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Members of Congress Who Have Made a Significant Contribution
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Overview
In this lesson students will read about laws that have benefited the nation in a variety of ways. Students will choose one Member of Congress and write about any significant law he or she helped to pass.
Grade Levels
9 - 12
Objectives
Students will:- name and describe at least three laws that have benefited the nation in a variety of ways, and identify the congressperson who was primarily responsible for the passage of this law; and
- identify their current representatives in the legislative branch of the national government, as well as some former representatives.
Estimated Time
2 days
Materials Needed
- E-Learning Module: Notable Members of Congress
- Internet connection with Macromedia FLASH ® enabled
- One list of your current and former representatives in the legislative branch of the national government per student (You can find information about former Members at the following Web site: http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp. Type in the name of your state in the search box to get the list of Members of Congress.)
Procedure
- Have students view the “Notable Accomplishments” section of the Notable Members of Congress E-Learning Module.
- Give each student a list of your current and former representatives in the legislative branch of the national government. Tell students to choose one representative from the list.
- Have students conduct research and learn about legislation their chosen representative introduced and/or laws that he or she played a primary role in passing. Then ask each student to write a report summarizing his or her research. Each report should include the following:
- the name of the representative and his or her party affiliation
- the dates he or she served in Congress
- a list of committees he or she participated in
- a description of legislation the chosen representative introduced and/or legislation that he or she played a primary role in passing
- an explanation of why the representative chose to introduce legislation or help pass a certain law. (Students should discuss the representative’s political ideals, constituents, and any important historical factors.)
Extension Activities
Tell students to imagine that they are going to build a museum of legislators who have made a significant contribution. Ask students to choose five legislators to honor in this museum and explain why they think these legislators should be honored. Students can get information about other members who have made a significant contribution and are not listed in the Notable Members E-Learning modules by reading “Notable Members of Congress” in the Learn about Congress section of the Center on Congress Web site.
Assessment
Basic Concepts and Processes
Ask students to respond to the following requests for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.
- Name and describe at least three laws that have benefited the nation in a variety of ways, and identify the congressperson who was primarily responsible for the passage of this law.
- Name your current representatives in the legislative branch of the national government.
- Name at least one former representative from your area in the legislative branch of the national government.
Scoring Guide for A Closer Look at Voting Patterns
| Elements | Possible Score | Assigned Score | Notes |
| Correct Spelling | 5 | ||
| Correct Grammar (sentence structure, punctuation) | 5 | ||
| Good beginning, middle, and end | 5 | ||
| States the name of the representative he or she is writing about and identifies the representative’s party affiliation | 10 | ||
| Lists the dates the representative served in Congress | 10 | ||
| Includes a list of committees the representative participated in | 10 | ||
| Describes the legislation the chosen representative introduced and/or legislation that he or she played a primary role in passing | 25 | ||
| Explains why the representative chose to introduce legislation or help pass a certain law |
Lesson Plan Feedback
If you have suggestions for improving this lesson plan, or if you have ideas for others using the module, please let us know. We value your input. Thank you!