Teacher: Wymore/ Martinez/ Chacon

Date: February 22nd/ 23rd

School: Blevins M.S.
Content Area: Social Studies
Title: Legislative Branch
Lesson #: 7 of 11
Co-Teaching Strategy: Station Teaching

Grade Level: 8

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:

Social Studies Standard:
Civics 1.1:Analyze and practice rights, roles and responsibilities of citizens; Analyze elements of
continuity and change in the United States government and the role of citizens over time.
d. Evaluate the result of various strategies for political change over time.
F. Examine ways citizens may effectively voice opinions, monitor government and bring
about change nationally.
Inquiry Questions:
Why do people create governments and laws?
What makes each house of Congress distinct?
What is the purpose of having a bicameral Congress?

Concepts and skills students master:

Synthesizing a secondary source (Senator bios)
Activating background knowledge (Students sharing Senate fact sheets + House of Rep intro
questions)
How does Congress work together to pass laws (House of Representatives simulation, How a
bill becomes a law computer game)

Evidence Outcomes: (Knowledge/ Skills, Lesson Objectives)

Every student will be able to:
1. I understand how the House of Representatives functions in the legislative branch.
2. I can explain the steps of how a bill is passed in Congress becoming a law and why it is an
example of compromise between the Senate and House of Representatives.
3. I understand the role the Senate plays in the Legislative Branch.

Assessment of Evidence Outcomes: (How will you assess the selected lesson objectives
(general explanation, you will go into more detail at the end of the lesson plan)
Senate Fact Sheet
House of Rep background questions
Committee results + post committee questions
How a bill becomes a law questions and game completion

Planned Lesson Activities

Activity Name

The Legislative Branch Stations

Approx. Time

1 hour and 15 minutes (20 min stations)

Anticipatory Set
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Teaching/
Presentation:
(Select the most
appropriate
teaching model.)
-direct instruction
-presentation
model
-concept teaching
-cooperative
learning
-inquiry

Learning Target 31
RAP 31: How a Bill Becomes a Law School House Rock Zaption
Where do ideas for bills come from?
What happens if a bill dies in committee?
What part of Congress needs to pass a bill?
What makes a bill become a law?
What is it called if a bill does not become a law?
Includes: Input, Modeling and Checking for Understanding
1.
Input: RAP about how a bill becomes a law
2.
Modeling: Zaption: Debrief the video
3.
Checking for Understanding:
Senate: Starring the Senate fact sheet questions
the students already know. Debriefing the fact sheet after students
share information. Students can name their senators and how to
use their senators through the worksheet
House of Representatives:Completion of
background knowledge questions. Mark-Ups of bills assigned to
committees. Post-committee debrief questions. Students can
identify the job and usefulness of committees.
Bill process: Time required to work through game
with encouragement/ encouragement to work through parts of the
game.
4.
Questioning Strategies: Remembering: Senate factual
questions ie. How many senators are there? Understanding:
Which plan, the NJ or Va plan, applies to the Senate, why?
Applying: What is a scenario in which your Senator could be of
use? Analyzing: How does Congress work together to pass
laws?

Teaching Strategy:
Guided Practice
&
Differentiation

Senate: Students will fill out a Senate fact sheet using prior
knowledge, they will star the answers they already knew then ask
their peers to help fill in the rest of the sheet. Well then debrief to
be sure the students have the information needed. Students will
then learn about their Colorado senators and share the
information with a partner. Well then go over ways in which are
Senators can help us.
House of Representatives: Students will answer background
knowledge oriented questions about the House of reps. Any
question they cant answer will be marked and corrected.
Following the few short questions, the students will complete a
mock committee mark-up where they will make their own
amendments to a proposed bill. The students will complete the
station by answering a number of debriefing questions about
committees.
How a Bill becomes a law
Pre Game Review Questions- Go over with students.
1. Congress has two parts. What are they, and what is the difference
between them? Senate/HOR(2/state; based on population)
2. What is a bill? (Idea for a law)
3. What power does the president have in the lawmaking process?
(veto or signing it becoming a law)

Teaching Strategy:
(Independent
Practice)

Senate: This lesson is reinforcing and expanding on previously

taught material. The checks and balances taught in this lesson will
be reinforced in the Judicial branch lesson.
House of Representatives: This station provides a brief
overview of their background knowledge, and then introduces a
concept that they are unfamiliar with. Students will interact with
the new concept through a short group roleplay in which students
will amend and pass bills within a committee.
How a Bill becomes a law
LAW CRAFT GAME- Student play a representative or US Senator.
They choose an issue and select from a variety of amendments to
create a bill, while paying attention to how much support each
amendment has among other members. After passing the bill, the
player works to compromise with the other chamber-and if
necessary, the president- to create a bill signed into law or vetoed.
While playing the game number the events 1-7 in order of how a
bill is passed.
1. Senator or Representative takes on an issue from a constituent
2. Goes to debate in the House or Senate- Craft your bill and attach
amendments

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Passes Senate or House/ Vote- majority 51%

Goes to other chamber and must pass/Vote- majority 51%
Compromise by combining the senate and house bill
If vetoes Senate and House can override veto with vote
President signs or vetoes
Post Game Questions

1. What was your law?

2. What is the lowest percentage of support a bill can receive and
still pass the House or Senate? How much support do you need to
override a Presidents veto?
3. What was your goal in your own house of Congress, before the
compromise process?
4. Why do you think the compromise process involves adding so
many amendments?
5. Was it difficult to stick with your chosen value? Did you have to
add an amendment that did not support your value? (i.e., Did YOU
have to compromise?)
6. Why might the president veto a bill?
7. What do you think could happen if there was no compromise
process? No veto power?

Closure

Materials

Accommodations
&
Modifications

Learning Target 31 Reflection

Senate: Who is your Senator and what is one power he has?
House of Representatives: What is the job of committees within
the House of Representatives?
How a Bill becomes a law
What are the steps of how a bill is passed in Congress becoming
a law? (at least 2 steps)
Why it is an example of compromise between the Senate and
House of Representatives?
Zaption video
Senate worksheet
House of Rep Worksheet + Committee
Laptops for game, LTs and RAP

To modify:
House of Reps: Multiple choice background knowledge + debrief
questions.
Senate: Multiple choice Senate fact sheet

To extend: Ask students to think of multiple powers the Senate

holds, checks and balances.
What accommodations will need to be implemented and for what
students?
3S Lexi, Alaya, Collin~Sarah
How a Bill becomes a law: N/A
Assessment

How will you record the childs challenges and successes with this
activity?
Senate: Completion of the Senate fact sheet and Senator
biographies. Final assessment will cover the role of the Senate in
Congress.
House of Reps: Completion of the house of reps worksheet and
committee mark ups. Final assessment will cover the role of
committees within congress.
How a Bill becomes a law Completion of game questions

Co-Teaching
Strategies

Purpose of lesson/Standard Addressed: Civics 1.1:Analyze and

practice rights, roles and responsibilities of citizens; Analyze
elements of continuity and change in the United States
government and the role of citizens over time.
d. Evaluate the result of various strategies for political
change over time.
F. Examine ways citizens may effectively voice opinions,
monitor government and bring about change nationally.
Co-Teaching Strategy Identified/Rationale: We used station
teaching for this lesson. The reason we chose station teaching
was because the Legislative Branch is bicameral which worked
perfectly for 2 teachers to teach in stations. We also wanted to
cover how a bill becomes a law in this lesson so adding in a third
station with a third teacher made for 3 distinct lesson on 3
separate pieces of information about the Legislative Branch.
Were there other co-teaching strategies used when implementing
the lesson? If so, why?
We did not utilize any other co-teaching strategy during this
lesson.
Would you use this co-teaching strategy for this lesson again?
We would certainly use this co-teaching strategy for the

Legislative Branch lesson again in the future. Breaking the lesson

into two separate station lessons really distinguishes the
differences in the two houses of Congress and further enforces
the students understanding of bicameralism.

1.

Post Lesson Reflection

To what extent were lesson objectives achieved?

This lesson went very well. We were able to split up the information into three sections, using
station teaching. Nate taught the House of Representatives, I taught the Senate and Gabby
taught how a bill becomes a law. Each station allowed students to compartmentalize the role of
the Legislative Branch and the formative assessment worksheets proved the lesson to be
successful.

2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you
were to teach again?
If I were to teach this lesson again there is very little I would think to change because
this was one of our more successful lesson of the unit. I would allow more time for the
Congress station because it was interactive and asked students to negotiate. The
negotiations were rushed. I would add more context on how the Legislative Branch
interacts with the other two branches.

3. What do you envision for the next lesson?

Our next lesson will examine the Judicial Branch. Checks and balances taught in this lesson
and the Executive Branch lesson will be reinforced in the next lesson as we wrap up our
detailed examination of each branch of government. The three branch chart on the final exam
will ask information taught in this lesson, which was already addressed in our previous three
branch lesson.