Mock Congress: Day 1 Writing Bills
Chapter 15 - Government for and by
the People
No gum in class. Throw it in the
garbage before class begins!
Bell Activity
Turn in your orange organizers.
Your word is “bill” (hint: NOT something
your parents pay OR part of a duck!)
Find the word on your blue study guide and
complete the following information for the word.
Find the definition using a glossary.
Use your own knowledge and experience to
complete the rest of the definition.
Where should your backpack be?
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
bill
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/
Example:
Antonym/NonExample:
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
bill
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Definition: a written proposal for a law Draw a picture of it:
Sentence: The senator proposed a bill
would make it illegal to text while
driving.
Synonym/
Example:
proposed law
Antonym/NonExample: law
Today we will learn…
• History Objective –
We will be able to
describe how a bill
becomes a law, and
we will learn how to
write a bill.
• Language Objective –
We will write our own
bill for the Mock
Congress.
• Behavior Objective – Work Ethic: We will listen
to how to write a bill then write our own bills.
Welcome to Congress
• Over the rest of the
week the MLMS
Mock Congress will
be in session.
• Our first job is to
understand how to
create new
legislation or laws
that will benefit the
class.
What a bill does…
• Your bill should do
something to benefit the
class or make a positive
change.
• You cannot, however,
violate any school rules
(such as no cell phones,
hats, etc.). Bills that violate
school rules will either be
discarded during the Mock
Congress or they will be
subject to Judicial Review.
A Good Bill…
• A good bill is well
thought out, carefully
considers all of the
possible
consequences of the
law, and will take
steps to make sure
the class suffers no
negative side effects.
• You also have to
consider who will see
that the law is carried
out (it cannot be Ms.
Thatcher!), will it cost
anything (you have to
figure out where the
money is coming
from), and how much
time it will take, etc.
Let’s look at a good bill…
• The Mount Logan Middle School 2014
Blank Bill
Super Activity
Political Parties
• For most of us, when we think of political parties
we picture the Democrats and Republicans.
• What comes to mind when you hear these
names?
• Political Parties were created as a way for
people with similar opinions about how
government should work to get together and get
candidates elected to office who will represent
their beliefs in the government.
Political Parties
• Political Parties start with people who want to
make their lives better through the political
process.
• What are some things that you would like to
change if you could at MLMS?
Issues
• Come up with a list of 5-10 things your party
would like to do to improve our class.
Sample Issues
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•
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Bell Activity w/partners
Free time
Bathroom passes
Allow treats in class
Listen to music
More Partner/Group work
Review day- More time for
teacher to answer
questions
• Fun Day
• Work Day - No
Homework
• Get out of class early
• Study Guides on tests
• Free Answer on test
• Play w/Smart Board
• Drinks in class
• Gum ok in class
Polling the Parties (4 min.)
• The class will have different
political parties, each with
a different platform.
• Each party will be trying to
get their candidate elected
to the class government.
• Choose three or four of the issues your group
came up with to be part of your campaign.
The Caucus (3 min.)
• Choose the person in your party that you think
has the best chance of being elected governor.
• Then choose the person who know the rules of
the school the best to be your candidate for
attorney general.
• Then list 4 people who want to be Senators and
8 who want to be members of the House of
Representatives. There can only be 1 senator
for every 2 representatives.
• Fill out a ballot and send someone to report who
these people are to Ms. Thatcher.
Campaign Poster (10 min.)
• Create a name for your party
(one word, simple, easy to say
and remember).
• Choose a mascot (animal
symbol) that represents your
strengths.
• Make a poster explaining why
others should vote for your
candidate.
– Candidates for governor should
use this time to write a short
speech explaining why their party
should be elected to office.
Speeches (3-5 min.)
• Each candidate for governor
will give a one minute speech
to convince the rest of the
students to vote for them and
their political party.
• Then the class will vote for
officers.
• The winners will be
announced tomorrow.
– Note: All students will have a job to do in the Mock
Congress whether they are elected or not.
Elections
• For a large part of the rest of this unit, we will be
holding a Mock Congress in which you all will be
able to propose laws to make our class better.
• To help get your laws passed, you will need to
form political parties to help pass laws in the
Congress.
• Get together with some friends and other
students who all have similar ideas to create a
political party.
Ballot – 1st Hour
Party
Governor
Att. General
Senators
House of Reps.
Voting:
1 governor
1 attorney general
6 for the Senate
12 for the House