Mr. Kunstel’s Government & Econ Class
Congress WebQuest

The Task

  Through this WebQuest you will be able to do the following:

- Explain the role of each of the Three Branches of Government
- Identify some Important Members of the Federal Government
- Identify your local and state Members of Congress
- Explain the process of How a Bill Becomes a Law
- Simulate the Law-Making Process in the classroom in a Persuasive CIM Speech

You will be expected to be informed on the issues, policies, and procedures that affect the law-making process. Before we begin our Classroom Congress simulation, I want you to build upon your background knowledge by completing the following WebQuest steps.

The Process

All of the underlined items below are links to resources or other pages that you will need to use to complete this WebQuest. Please read each of the following steps thoroughly. You must complete all 13 steps of the WebQuest below to receive full credit.

Step 1: Print the WebQuest worksheet OR use the one provided by the teacher.

Step 2: Now go to Ben's Guide to Branches of Government web page to identify and explain the Three Branches of the Federal Government.

Step 3: Use the the same web page, Ben's Guide to Branches of Government, to find out how many Senators and Representatives are currently serving in the United States Congress.

Step 4: Go to the White House web site to find the names of some of the important members of the President's Cabinet.

Step 5: Link to the Supreme Court web site to find out the names of the current members of the United States Supreme Court. Put an * next to the name of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Here's another site with additional information called factmonster.com.

Step 6: Do you know the names of your local and state members of Congress? Now is your chance to find out who they are. Link to a site called Congressmerge to find out your Congressional District and the names of your local and state members of Congress. All you have to do is enter your address and zip code at Congressmerge.com to obtain a list.

Step 7: Now that you have identified some of the important members of our government, your goal now is to gain an understanding of our Law-Making Process. Search through the following links and make note of the Law-Making Process.

When you are finished searching, get a clean sheet of paper (or use the back side of the webquest worksheet) and draw a diagram of How a Bill Becomes a Law. Use Ben's Guide to U.S. Government.

Step 8: Now it is time for you and your fellow Congressmen and Congresswomen to get to work making laws, but first, you must complete your own research on two different bills. You will need a separate piece of paper to record information on each bill.

Your groups (in both the Senate and the House Of Representatives) will debate an actual bill being introduced into the 110th Congress. If you are a member of the House of Representives group, your first bill is called HR 6001 Main Street USA Energy Security Act. If you are a member of the Senate group, your bill is called the Consumer-First Energy Act, S. 2991. You can find a summary of these bills at http://congress.org or at http://thomas.loc.gov (Back in the classroom, your group will debate the pros and cons of this bill in a mock Congressional debate; your arguments will be presented in a persuasive CIM Speech.)

Use a separate piece of paper to record your arguments in favor or against one of these bills. Be sure to include the title and the number of the bill along with a detailed summary of the bill at the top of the page.

Step 9: Now that you have finished Step 8, do the same for Step 9, but this time find a different bill of your choice. You will need to complete a search for a bill currently pending in Congress that interests you. Use another paper to record your arguments in favor or against this bill. Again, be sure to include the title and the number of the bill along with a detailed summary of the bill at the top of the page. Use http://senate.gov or http://congress.org or http://thomas.loc.gov again to assist you in learning about the bill.

Step 10: (Leaders Only) Congratulations! With your research completed it's time to begin the real legislative process. If you are the leader of the House or Senate your task will be to form a Bill Selection Committee. Choose two other students to join you on this committee who will need to collect all of the bills from everyone in your chamber and determine which ones you will debate in class. The Port Security Act or FREEDOM Act should be one of the bills up for debate. Your Bill Selection Committee will choose the top three or four bills that have the best chance of being passed by both houses of the classroom Congress.

Step 11: Now it's time to submit your proposed bill to the Bill Selection Committee. Give both of your proposed bills to your leader so that members of the Bill Selection Committee will decide which bill your group will attempt to have passed into law. The leader's responsibility will be to choose which students will speak in favor or against a bill.

Step 12: Once the Bill Selection Committee has chosen their top 3-4 bills, they will then assign each student a time to speak in support or against a particular bill. All students will need to prepare a persuasive speech on one of the bills as determined by your group Leader and the Bill Selection Committee. See your Bill Selection Committee members to find out what your speech topic will be!

After debate on each of the bills, a vote will be taken in each chamber (group). If the vote is yes, the bill goes to the other branch of Congress. If the vote is no, the bill has been killed and that group must start the process over again. The approved bills will then travel to the other branch of Congress where it will again be voted upon. If and when both branches of Congress approve the bill, it will then go to the President who will sign the bill making it a new classroom law. If a bill is not approved by both branches of Congress, it is dead and will not go to the President.

Step 13: Research and discover what would happen if the President of the United States vetoes the bill and decides not to sign it. Is the bill dead? What can Congress do? What other scenarios might occur? Write your response in two-to-three paragraphs on the back of your Webquest Worksheet or a separate paper. Go to the research page on the CHS Media Web site and include the exact URLs that you use in your search.

Evaluation

Your grade for this WebQuest will be determined as follows:

Congress WebQuest Steps 1-13 & Bill Diagram - 10 points

Port Security Act OR FREEDOM Act (summary & pros/cons) 5 points

Additional bill (summary & pros/cons) 5 points

Persuasive CIM Speech - Graduation Requirement - 20 pts

If you have comments or suggestions on how to make this a better WebQuest, email the instructor at kunsteld@nclack.k12.or.us