Lesson 1, What is Congress?

Disciplinary Unit: Lesson Plan Format

Student Name: Malory Brunett
I. General Information:
Grade Level:6th
Discipline: Social Studies/History
Unit Topic: How a Bill Becomes Law
Time Frame: 45 minutes, 3 class periods (Max)
Text: Congress by Suzanne Levert
Other Materials: Students phones, Polleverywhere.com , poster,
markers, copies of Chapter 2 & 3 from Congress, activity packet
II. Standards/Indicators
Maryland State Curriculum: Social Studies, Grade 6
Standard 1.0 Political Science
Students will understand the historical development and
current status of the fundamental concepts and processes of
authority, power, and influence, with particular emphasis on
democratic skills and attitudes necessary to become
responsible citizens.
Topic A. The Foundations and Function of Government
1. Examine the necessity and purpose of government in early
world history
Maryland Common Core State Curriculum: Reading in History/Social
Studies Grades 6-8
CCR Anchor Standard #3
Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop
and interact over the course of text
RH.6-8.3
Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and
interact over the course of a text.

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Lesson 1, What is Congress?

III. Lesson Objectives

Students will be able to,
1. Analyze the events that lead to the creation of congress
2. Describe the key details of how the constitution was formed and
what type of government was produced
3. Understand each branch of congress (what consists of the
branch, what responsibilities fall to which branch, etc.)
IV. Procedures:
Introduction:
o To start off the lesson, I will begin by pulling up a text in poll
from PollEverywhere.com (which will require students to
retrieve their cell phones). I will provide the students with 2
different prompts. The first prompt will be: What do you
know about Congress? This will allow me to determine what
my students already know, and provide discussion points to
review for the whole class. The following prompt will be: What
questions do you have about Congress? After these
responses have been sent in, I will record their questions so
they can easily be referred to during the lesson.
Teaching/Activities:
Day 1 (Suggested timeline, subject to change)
1) Students will begin by learning about the creation of congress
and the production of the constitution.
a. The class will be split into groups of 3-4 (depending upon
class size). Each group will receive strips of paper that
depict the events prior to and following the creation of the
constitution and federal republic. The groups will have 10
minutes to come up with an order. When a group is
finished, I will then provide the group with an excerpt
from Congress that they can use to aid them in
determining whether or not they have the correct order.
When they apply the information from the text and
confirm their order, then an answer key will be presented.
b. When all groups have completed the activity, we will
review the answers as a class and discuss the importance
of each event.
2) The class will then be split evenly into two different groups.
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Lesson 1, What is Congress?

a. Each group will be assigned to a chamber of congress
(House of Representatives or Senate). The group is
responsible for learning what each chamber consists of,
what its responsibilities are, and how it differs from the
other chamber.
b. Students will be given the duration of the current class
period to research their chamber of congress. Each
student will be given a copy of either Chapters 2 or 3
(whichever correlates to their chamber) from Congress to
service their analysis. An activity packet will also be
provided so students can effectively organize their
inquiry.
Day 2
1) If needed, students will be given a set amount of time to
continue researching at the beginning of class.
2) After the investigation is complete, I will then assign one
student per group to another student from the other group.
They will need to pair up and teach one another what they had
learned about their chamber of congress.
a. While completing this part of the activity, students may
only use the notes they gathered from researching their
chamber, not the excerpt from the text.
b. Students will be given 10 minutes to teach their partner.
They are to record what they have learned in the activity
packet.
3) Once the partners have taught one another what they learned,
students will then congregate to their original chamber group.
Their job will then to be to create a poster about the chamber
they learned about from their partner (not their originally
assigned chamber). The students will have the rest of the class
period to create a presentation.
4) If time allows, students will present their poster to the other
half of the class. While one group is presenting, the other group
will need to pay close attention to make sure information is
correct. At the bottom of the activity packet, students will either
circle yes or no if the other group presented well and correctly
about their chamber.
(* One more day may be added to suggested timeline to allow
both groups to present)

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Lesson 1, What is Congress?

Closure:
o If time allows, students will present their poster to the other
half of the class. While one group is presenting, the other group
will need to pay close attention to make sure information is
correct. In the activity packet, students will either circle yes or
no if the other group presented well and correctly about their
chamber.
a. The presentations will serve as a review for both
groups.
(One more day may be added to suggested timeline to allow both
groups to present)

VI. Evaluation/Assessment:
Assessment of Objectives:
o While the students are working in groups determining the
sequence of events, I will be doing an observation to make sure
students are participating and helping their group. They will
receive participation points for this activity.
o The activity packet will be collected following the group
presentations. This will be evaluated as an individual formative
assessment for each student to evaluate if the student
understands both chambers of congress.
(See activity packet attached)

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Lesson 1, What is Congress?

Name: ______________
PART 1
Directions: Miss Brunett has assigned you to become an expert on one of the
branches of congress. Your job is to research using the chapter from Congress
that relates to your chosen chamber.
My assigned chamber: _________________
Here is what you need to find out:
1) How does someone get to become part of your chamber? How many
members does your chamber consist of?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2) Describe the job of your chamber. Does it have any special government
powers?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3) Who is in charge of your chamber?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

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Lesson 1, What is Congress?

PART 2
Directions: Now that you are an expert, it is time to become the teacher! You
will be paired with someone who is an expert on the house you did not learn
about. While you teach your partner about what you learned, they are going to
teach you about what they found. Ask your partner these questions!
I am now learning about: _________________
1) How does someone get to become part of your chamber? How many
members does your chamber consist of?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2) Describe the job of your chamber. Does it have any special government
powers?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3) Who is in charge of your chamber?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
After the group presentation.
Did the other group do well presenting about your chamber? (Circle one.)
Yes
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No