Mock Bill Process Lesson Plan

Mock Congressional Committee/House of Representatives Floor Debate
High School Civics 50 min class

Objectives
Students will be able to describe the process a legislative bill goes through in order to become a
law by going through the process themselves.
Students will be able to demonstrate the responsibilities of a member of the House of
Representatives when they are participating in the Congressional Committee meetings and the
debate.
Rational
It is important for the students to understand where laws come from. In order for them to
understand where laws come from and why certain bills become laws while other dont, the
students will see firsthand the process bills go through. The legislative process can be a very
complicated procedure to explain. So, the material will be more relatable to the students if they
actually have to go through the procedure themselves. The legislative process is also an
important part of the students lives. In order to be contributing members of society, the students
need to be aware of and understand how the government works.
Procedure (5 days)
Day 1
Anticipatory Set-School House Rock- Im Just a Bill- The students will watch and then we will
break down and discuss the general process of law making. (10 mins)
The students will break up into 6 pre-determined groups. I pre-determined the groups for
ease of student relations, also for the fact that students might not want to represent an issue
they dont agree with. I wanted to level the playing field for all of the students. There will
be three different issues. One group opposing and one group supporting each of the issues:
1) Congressional Committee of Public Safety- Moving the Adolescent Curfew One Hour
Earlier (Pro or Con)
2) Congressional Committee of Controlled Substances- Drug Testing for High School
Athletes (Pro or Con)
3) Congressional Committee of Health and Human Services- A tax increase on foods with a
high trans-fat content (Pro or Con)
The students will then meet with the people in their group and come up with reasons and
evidence for their position. They will formulate a way to convince the opposing side. They
will also plan a contingency incase the opposing side has valid reasoning behind their
position. In that case, the group will create amendments they may add to the bill in order to
compromise.
Day 2
The students will meet in their groups to finalize a game plan for the Congressional
Committee meeting. (5 min)
The students will then meet in their committees and begin discussing and try to come to some
sort of conclusion: The bill passes as is, the bill has amendments added from either side, or
the bill is declined and dies in committee.
The students then, as a committee will write a report to the Rules committee (Me) about their
decision. The will describe what the two different arguments were, what the final decision
was made, and any compromises and amendments that were made.
Day 3
One student from each Congressional Committee will read their report.
Then each group will talk about their position, how they actually felt about their position and
how they felt the Committee meeting went.
We will then have a whole group discussion on the compromises that Members make and
more often dont make. Thus discussing why Congress has a hard time passing major bills.
Day 4
A new issue will be introduced for the mock House of Representatives Floor debate (I dont
anticipate many, if any, of the bills coming out of Congressional Committee. Also this levels
the playing field on the amount of knowledge each student has on the issue)
The Issue
Federal law enforcement officials have asked Congress to make it easier for them to wire-tap the phones and
computers of suspected terrorists. Congressman Jones has introduced legislation (the "Freedom and Fairness for
America Act" to allow the FBI, CIA and other similar agencies to tap phones and computers without prior judicial
approval, so long as they receive approval within one week of placing the tap. Law enforcement may use any
evidence collected in the prosecution of any federal crime. If the tap is denied, the law enforcement agency in
question must pay restitution (amount to be determined by rulemaking) to the person whose phone/computer was
tapped. The legislation sunsets in five years.
General Points in Support of the Bill
Terrorism is a serious national problem and drastic measures are necessary to ensure the safety of lawabiding citizens.
This is a short-term proposal that will sunset after the war on terrorism is over. It is not intended to be a
permanent solution.
Any innocent victims will receive restitution for any perceived violation of privacy.
Law enforcement needs this wide-ranging authority to ensure that terrorists do not slip through legal
loopholes.
General Points in Opposition to the Bill
This bill gives law enforcement wide-ranging authority to tap the phones and computers of any citizen. It is a
tremendous violation of privacy.
Law enforcement already has all the tools it needs to build a case against and successfully prosecute
terrorists.
Once this authority is given to law enforcement officials, they are likely to lobby heavily to keep and even
expand it. It will be easy for Congress to decide not to sunset the provision.
The legislation would allow law enforcement to collect and use evidence for violation of any federal law,
even those unrelated to terrorism.
The students will break into pre-determined groups (this time much larger than their groups
for Congressional Committee) and research reasons and evidence supporting their position.
The students will be told about the format of the debate in order for them to format their
argument:
The Rules Committee has decided on the debate guidelines for The Privacy Bill.
Each side will have a total of ten minutes to present their case. This will consist of five 2
minute talking points- No person can speak more than once on the five talking points
The Supporters will present first followed by the Opposition.
There will be a five minute break after the initial debate for sides to prepare their closing
statements.
Once both sides have closed, the members of the House may deliberate in small groups
for 3 minutes.
The speaker will call for a vote.
The vote will be conducted by the Speaker as a Voice Vote
*Note that there is NO filibuster!! This is a debate in the House of Representatives
Day 5
The students will meet in their groups to finalize a game plan for the mock debate (5 min)
The mock House of Representatives debate will commence with the teacher (Me) as the
Speaker of the House in order to keep order in the classroom. (40 minutes)
Once the debate has ended, the class will discuss how they felt about the debate. We will
discss how similar the process is in the Senate. We will discuss some laws that have had to
go through a similar process in order to become a law.
Assessment
Throughout the Congressional Committee meeting and the House floor debate, I will be
monitoring their preparation and their communication of the material in order to formatively
assess their understanding of the process.
The reports from the Congressional Committee meetings the students turn in will be a form of
summative assessment. I will be looking for their understanding of the position they took and
the compromises that were needed to reach a decision.
Standards
C.12.8 Locate, organize, analyze, and use information from various sources to understand an
issue of public concern, take a position, and communicate the position.
C.12.10 Identify ways people may participate effectively in community affairs and the political
process.

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Mock Congressional Committee/House of Representatives Floor Debate

High School Civics 50 min class

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