The House of Representatives has a lot of responsibility  in the United States government. But how did it all begin, and why is it the way it is now? A comprehensive lesson answers all of these questions about the US Constitution...

Students study the concept of legislation as it relates to passing a bill in the House of Representatives. In this legislation: passing a bill in the house of representative lesson plan, students identify why and how bills are introduced...

Provide your class with an opportunity to investigate an important historical document. Without identifying the document, distribute copies of the original Bill of Rights, as transcribed by John Beckley, Clerk of the House of...

How reliable is oral history? The resource uses the oral history website to help academics understand the pros and cons of using recollections to teach others. Scholars complete a worksheet, draft a letter to a representative, and...

Do your learners struggle to understand the differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives?  Help them develop an understanding of how the US Constitution's clauses affect the Senate's operations. A high-quality...

To be Puerto Rican, in the words of one politician, is to be "foreign in a domestic sense." Young historians consider the American role in colonialism and its impacts on Hispanic Americans through the first part of the twentieth century...

From the Louisiana Purchase to the Spanish-American War, the history of the United States is intertwined with the story of Hispanic Americans. Using an article about Hispanics in Congress during the 1800s, learners research their lives...

Students research the US Presidential election of 1824. They explain why the election of 1824 was decided in the House of Representatives. They summarize relevant portions of the Constitution on presidential election procedures.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but words can tell many stories. To conclude their study of the women who have served in the US Congress until 2006, groups analyze statements made by these remarkable women.

Our elected officials are supposed to represent us, but what does it mean when they aren't like us? Budding citizens explore the demographic makeup of the US Congress, the role of money in political elections, and the Citizens United...

Students debate a bill. In this Senate lesson plan, students investigate the steps of the House of Representatives when amending a bill that has passed. Students role-play law-making.

It's said that opposites attract, but what about opposites of opposites? Individuals learn about the opposite of opposites using number lines. They complete a group activity in which members determine the opposite of opposites of...

Unauthorized immigration is a complex and hotly debated topic. Class members read an article that examines the issues that motivate unauthorized immigration. Teams then assume the role of special interest groups and present their...

The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...

Who has the power? Scholars investigate the creation of the three branches of government in the United States Constitution. They analyze just why the framers created the branches the way they did.

Debates around immigration in the news are not new, but they are a defining feature of the Hispanic American experience throughout the twentieth century. Looking through the lens of Hispanic Americans in Congress, class members explore...

High schoolers take a closer look at representative government. In this House of Representatives lesson plan, students discuss their local representative in Congress and research his or her responsibilities. High schoolers respond to the...

Andrew Johnson (1868) Bill Clinton (1998) and Donald Trump (2019) were impeached by the House of Representatives. To demonstrate their understanding of the impeachment process, individual create their own "Impeachment Explainer." Writers...

Although this legislative process lesson is designed to accompany a specific text, it is valuable independently. Young learners participate in a picture walk (worksheet included) through My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View...

The danger of mob mentality is on display in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Get your class thinking with some challenging quickwrite questions, then assign characters from the play to be read aloud altogether. Links to worksheets...

Students explore U.S. government by participating in a role playing activity. In this House of Representatives lesson, students discuss the first day of congress and the role the House plays in running the United States. Students define...

Learners visit Capital Hill to create photographic story boards that tell the story of the House of Representatives, Senate, and the history of Capital Hill. In the process, students must explain the legislative process, define roles of...

Seven steps are required for a bill to become a United States law. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) is used as a model for the process of how a bill becomes a law.  Class members work independently through a...

Introduce your class to ekphrastic poetry with an exercise that asks them to examine Edward Hooper's painting House by the Railroad and Edward Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House By the Railroad." After a close reading...