Maryland Senator Bill Ferguson 46th District

Government H.S.A. Workshop #5The Legislative Branch (Part II)Missy LaCroixAnnie Caldwell

IntroductionsNameSchoolHow long have you been teaching?What do you hope to get out of the session today?

OutcomesTWBAT explore and apply instructional strategies to enhance teaching and assessing of the executive branch content.

AgendaWelcome and Introductions

Legislative Branch and the VSC Review

Represent Me

Apportionment Sample Lesson

Gerrymandering Sample Lesson

Show Me The Money! Interest Group Simulation

Assessing Unit 4

Session Debrief

Questions/Reflections and Evaluation

Legislative Branch Assessment Items and VSC Alignment

Who Represents You?

So What Now?

Apportionment LessonObjective:SWBAT illustrate changes in Congressional representation in order to predict their impact on future congressional actions and interests.

Apportionment How Does it Work?Each state gets 1 representative for each 100 people.

On your white board record the number of people in your state. ApportionmentIt is 10 years later and the population count has occurred.

What changes do you think may have occurred? ApportionmentBased in your states new population numbers record the new number of representatives you should.

You get 1 representative per 100 people.

Would you gain, lose, or stay the same? Why? Apportionment

Article I: Section II and RepresentationThis article states that the number of representatives from each state is based on the size of the states population. Each state is divided into congressional districts, with each district required to be equal in population. Each state is entitled to at least one representative. The number of representatives in the House was set at 435 in 1929. Since then there has been reapportionment of seats based on population shifts, rather than on addition of seats. The enumeration referred to is the census, which is a population count that is taken every 10 years since 1790.How is representation determine for each state in Congress?How are states divided for representation in Congress?How many representatives can each state have?How many total representatives are in the House of Representatives?What is a census?How often is the census taken?

Think About ThisWhy do you think the framers of the Constitution mandated taking a national census?

How does taking a national census support the principle of democracy?

Census-Consensus-Apportionment

Think About ThisIf the number of representatives is set at 435, how does a state gain or lose representation in the House of Representatives?

Predicted Changes in Representation After the 2010 CensusDirections: Use the Changes in Congressional Representation chart to complete the map Predicted Changes in Representation to show how proportional congressional power changed as a result of the 2010 election.

17Congressional Representatives by Region

Think About ThisSummarize what you predict will happen to political power regionally based upon your mapping results.

How significant are these changes? Explain.

Does the rate of change help or hinder political stability?

Were predictions regarding regions of power consistent with the regional trends between 1960 and today?Redistricting

The Redistricting Songhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh4qAJDUOcc Gerrymandering LessonObjective: To analyze gerrymandering in order to evaluate the degree to which representation is fairly apportioned in the state of Maryland.

Think About ThisHow does Congress know the number of people living in each state?

Whose responsibility is it to redraw district lines to reflect changes in representation?

Should legislators be able to redraw district lines in whatever fashion they want? Why/ Why not?

The Original GerrymanderWhat do you think the author of this political cartoon was trying to say?

GerrymanderingThe word gerrymander was coined in 1812 as a combination of the last name of the American patriot and political leader, Elbridge Gerry, and the latter half of the word salamander.

Elbridge Gerry was immortalized with this word because the boundary of an election district created by members of his Democratic-Republican party in 1812 looked like a salamander, which is a small lizard-like amphibian.

Gerry was defeated in his re-election campaign for governor of Massachusetts in 1812 after supporting a redistricting bill that was responsible for the coining of the word gerrymander.

Gerrymandering (Part I)Directions: Part I: Read the following brief description of gerrymandering. Then, answer the questions that follow.

Gerrymandering (Part II)Directions: Imagine that a state looks like the diagram below. It has twelve voting stations, each noted with which political party currently holds the majority. Create four Congressional districts below to represent the following political balances/imbalances.

Check Your Answers!

Influences on CongressVotersPolitical PartiesThe PresidentInterest GroupsPACs

Influences on CongressVoters Letter to Congress

Assessing InfluencesR restate questions1 respond to bullet 13 examples for bullet 33 examples for bullet 32 respond to bullet 23 examples for bullet 33 examples for bullet 3R restate the question

Glendenings Balkanization of MarylandDirections: Read the article Glendenings Balkanization of Maryland and answer the summary questions that follow.

Glendenings Balkanization of Maryland Summary QuestionsBased upon your understanding of the article, what does Balkinization mean?

According to the author, did Governor Glendening follow the guidelines for drawing new districts? Explain your answer.

What are some concerns the author expresses about the redistricting?

Show Me The Money!Interest Group Simulation

Show Me The Money!Interest Group SimulationScenario:

As you know, Congress is very busy. They deal with a multitude of issues, priorities, and constituent needs. Lets imagine that the House Committee of Appropriations (the one that deals with doling out money) has been overwhelmed with requests for assistance. They have 1 million dollars left in their budget proposal to allocate and they have decided to give certain interest groups 5 minutes of their time to make a proposal. They intend to award 5 organizations with 200,000 in grant money to assist in their programmatic goals.

You are a citizen lobbyist for one of those organizations. You and a partner will develop an engaging and persuasive presentation that explains why your interest group is most important, how you will use the money to achieve your goals, who you will help, and why they should choose you over the other citizens.

Show Me The Money!Interest Group SimulationStep #1: Research your assigned interest group.

The more you know about your organization the better your presentation will be! Take notes on the following topics:Describe for what you are advocating in detail. It may help to find statistics that prove you are working in the public interest.

Describe your constituency: Who are the members of your group? How large is your group? How might this help you to win support?

What is your mission statement/goals?

What have you already done to demonstrate that you are deserving of the money and Congressional support?

How will you use this money to further your cause? Try to be realistic. See if you can find any budgetary information for your organization to get a sense of how they already allocate funds.

Interest Groups Websites

Show Me The Money!Interest Group SimulationStep #2: Create your presentation.

Design a presentation for the congressional committee that is dynamic and persuasive. It may be in PowerPoint, use charts and graphs, include posters, contain demonstrations and testimonials, etc. Be creative! Remember, you are winning over their hearts and minds!

Show Me The Money!Interest Group SimulationStep #3: Make your pitch.

When you are not presenting, you will assume the role of a committee member. When you present, use all of your awesome presentation skills to stand out above the rest! Watch your time. The chairmen of the committee (the teacher) will be timing you!

Interest Group Presentation Notes Sheet

Show Me The Money!Interest Group SimulationStep #4: Who gets the money?

Committee members (you included) will vote on their top 5 choices by completing a Recommendation Form.

Committee Of Appropriations Recommendation Form

Unit 4 Test

Reflection QuestionWhat is one thing that you learned today that will help you when planning and assessing your legislative branch unit?

Questions?Feel free to email us with any questions.Annie Caldwell acaldwell@bcps.orgMissy LaCroix mlacroix@bcps.org

Evaluation