Technology Integration Lesson Plan
By Michael Wigglesworth
Your name:
Date:
Lesson Title:
Grade Level:
Technology Standard (NETS-S)
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Subject Area/Content Standard:
6/18/16
Michael Wigglesworth
11/17/16
Exploring the Legislative Process
12th AP American Government and Politics
I. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and
develop innovative products and processes using technology.
II. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and
work collaboratively, including at a distance,
to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
II. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
IV. Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Decision-Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research,
manage projects, solve problems, and make
informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
V. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to
technology and practice legal and ethical
behavior.
12th Grade Principles of American Democracy Standards (California
Department of Education, 1998):
 12.4 -Students analyze the unique roles and responsibilities of
the three branches of government as established by the U.S.
Constitution.
o 1. Discuss Article I of the Constitution as it relates to
the legislative branch, including… eligibility for office
and lengths of terms of representatives and senators;
election to office; the roles of the House and Senate in
impeachment proceedings; the enumerated legislative
powers; and the process by which a bill becomes a
law.
 12.1.5 -Describe the systems of separated and shared powers,
the role of organized interests (Federalist Paper Number 10),
checks and balances (Federalist Paper Number 51),
enumerated powers, rule of law, federalism…
12th Grade Language Arts Common Core State Standards (California
Department of Education, 2013):
 Reading Standard for Informational Text Standard #1 -Cite
strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of
 what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining where the text leaves matters
uncertain

 Reading Standard for Informational Text Standard #8 –

Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts,
including the application of constitutional principles and use of
legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions
and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in
works of public advocacy
 Writing Standard #1 - Write arguments to support claims in an
analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient evidence.
 Writing Standard #5 -Develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a
specific purpose and audience.
 Speaking and Listening Standard #1 -Initiate and participate
effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on- one,
in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades
11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Student laptops, LCD projector, document camera, prezi, wiki, blog,

Technology tool/software:
video editing software…

Preparation

Prerequisites: What do students need to know prior to this lesson?

Students will need to know the expressed and implied powers of Congress. Students will need to know
separation of powers and the system of checks and balances. Students will also need to have a
rudimentary knowledge of parliamentary procedure and the legislative process. Students will have read
the Ch. 7 in American Government -Continuity and Change and they will have already defined most of the
political vocabulary and concepts listed below.

Context: Where does this lesson come in the unit?

This lesson is incorporated towards the end of the Congress Unit. It is designed to help students
synthesize their knowledge of the legislative process and provide by giving them the opportunity to
reenact the process.

Vocabulary: What concepts will be learned or reinforced in this lesson? How will you make the concepts
development part of the lesson?

This lesson incorporates extensive political science vocabulary. Students will be exposed to a wide array
of “legislative lingo” pertaining to the legislative process, and Congress in general. The following list
outlines vocabulary and concepts that will be taught and / or reinforced:
1. Constituent
 2. Logrolling
3. Congressional Oversight
4. Legislative Veto
5. Rules Committee
6. Filibuster/Cloture/Senate Rule 22
7. Presidential coattail effect
8. Incumbency advantage
9. Reapportionment
10. Redistricting
11. Malapportionment
12. Gerrymander
13. Racial gerrymandering
14. CRS
15. CBO
16. GAO
17. Standing Committees
18. What is the difference between a term of congress and a session of congress?
19. Select Committees
20. Casework
21. Joint Committees
22. Conference Committee
23. Safe Seat
24. Budget Process
25. Continuing Resolution
26. Double tracking
27. Mark-up
28. Riders/Earmarks/Christmas Tree Bill
29. Pork-barrel legislation
30. Senatorial courtesy
31. Pigeonhole
32. Junket
33. Congressional leadership positions
34. Quorum
35. Hold
36. Committee assignment process
37. Midterm Elections

Students will have read about and define these terms and concepts prior to the lesson. The terms and
concepts will be reinforced as students engage in a roll play activity that requires the students to use the
vocabulary and act out many of the concepts.

Materials: What resources are needed to make this lesson successful? What will you need to prepare in
advance?
 Student computers and internet access for research.
 U.S. Constitutions (digital or hard copy)
 Congressional name tags identifying state and party.
 Teacher Computer / LCD Projector.
 Student handouts describing expectations and duties for various roles.
 Document camera
 Software programs listed above
 An online document containing links for student research purposes will need to be
published.
 The wiki pages will have to be set up in advance for students to engage in collaborative
editing of their bills.
 Objectives or Learner Outcomes

How will the learning be measured and assessed?

General Goal(s):
 Students will experience and understand a bill is created and moves through the various stages
of the legislative process.
 Students will understand the various ways in which a bill can be killed or blocked during the
legislative process.
 Students will understand and experience how political parties, ideology, and outside groups affect
the legislative process.
 Students will research a problem facing American society and explore possible solutions to those
parties.
 Students will become proficient in the use of political vocabulary.

Specific Performance-Based Objectives:

 Students will research a problem facing American society and explore possible solutions to those
problems. They will create a bill that attempts to address the problem in a proactive way.
 Students will present their ideas to their classmates during a reenactment of the legislative
process and try to persuade other students to support their bill.
 Students will work in committee to select one bill and collaborate during the mark up and
amendment process. They will use a wiki page for this purpose.
 Students will engage legislative role-play activity while demonstrating an adherence to “Robert’s
Rules of Parliamentary Procedure.”
 Students will demonstrate effective use of the political and academic vocabulary listed above.

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In)

An "attention getter" to focus students’ learning? A discussion or activity to activate students’ prior
knowledge?
The teacher will open the class by stating, “Today class, we will be watching a cartoon and playing a video
game!” Students will be excited about having the opportunity to have a break from some of the rigor of
taking a AP class -little do they know that this is the same rigor in disguise of a fun and silly activity. The
teacher will play School House Rock – I’m Just a Bill, a cartoon that represents some complicated topics
in a very simple (and silly) manner. The teacher will then use this short video to provoke a discussion
about the legislative process and explore some of the complexities of the process. Students will be asked
to identify where the cartoon over-simplifies or what it has left out. The teacher will then use the LCD
projector to introduce students to an online video game created by Annenberg Foundation. The video
game allows participants to play the role of a legislator and make political decisions and deal with their
consequences. The teacher will first demonstrate for the students how the game works before directing
them to the website to play the game on their own using their student computers.

Step-By-Step Procedures

Instruction: List procedures for what will happen first, second, and so on to teach what you expect the
students to learn. EL strategies should include some consideration of language development.

 After the anticipatory set and intro activity students will be led in a discussion of how Congress
can affect the lives of ordinary citizens. The teacher will instruct students on the powers of
Congress and the legislative process. The lecture / discussion will be differentiated through the
use of a multimedia presentation (Prezi) incorporating images of important congressional figures,
charts depicting how a bill moves through the legislative process, and video showing examples of
parliamentary procedure (including humorous examples of past Senate filibusters).
 Next, students would be arranged into homogeneous groups of three students. Groups will be
given a real life 15-part narrative of events surrounding the passage of an airport security bill after
9/11. However, the parts of the narrative are out of order and the student groups will use a wiki
page to collaborate and put the steps in proper order. The students will be tasked with using their
knowledge of the legislative process to complete the assignment.
 English Language learners would be given a narrative with simplified language and would be
tasked with matching the steps to a flow chart outlining the legislative process.
 Once this is completed students will be ready to engage in the Legislative process reenactment.
 Students will have already written bills related to some problem facing American society. They will
have conducted independent research online and will have drafted a thorough legislative proposal
to deal with the problem.
 The class will be divided into 4 congressional standing committees. The committees will be
organized along party lines.
 Students will present their bills to their committees using a form of electronic story telling, outlining
the problem and how their bill will address it. Each student will have a laptop to use for this
purpose.
 Once all bills have been presented the committee will vote electronically to select their favorite
bill.
 The committee members will then debate and amend the said bill using a wiki page. Students will
adhere to proper parliamentary procedure and the committees will be directed by a Chairmen.
 The teacher will send electronic notifications to the committee chairs as a way to guide the
process. The notifications can include memos from the president, directives from party leaders, or
letters from concerned constituents to be read aloud to the committees.
 Each committee will submit its final bill for floor consideration. The committees will present their
bill to the class using a Prezi presentation. The class will debate and vote on each bill using
electronic voting.
 After the process is complete, students will be led in a de-briefing discussion and will submit a
written reflection of the activity describing what happened in committee and any political conflicts
 that emerged and how they were resolved.

Guided Practice (2-3 sentences): What activities will the students engage in to practice the learning?
Include some time when the students are working with partners or in small groups. Be sure to include how
you will check for understanding throughout each stage of your lesson. Write out high level and/or open-
ended questions to ask throughout your lesson.
The activities will include the mock congress video game played in groups. The teacher will circulate
around the room to ensure that students are on task and progressing in the game. Students will engage in
the wiki page editing of the bill narrative. Teacher will circulate and assist students when they are having
difficulty. Lastly, students will engage in the mock Congress activity. Students will answer questions such
as:
How do political party leaders influence the legislate process?
How does the President influence the process?
What outside groups influence the process and how?
At what stages can a bill get hung up?

Lesson Extension (advanced students): What activities or alternatives will you provide for those who
finish early and want to explore the topic more?
Because of the collaborative nature of this project students will not finish early. The committees that finish
their draft bill first can assist other groups by sending electronic memos and making amendment
suggestions.
Adaptations (For Students With Learning Disabilities):

Due to the flexible nature of the activity, students with learning disabilities will be able to contribute at
varying degrees during the committee mark up activity. Some students may have the option of
participating in the group remotely via the wiki page activity. Students will also be given plenty of
“contextualization,” by creating an information-rich environment that appeals to multiple senses (i.e.
pictures, video, music, graphic organizers, hands-on activities, etc). Students can also be provided with
support resources such as graphic representation of the stages of the legislative process and scripts
outlining parliamentary procedure.

Connections (to other subjects)

Students can write bills concerning topics that they have learned about in other courses. For example
students might research the science of global warming and propose a bill to reduce emissions or a
student might propose a bill to deal with mental health or public safety. There is a whole range of scientific
topics students could consider ranging from environmental concerns to contagious disease to space
exploration. Students might even research and write bills on education reform.
 Independent Practice

What will you do to have students practice the learning independently?

Students will write the initial draft of their bills at home. They will conduct research and create a Prezi to
present their bills to their classmates. Students will be expected to demonstrate the proper use of political
vocabulary and parliamentary procedure throughout the activity. Students will do a follow-up reflection at
the conclusion of the activity.

Closure

Reflect on Anticipatory Set

The teacher will lead students in a discussion contrasting what they experienced during the mock
congress activity with how the process was depicted in the School House Rock video and the video
game.