Mock Congress
The Lesson:
The best lesson I have taught so far was a "Mock Congress" in my Civics Classes. In the previous lessons, students learned the bill-to-law process. Then, they got to experience it. First, students formed committees. Each committee was given an envelope with a few different ideas for bills. In committees, students discussed the ideas and decided which one would work best. They had to write up a formal bill proposal. (In my Honors class, students came up with their own ideas for bills and conducted research). Some of the bills students created banned standardized testing, required citizens over 65 to re-test for their license every 2 years, required restaurants with extra food to donate to homeless shelters, legalized marijuana, and made voting mandatory.
Then, the class met as the House of Representatives. Each committee was given the opportunity to present their bill to the House (class). In each class section, a student served as the Speaker of the House moderating the discussion. In order for students to be able to speak, they had to stand and be addressed by the Speaker. At first, students were annoyed that they had to stand up to talk. However, they realized this is actually how Congress works when we watched the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
After discussion on each bill, the Speaker called for a vote. A majority vote allowed the bill to pass. Finally, the bills that passed through the House were sent to the President (me). I vetoed one bill. However, Congress overrode my veto with a 2/3 majority vote.
Then, the class met as the House of Representatives. Each committee was given the opportunity to present their bill to the House (class). In each class section, a student served as the Speaker of the House moderating the discussion. In order for students to be able to speak, they had to stand and be addressed by the Speaker. At first, students were annoyed that they had to stand up to talk. However, they realized this is actually how Congress works when we watched the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
After discussion on each bill, the Speaker called for a vote. A majority vote allowed the bill to pass. Finally, the bills that passed through the House were sent to the President (me). I vetoed one bill. However, Congress overrode my veto with a 2/3 majority vote.
Why it worked:
Students were engaged! They enjoyed discussing real issues that are facing our society and creating authentic laws. In their reflections
students expressed that this exercise helped them understand the process better. They realized how easy it was for a bill to defeated and how the steps in the process were meant to "weed out" bills that wouldn't work or didn't have enough support.
I enjoyed this lesson because I was able to sit back and let my students lead! I wasn't the one standing at the front of the room. I was also amazed by many of the students' comments and arguments. It was clear they took the assignment seriously and were invested in the issues discussed. I can't wait to do this again next semester! And I will be planning more government simulations- hopefully a "moot court" and "mock trial."
students expressed that this exercise helped them understand the process better. They realized how easy it was for a bill to defeated and how the steps in the process were meant to "weed out" bills that wouldn't work or didn't have enough support.
I enjoyed this lesson because I was able to sit back and let my students lead! I wasn't the one standing at the front of the room. I was also amazed by many of the students' comments and arguments. It was clear they took the assignment seriously and were invested in the issues discussed. I can't wait to do this again next semester! And I will be planning more government simulations- hopefully a "moot court" and "mock trial."