1. Mrs. Vajgrt’s 9th Grade History Class

2. 
Students will be able to understand and
explain the formation of a bill through the
Simulation game, How a Bill becomes Law,
and decide whether a bill is Constitutional
based on their prior knowledge of the
Constitution.

3. 
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Ben Voki’s call to action!
Discussion of lesson objective.
Presentation on how a bill becomes law.
Fill out flow chart.
Role play-How a bill becomes law.
Exit slip.
Podcast Homework assignment.

4. 
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Students share their podcast creations with
their peers.
Students write the final version of the bill.
Debrief of the role play activity.
http://threesevendesigns.com/2012/
06/info-graphiclandscape/

5. 

Any ideas for a proposed piece of legislation
can come from any citizen of the United States.
However, ONLY members of Congress can
introduce a bill.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/01/1242925
/-Dear-GOP-here-s-how-you-change-a-law#

6. 
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The House
-All bills, including spending bills can be
introduced in the House.
Committee Work
-Bills are assigned to a committee.
-Hearings are held to inform members.
-Bills are “marked up” or amended and then
passed to the floor or dropped.

7. 
Floor Action
-House members debate the bill.
-Time for debate is limited.
http://www.house.gov/
*Once the Bill goes through either chamber, it
must go through the other and follow the same
procedure. Any differences between the House
and Senate will be addressed Conference
Committee.

8. 

The Senate
-Any Bills except spending bills can be
introduced in the Senate.
Committee Work
-Bills are assigned to a committee
-Hearings are held to inform members
- Bills are “marked up” or amended and
then passed to the floor or dropped

9. 
Floor Action
-Senate members debate the bill.
-Time for debate is not restricted.
-Senators can filibuster to stall passage.
-Filibusters can be stopped with a
cloture vote of 2/3rds or 60 votes.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/fl
oor_activity/floor_activity.htm

10. 
Once a bill passes both houses of Congress, it
goes before a Conference Committee to
reconcile any differences. If necessary, another
vote is taken in both chambers.
http://legisource.net/2013/04/18/conference-committees-navigatingthe-final-step-to-passage-of-your-bill-2/

11. 
The bill is sent to the President for signature to
become law or vetoed. If the bill is vetoed, it
goes back to Congress which can either accept
the veto and make changes or try to override it
with a 2/3rds majority of both Chambers.
http://illinois.edu/bl
og/view/25/53638?d
isplayType=month&d
isplayMonth=201106

12. 
Now it is your turn to play the roles of
Congress and decide as group whether or not
to pass the new piece of legislation discussed
by Ben Voki!

13. 
The House
-You will receive the proposed bill handed out
by me (Mrs. Vajgrt) and break into committee
where you will take notes and discuss the bill.
-You will then you will go into Floor Action
where you will debate the bill and decide if it is
constitutional and make corrections.
-Finally you will send your version to the
Senate.

14. 
The Senate
-You will receive the proposed bill handed out
by me (Mrs. Vajgrt) and break into committee
where you will take notes and discuss the bill.
-You will then you will go into Floor Action
where you will debate the bill and decide if it is
constitutional and make corrections.
-Finally you will send your version to the
House.

15. 
Committee Conferences
-Here you will get together as large group and
write a final proposal to send to the President
(Mrs. Vajgrt).

16. 
Why is it important to understand how a bill
becomes law?