legislative simulation...how a bill becomes a law 1. the objective of this simulation is to learn...

1. Objective a. This simulation will help students gain a better understanding on how a bill is written, how a

bill becomes a law, and the various steps of the lawmaking process.

2. Materials Needed a. All the pages within this document will be helpful for this simulation.b. Make many copies of the two “Writing a Bill” pages in this simulation.c. A hopper in each house for students to put bills in. (I use a manilla folder taped to the wall

or you can use a fancy box)d. Students to write bills and enjoy this legislative simulation

3. Introduction a. I use this simulation as a nice supplement and filler within my unit on the legislative branch.

If I ever have extra time in class, students can write and submit new bills, get into committee, or do a whole class discussion of bills on the floor.

b. After explaining the directions to the students, I have brief nominations and elections for the various leadership positions. (see leadership positions page)

c. I then explain that they (the students) have the power to influence their school or community with this simulation, as all bills that pass will be presented to the appropriate community leader. (See Bills Becoming Laws section below)

d. I project the sample bill (included in this simulation) onto the SMARTBoard. Here the students can see how to write a bill appropriately and how to create the appropriate sections within. Writing a bill is rather straight forward as you will see from the sample which is included.

e. Students should submit completed bills into the appropriate class hopper.

4. Committeesa. Once leadership positions are in place, I have leaders of each house appoint willing students

to head up the various committees. There are 5 committees listed in the directions. Depending on the size of your class, you can combine some of these or create your own committees.

b. The leaders of each house also appoint the remaining students to fill the committees as members of that committee.

c. The leader of the house and secretary are not a part of any committee as they have enough work to do by sorting through bills, categorizing them into the proper committees, getting bills ready for the floor, and assigning points.

d. Committee leaders will receive bills from the leader of the house and should read the bills in their committee. Committees should place an X in one of the boxes in the upper right corner.

5. Leaders of each house (Speaker/President Pro Temp)a. These individuals collect all bills from the hopper of their house, distribute bills to proper

committees, and receive bills coming out of committee. Bills coming out of committee will be given back to the author if the bill died in committee. If the bill passed in committee, the bill will be kept by the leader of the house to be debated on the floor at a future time.

copyright © Mr. Harms

L e g i s l a t i v e S i m u l a t i o nTeacher’s Guide

b. The leaders also lead the debate on the floor

6. Debate on the Floora. When there are bills that have passed committee, the next step is debating the bill on the

floor. The leader of that house (class) will read the title of the bill and the entire bill. I have them omit reading the author as students may be persuaded to vote based on the author.

b. After reading the entire bill, students can stand up by their desk and share if they are in favor of the bill or not and why.

c. For each reasonable response, the secretary will record 2 points on the scoring sheet for that congressman. I limit 2 points per person per bill. Students can certainly give more debate on the bill, but will not receive any more points for more discussion on that bill.

d. After a few yes and no responses from the floor, the leader of the house can call for a vote. I have students put their heads down and raise their hands to signify a yes or no vote. A simple majority is needed for the bill to pass. If the bill passes, the author will receive 5 points and the bill goes to your next house/senate (your next class of students or a fellow teacher who teaches the other class or classes). If the bill does not get a majority, the bill dies and is returned back to the author.

e. The leader is responsible for keeping order and I as the teacher step in when needed.f. I also raise my hand during the debate process to give input on various bills to help guide

them in the discussion.

7. Houses/Senatea. Each civics/government class is considered a house. For example, our school has 3 sections

of 8th grade civics. I teach two sections, and my fellow teacher teaches the 3rd section. My classes are House A and House B. His 3rd section is the Senate. As bills pass through each house or senate, we give the bills to each other so they can be voted on in the other house/senate.

8. Bills becoming laws.a. I tell the students that if we truly want to change our surroundings, we must offer serious

and reasonable ideas for our bills. I also tell them that we have the power to make changes within our school and community with good ideas, not complaints. With that in mind, I keep a pretty loose influence on what is allowed inside a bill. The students have always taken their role seriously and the poorly written bills soon die. If not in committee, the bill will die in one of the houses. This long process will weed out the bad bills and only a few will surface.

b. Once a bill has passed all of your houses (how ever many sections you have), the President will need to look at the bill and make a non-peer-pressuring decision on whether or not to sign or veto the bill.

c. If the bill is vetoed, the bill is returned to the author. If it is signed by the President, I give the bill to the appropriate person in charge. If the bill is about my classroom, then I look at it and implement the new law. If it is a school issue, I give the bill to the principal or superintendent. This has been a very fun process. Our school has actually taken some of the ideas and implemented them as new policies. The students have recognized this and I let the class know that they have a real shot to influence their own lives and the lives of their peers. If the bill is about the community or state, then I give the bill to those individuals to consider.


9. Scoringa. The scoring can be recorded on the included scoring sheet. The secretary for each house is

responsible for the scoring.b. The scoring sheet is self explanatory. Students are limited in each category as to how many

points they can receive. Students can keep writing bills, but may not receive any more points for the bills in some of the categories if that category is already filled.

c. I have an A at 35 total points. You can adjust this to fit your needs.

10. Helpful hintsa. Bills can be amended at any stage of the process if there are minor amendments to be made.

If an amendment is made, it must be reread and voted on, in that stage of the process.b. Amendments or changes can be recorded in the empty spaces of the written bill. See sample

bill included in this packet.c. If the bill needs more than one or two minor changes, it should die as the majority of the bill

is being rewritten.d. I do an election campaign during the executive branch lesson and the winner of this

campaign becomes President for this simulation of the legislative branch.e. You may need to set a limit as to how many bills may be submitted by each congressman.

This keeps the bills to a higher quality and keeps the simulation from getting too long as every bill will need to be discussed by committee.

f. Have fun, and feel free to add or delete anything to better suit your classroom needs! Enjoy the legislative process by using this legislative simulation!


How a Bill becomes a Law

1. The objective of this simulation is to learn how a bill becomes a law.2. You will be required to submit suggestions, proposals, or ideas that might result in a positive

change for our school or community in the format of a bill. To make sure your bill has the most opportunity to be considered, write the bills for this school year or the next.

3. This will be a graded assignment as well as an enjoyable activity. The points are explained below.4. The classroom teacher has the right to stop any proposed bills that may be objectionable, of

poor taste, or unworthy of being considered.

! Points!! ! ! ! ! Description

! 0-6 pts!! 3 points for each bill accepted by the speaker for committee review• Only original ideas/proposals are accepted, so you want to be the first to introduce a

bi! on a specific idea. Only properly written bi!s wi! be considered" as we!.

! 0-10 pts! 5 points for each bill that passes committee• New, original bi!s only. You may earn a maximum of 10 points in this category.

! 0-10 pts! 5 points for each bill that passes your house• If your bi! passes the house or senate, you get 5 more points.

! 0-12 pts! 2 pts each time a student participates in floor discussion• Each time a student gives productive input or debate regarding a bi! that is being

discussed on the floor, he or she wi! receive 2 points.

! 2 pts! ! Those chosen for leadership positions are rewarded• These include: Speaker of the House, President Pro Temp, Floor secretaries, Majority

& Minority Leaders, and Committee Chairpersons.

! 5 pts! ! 5 extra credit points for each successful bill that is signed by the President.• If your proposed bi! passes through the legislative process and is approved by the

president, you get an additional 5 points.

! 35 pts!! Grand total to receive an A for this project

Committees & Categories

! School - Academic! ! • grading, classes offered, deficiency, curriculum, schedules, etc.! School - Extra Curricular! • sports, speech, knowledge bowl, drama, music, eligibility, prices, etc.! School - Policy! ! • student handbook rules, cafeteria/lunch, class time, hallway, etc.! School - This Classroom! • policies, procedures, ideas, etc.! Community! ! ! • local issues, community education, parks, pool, calendar, etc.


name:L e g i s l a t i v e S i m u l a t i o nDirections & Proceedures

Congressman: _____________________________________________ ! ! House / Senate

To establish: _____________________________________________________________________

1. Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the Senate in congress assembled, that:


Origin - Circle One:

L e g i s l a t i v e S i m u l a t i o nWriting a Bill

House Passed Declined Leader Signature

House

Senate

President

House Origin Bill #

House #

Senate #

LEADERSHIP USE ONLY

Bill Passed in CommitteeBill Died in Committee

President (Elected by students)• Passes legislation into law• Has veto power over legislation

Leaders of each House (Speaker of the House / President Pro Tempore) (Elected by students)• Presides over activities of their house• Appoints committee chairpersons• Appoints committee members• Assigns bills to committees

Committee Chairpersons (Appointed by Leader)• Presides over committee meetings• Sets order for bills to be debated in the committee• Establishes time limits for debate for each bill• Calls for a vote on a bill inside the committee

Committee Members (Appointed by Leader)• Has full debate privileges in committee meetings• Can introduce amendments to bills• Can move to overrule the chair (2/3 vote by committee members is needed)

Secretary (Elected by Students)• Place a number on each bill introduced• Keep record of all bills passed by the committee in their final form• Assist the leader of their house• Keeps record of student points


L e g i s l a t i v e S i m u l a t i o nLeadership Positions

Student Nam

e2

33

55

55

55

22

22

22

35 = A

Legislative Simulation

Legislative S

imu

lation

Sco

ring S

heet

Passed Committee

Passed House

Leadership Position

Congressman

Bill Accepted

Signed by President

Bill Accepted

Passed Committee

Passed House

Signed by President

Debate Participation






Total Points

Ho

use

Student Nam

e2

33

55

55

55

22

22

22

35 = A

Passed Committee

Passed House

Leadership

Congressman

Bill Accepted

Signed by President

Bill Accepted

Passed Committee

Passed House

Signed by President







Total Points

Sample Bill page 1

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

Sample Bill page 2

legislative simulation...how a bill becomes a law 1. the objective of this simulation is to learn...

Documents