows a student has a hard time with processing and writing down information, the teacher
may base the students assessment on participation in the conversation only instead of the notes as well.
The teacher is providing accommodations to all students by letting them write or draw their notes
however they wish.
Sample Student Products: No sample student products will be available for students. The modeling of the
You Know the Rules will be the only example given.
Reflection: Student reflection will take place during the follow-up discussion the class period after the
You Know the Rules activity. Students will be asked to consider the amount of time and resources that
went into the class period activity versus when this happens in actual government. It may also happen as
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they are doing the activity, challenging them to use prior knowledge to know whether or not a bill
proposed could ever make it, or what might make it better, etc.

STANDARDS & ASSESSMENT

Student/Content/Teaching
Standards:
12.2 Students evaluate and take and defend positions on the scope and limits of rights and obligations
as democratic citizens, the relationships among them, and how they are secured.
12.3 Students evaluate and take and defend positions on what the fundamental values and principles
of civil society are (i.e., the autonomous sphere of voluntary personal, social, and economic relations that
are not part of government), their interdependence, and the meaning and importance of those values and
principles for a free society.
12.4 Students analyze the unique roles and responsibilities of the three branches of government as
established by the U.S. Constitution.
12.7 Students analyze and compare the powers and procedures of the national, state, tribal, and local
governments.
12.10 Students formulate questions about and defend their analyses of tensions within our
constitutional democracy and the importance of maintaining a balance between the following concepts:
majority rule and individual rights; liberty and equality; state and national authority in a federal system;
civil disobedience and the rule of law; freedom of the press and the right to a fair trial; the relationship of
religion and government.