Kerry Reilly

Social Studies: Civics

November 9th, 2015
Topic and Type: The Legislative Branch: Review. A lesson to review the concepts of the
legislative branch of government.
Content Overview: Key concepts throughout this lesson includes introducing the ideas of
Breakdown of Legislative branch
Functions of the Senate
Functions of the House of Representatives
Legislative powers
The law making process
SOLs: 7th grade civics class.
CE. 5- The student will demonstrate knowledge of the political process at the local, state
and national levels of government by (b) comparing similarities and differences of
political parties; (c) analyzing campaigns for elective office, with emphasis on the role of
media.
CE.6- The student will demonstrate knowledge of the American constitutional
government at the national level by (a) describing the structure and powers of the
national government; (b) explaining the principle of separation of powers and the
operation of checks and balances; (c) explaining and or simulation the law making
process.
Instructional Objectives:
1. Every student will understand the structure of the legislative branch.
2. Every student will know the differences between expressed and implied powers of the
Legislature.
3. Students will understand the law making process in how a bill becomes a law.
4. Every student will be able to compare and contrast the functions of the two houses of
Congress and their requirements.
Assessment Plan:
Objectives
1.
2.

3.
4.

Assessments: Formative and Summative

Formative: Pre test to assess where the students
are in their learning process
Summative: quiz occurring the next day
Formative: Students will tell the teacher the
differences and examples of implied and
expressed powers
Summative: quiz occurring the next day
Formative: Students will play a chain reaction
game for the steps in the law making process
Summative: quiz occurring the next day
Formative: Post Test as a closing activity
Summative: quiz occurring the next day

Materials:
4 sets of chain reaction game for law making process
Notecards for the roles in the legislative branch
Pre/Post Test worksheet
Warm up: Students will fill out the pre test on general information of the functions of the
Legislative branch.
Closure: Students will be asked to fill out the posttest as a closing activity. It will assess what
information they cleared up in the course of the lesson and where they need to improve on for the
quiz the following day.
Lesson Body and Sequence:
Time: 58 Minutes
6 minutes

15 minutes

Teacher Actions
Teacher instructs students to
answer the pre test and then
keep it for the last part of
class.
Start by splitting the class into
two groups of the Senate and
the House of representatives.

15 minutes

Put each house on one side of

the room so they are facing
each other.

5 minutes

Teacher splits the two groups

into four groups and gives
them a set of chain reaction
cards
Teacher will be walking
around and helping the
students with their chains and
helping to clarify questions.
Teacher will be walking
around to the various groups
and asking the students to
share how they believe a bill

5 minutes

7 minutes

Student Actions
Students will be answering the
questions on the pretest.
Students be members of a
house and they will have to
teach the other house all about
what they do. They are given
notecards with roles on them
and they have to write down
the basics of their role. They
must also take notes on the
other roles so they are well
versed for the quiz the
following day.
Students have to go through
one by one and teach the other
side of the classroom all about
their role in their house.
Students are looking through
their notes to figure out which
description goes in order, so
that a bill can become a law.
The students will be working
together to figure out how the
process of a bill becoming a
law works.
Students will share their ideas
of the order in which a bill
becomes a law.

5 minutes

Diversity Plan:
Student Characteristic
ELL
Gifted

ADD/ADHD

becomes a law.
Teacher will be asking the
students if they have any
questions on the legislative
branch before the class is over,
and will prompt them to fill
out the posttest.

Students will ask remaining

questions and fill out the post
test which can be used as a
studying tool.

Method/Strategy/Activity
Students will be able to voice their ideas on
how a bill becomes a law and what their role in
the legislative branch is.
Students are asked to think about their role in
the legislative branch and gifted students will
be able to think critically about what their role
is and why it is important to the government
system.
There is ample group work that is fast paced.
The teacher will be walking around the room,
keeping the students on task and focused.