Vocabulary Terms—Legislative Branch (Congress)
Apportionment
Authorization
Bicameral legislature
Bicameralism
Blue Dog Democrats
Casework
Caucus (congressional)
Christmas tree bill
Closed rule
Cloture rule
Concurrent resolution
Conference committee
Conference committees
Conservative coalition
Constituent
Continuing resolution
Direct primary
Discharge petition
Double-tracking
Earmarks
Enumerated power
Executive budget
Fall review
Filibuster
First budget resolution
Fiscal year (FY)
Franking privilege
Gerrymandering
Hillstyle
Homestyle
Instructed delegate
Joint committee
Joint resolution
Justiciable question
Lawmaking
Logrolling
Majority leader
Marginal districts
Minority leader
Multiple referrals
Ombudsperson
Open rule
Oversight
Party identifier
Party polarization
Pork
Pork-barrel legislation
President pro tempore
Private bill
Public bill
Quorum
Quorum call
Reapportionment
Redistricting
Representation
Restrictive rule
Rider
Roll-call vote
Rule
Rules committee
Safe districts
Second budget resolution
Select committees
Seniority system
Sequential referral
Simple resolution
Speaker of the House
Spring review
Standing committees
Teller vote
Trustee
Unanimous Consent Agreement
Unorthodox lawmaking
Voice vote
Whip
IMPROVE YOUR VOCABULARY AND MAKE CONNECTIONS!!
Consider using one of the following strategies to improve your understanding of the vocabulary terms in this
unit and to create connections to the topics/concepts covered:

Concept Sort – to use this strategy, place words into different categories based on each word's
meaning. Define categories based on your reading and on class discussion. When this strategy is used
after reading, you can self-assess your understanding of the concepts presented.

Frayer Model – this technique requires you to (1) define the target vocabulary words or concepts, and
(2) apply this information by generating examples and non-examples; this strategy promotes critical
thinking and helps you to identify and understand unfamiliar vocabulary; this strategy draws on your
prior knowledge to build connections among new concepts and creates a visual reference by which you
learn to compare attributes and examples.
Definition
Facts
Word/Concept
Examples
Non-examples