How a Bill Becomes a Law
http://www.southend.org/government/capitol.jpg
Introduction: In our introduction to the Legislative Branch, we learned that Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) makes or passes laws. Remember that governments create laws to maintain order in society. Now we will look at the process of lawmaking that occurs in Congress.
Activity:
¤ On a separate sheet of paper, take notes on the lawmaking process. Label which sites you use to get your information.
¤ Look at the Kids in the House site which gives a great introduction to the lawmaking process.
http://clerkkids.house.gov/laws/bill_begin.html
¤ Compare what you have read with Ben's Guide on How Laws are Made to find additional info on how laws are made. http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/lawmaking/
¤ On the back of your paper, create a sequence chart that looks similar to the one below. Fill in each space with a BRIEF summary of the step towards creating a law.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_lp284-02.shtm
Beyond
I will be going over the scaled-down
version of How a Bill Becomes a Law that you will be required to know
for the unit test (you will receive a copy to study). I
will break you into nine small groups to represent each of the nine
steps of lawmaking. The House of Representatives group will
introduce a bill and send it to be studied by a second group,
etc. Let's see how well the lawmaking process works and attempt
to pass our own "laws"!! You will receive additional instruction
on this shortly!!