“of the People, by the People, for the
People”
Democracy Unit:
Comparing the United States Legislative
Branch and the German Bundestag
Linda Sorenson
Holmen Middle School District of Holmen
U.S. Constitution vs.
Germany’s Basic Law
Table of Contents
Lessons
Pages
Standards and Objectives……………………………………….4
Government/Democracy……………….………………………..5
Vocabulary………………………………………………………..7
Legislatures Structures………………………………………….11
Law-Making Process…………………………………………….13
Political Parties……………………………………………...……20
Democratic Government
Wisconsin Social Studies Standards addressed:
B.8.4 Explain how and why events may be interpreted differently depending upon the
perspectives of participants, witnesses, reporters, and historians
B.8.5 Use historical evidence to determine and support a position about important political
values, such as freedom, democracy, equality, or justice, and express the position coherently
B.8.6 Analyze important political values such as freedom, democracy, equality, and justice
embodied in documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the United States
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights
C.8.1 Identify and explain democracy's basic principles, including individual rights,
responsibility for the common good, equal opportunity, equal protection of the laws, freedom of
speech, justice, and majority rule with protection for minority rights
C.8.2 Identify, cite, and discuss important political documents, such as the Constitution, the Bill
of Rights, and landmark decisions of the Supreme Court, and explain their function in the
American political system
C.8.3 Explain how laws are developed, how the purposes of government are established, and
how the powers of government are acquired, maintained, justified, and sometimes abused
C.8.4 Describe and explain how the federal system separates the powers of federal, state, and
local governments in the United States, and how legislative, executive, and judicial powers are
balanced at the federal level
C.8.6 Explain the role of political parties and interest groups in American politics
Unit Objectives:
Students will be able to:
 Define democracy
 Understand how and why governments are created, maintained, and changed
 Compare and contrast the structure of the U.S. federal government and the government
of Germany
 Evaluate the necessity of political parties and their functions
 Gain a global perspective of the diversity of democracies
Government/Democracy
1 class period
“What is democracy?” worksheet
The opening lesson is set up to capture the interest of the students about government. It is
designed to find out what students know and value about government and democracy. The
lesson should help student s gain an understanding of what a democratic government is, how
it are formed, and why it is important.
1. Individually students will list reasons why government is important and what makes up a
democracy. This will take about 5-10 minutes.
2. After completing the individual work, students need to work with a partner and prioritize
their combined lists. The students are then to write their top 5 on separate post-its and
stick them to a board.
3. Have several students organize the post-its into categories and disposing of duplicates.
4. Discuss with the class what government is and its importance. Using the post-its, have
the class come up with a working definition of a democratic government.
What is
democracy?
 Why is
government
important?
 Define
democracy
Vocabulary: Define/Compare &
Contrast/Apply
2-3 class periods
“Legislative Branch Vocabulary” worksheet
“Compare and Contrast Vocabulary” worksheet
“Word Splash” worksheet
The purpose of these lessons is for students to gain a working knowledge of vocabulary
dealing with the legislative branch of government. This lesson will also introduce German
legislative vocabulary.
1. Students need to define the vocabulary in their own words using available resources—
Social Studies book(s), dictionaries, internet (www.house.gov and www.bundestag.de).
2. Students will then place the vocabulary in the modified Venn diagram (C&C worksheet)
to gain a better understanding of the vocabulary.
3. The Word Splash worksheet has the students use the vocabulary in sentences. This
also introduces students to the workings of both legislatures.
Legislative Branch
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
• Bill
• Bundesrat
• Bundestag
• Coalition
• Conference committee
• Congress
• Constituency
• House of Representatives
• Lander
• Legislative Initiative
• Legislature
• Mediation committee
• Parliament
• Pigeon-hole
• Plenary sittings
• Senate
• Speaker of the House
• Standing committees
• Veto
1. Define the terms in your
own words.
2. Using the attached chart,
divide the vocabulary up
into 3 groups—which
words go with the U.S.
legislative branch, the
German legislative
branch, and both
branches.
Use your Social Studies
book, the dictionary, and the
following websites to help:
www.house.gov (go to Kids
in the House or Educational
Resources)
www.bundestag.de (click
on the English translation)
Compare and Contrast Vocabulary
Word Splash
House of Representatives
Bundestag
Write two sentences (using vocabulary words from above) about the House of
Representatives:
Write two sentences (using vocabulary words from above) about the Bundestag:
Write two sentences (using vocabulary words from above) that discuss BOTH the
House and the Bundestag:
Your sentences’ will be scored using this rubric:
Exemplary
Proficient
Basic
All of my sentences show that I
have learned new things about the
legislative branches of the U.S. and
Germany.
I wrote six sentences, but they
really don’t show that I’ve learned
anything new about the legislative
branches of the U.S. and Germany.
Most of my sentences show that I
have learned new things about the
legislative branches of the U.S. and
Germany.
Legislature Structure: Compare &
Contrast
1-2 class periods
Internet: www.house.gov and www.bundestag.de
This lesson brings to the students the differences between the American legislature structure
and the German Parliament structure.
Students will visit the above websites in order to find the information to fill in the worksheet.
When they enter the Bundestag website, students need to click on the English button unless
they can read German.
This information is great for discussion of democratic governments and their likenesses and
differences.
Compare and Contrast
The House of Representatives and the Bundestag
Qualifications
Term of Office
Compensation
Number of states
represented and number of
members
Leadership
Role/Function/Job
Description
Political Parties
4-6 class periods
“Movie Review” worksheet
“Federal Laws…” chart
“How a Bill…” chart
“Comparison/Contrast Essay” worksheet
“Sample essay” worksheet
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington video
Legally Blonde 2 video
Internet: www.house.gov and www.bundestag.de
Plain white paper
These activities will give students the experience of understanding the process of making laws.
1. To start this process, students need to read through the “Movie Review” sheet. The
teacher should give a short synopsis of each movie.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: The governor of an unnamed state, Hubert "Happy" Hopper, has to
pick a replacement for the deceased Senator, Sam Foley. His corrupt political boss, Jim Taylor,
pressures Hopper to choose his handpicked stooge, while popular committees want a reformer. The
governor's children want him to select Jefferson Smith, the head of the Boy Rangers. Unable to make
up his mind, Hopper decides to flip a coin. When it lands on its side – and next to a newspaper story on
one of Smith's accomplishments – he chooses Smith, calculating that his wholesome image will please
the people while his naiveté will make him easy to manipulate. (Start the movie where Smith gets to
Washington and takes a tour. Continue through to where he gives his speech in the Senate.—about 2530 minutes.)
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde: Elle Woods wants Bruiser to reunite with his mother.
Elle hires a detective to find Bruiser's mother, only to discover that the company that has her dog's
mother is a cosmetics company that uses Bruiser's mother for cosmetic testing. She finds out that her
law firm represents the C'est Magnifique Corporation, that also uses animals for testing. Elle argues that
the animal testing is unjust, and as a result, she is fired from her law firm. Elle is so upset that her dog's
mother is in a make-up testing laboratory, that she decides to take it upon herself to have a "voice for
those who can't speak", and to outlaw animal testing. Elle decides to leave Boston and move to
Washington, DC and work for Congresswoman Victoria Rudd. (Start the movie where Elle decides to
write her own bill and tells Sydney about it. Play through to where she puts it into the hopper.—about
25-30 minutes.)
2. Have students visit the two websites to find the detailed accounts of how a bill becomes
a law and also look at the charts.
a. www.house.gov go to Educational Resources then How Our Laws are Made
b. www.bundestag.de go to Function and Role then Adoption of Legislation
c. Students then create 2 flowcharts, mapping out the steps of the law-making
process in both countries.
d. Students to answer the following questions (discussion or written)
i. Why don’t both countries have the same process for making laws?
ii. Which of the two processes best matches your definition of democracy?
Why?
iii. List at least 3 ways the processes are alike.
iv. List at least 3 ways the processes are different.
3. Compare and Contrast essay
a. Students will write an essay according to the worksheet directions.
Movie Review
Introduction: You are going to watch two movie excerpts about Hollywood’s ideas of how
laws are made. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was made in 1939 and Legally Blonde 2 was
made in 2003.
Directions: Please read the following questions BEFORE the movie begins so you know what
to look for. Answer the questions in complete sentences.
1. What bill does Mr. Smith want to pursue? What bill does Elle Wood want to pursue?
2. Ms. Saunders, Mr. Smith’s secretary, explains the process of writing a bill to Mr. Smith.
Sydney Post, the Wellington doorman, explains the process to Elle. What are the steps
according to Ms. Saunders? What are the steps according to Sydney Post?
3. What are at least 3 differences between 1939 and 2003 in the law making process
according to the movies? What did Mr. Smith do differently from Elle Wood?
4. Why do you think there are differences in the law making process between these two
movies?
A Comparison/Contrast Essay
This type of essay has four-parts –1) an introduction to topics, 2) a focus on similarities, 3) a
focus on differences, and 4) a conclusion. Make sure the essay is arranged in a logical order.
Students should be given both an opportunity to compose a rough draft and an opportunity to
revise and edit before composing a clean and final copy.
Background knowledge needed: First, students should see an example essay on a different
topic, and they should discuss the organization techniques used in the example (purposes of
paragraphs, use of transition words, effectiveness of the introduction and conclusion). Second,
students should be given time to plan their essay using their graphic organizer, and to discuss
their organizer with others before writing a rough draft. Third, students should be given time to
share and discuss their rough drafts meaningfully (peer edit) before they compose a finished
essay.
A “map” for this type of essay:
 Paragraph 1: An introduction to the two topics being written about.
 Paragraph 2 (or 3): A focus on the two topics’ most interesting similarities.
 Paragraph 3 (or 2): A focus on the two topics’ most interesting differences.
 Paragraph 4: A conclusion to the essay.
Comparing/Contrasting: During pre-write, students are to avoid the simple and obvious
comparisons (one is a man, the other is a woman, etc) and to search for interesting similarities
and differences. Often students will find comparable concepts that are “kind of similar, but
kind of different,” and they should be encouraged to decide if it’s more similar or more
different.
A Sample Compare/Contrast Essay
discuss this author’s techniques with a friend
Edison & Franklin
Today I am going to compare two great inventors from our past: Thomas Edison and
Benjamin Franklin. You would be hard-pressed to find any elementary-aged student who didn’t
recognize these two names, but in case you don’t, here is a fast introduction. Thomas Edison
lived from 1847 to 1931; he is most famous for inventing the light bulb. Benjamin Franklin lived
from 1706 to 1790, and he is credited with discovering electricity.
Both men were inventors, and both were born in the United States. As children, both Franklin
and Edison had limited schooling, which didn’t seem to affect how smart they became later on.
Both inventors are said to have self-taught themselves mostly through their love of reading.
They are each credited with dozens of inventions that are still used today. Franklin and Edison
were both interested in electricity, and I think they would have had a lot to talk about if they had
ever met face-to-face.
They were different too though. They lived in very different times. While Benjamin Franklin
discovered electricity, it was still such a new thing that he didn’t do much with it afterwards.
Instead, he put his inventing energy into other cool things like swim-fins and bifocals and
musical instruments. Edison was mostly about electricity all the time. His inventions and
discoveries all required electrical currents: light bulbs, microphones, phonographs,
fluoroscopes, etc. They had different religions too. Edison’s religious beliefs have been said to
be that of the “Free Thinkers,” which means he believed science and logic should be taken into
account when explaining religion. Franklin’s parents wanted him to be a very religious person,
but when he discovered deism, he began to move away from organized religion.
I have tried to show you how Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin were similar and different
in this essay. Oh, another difference! While Benjamin Franklin ended up on the hundred dollar
bill, Edison never did, but he ended up with a lot more of those bills in his pocket!
Discuss:
 How could this writer’s introduction have shown more personality?
 Which paragraph seems more thought out? Paragraph #2 or paragraph #3?
 How could the ending been stronger?
 Where might transitions like these have helped this essay?
like, similar to, also, unlike, similarly, in the same way, likewise, again, compared to,
in contrast, in like manner, contrasted with, on the contrary, however, although, yet,
even though, still, but, nevertheless, conversely, at the same time, regardless,
despite, while, on the one hand
Political Parties
1-2 class periods
“Political Parties” worksheet
“Political Party Chart” worksheet
In this lesson, students will gain an understanding of what political parties are, what they
represent, and why they are important.
Students will need to visit the websites listed on the worksheets, to find the chart
information and to answer the questions.
Political Parties
United States of America
Republican Party
http://www.gop.com/
Democratic Party
http://www.democrats.org/
Germany
Political parties in general:
http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_parties.htm
Scroll down the above site to find specific information on each of the five political parties:
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU)
Free Democratic Party (FDP)
The Left Party
Alliance 90/The Greens
Political Party Chart
Party
1.
2.
3.
Legislature 3 Major Platform Stands
total #
If you had to join a political party, which one best suits you? Why—give at least 3
reasons.
List 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages in having only 2 major political parties.
List 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages in having more than 3 major political parties.