Description
Students will be able to identify and place in order of power/position, the leadership of the House and Senate. Students will be able to describe the roles of the members of the leadership in the House and Senate. Students will be able to name the members of the leadership in the House and Senate, their positions and which parties hold the majority and minority presently.
Procedures
Materials:
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Projector or SmartBoard to stream videos
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Computers/smart devices for students to access websites for research
- Handout: Leadership Positions (Google Doc)
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Internet Sites Needed for Lesson:
STEP 1.
View the Bell Ringer below on House leadership elections and discuss the questions:
VIDEO CLIP: House Leadership Elections (3:00)
QUESTIONS:
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Where do these elections take place?
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Explain the process of nominating a person for the position.
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Explain the voting process.
- Describe the significance of the secret ballot.
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STEP 2.
Discuss the provided vocabulary terms with students, and explain the jobs each leader has in their position.
STEP 3.
Explain that at the start of each term of Congress, a caucus meeting is held to choose leadership positions.
STEP 4.
Explain that committee positions are also assigned. The committee chairs are members of the majority party in the respective house.
STEP 5.
Have students watch the following clips and access the House and Senate sites for both parties (linked above) to complete their worksheet.
History of Congressional Leadership Videos
VIDEO CLIP: Congressional Leadership (1:46)
VIDEO CLIP: Speaker of the House (0:38)
VIDEO CLIP: Election of Speaker and Leaders (0:43)
VIDEO CLIP: Terminology – Speaker of the House (0:27)
VIDEO CLIP: Senate Leadership (1:26)
VIDEO CLIP: Whip Position (0:31)
VIDEO CLIP: 2015 – Speaker of the House (Rep. Pelosi to Rep. Ryan) (2:06)
VIDEO CLIP: 2011 – Speaker of the House Gavel Change (Rep. Pelosi to Rep. Boehner) (2:06)
VIDEO CLIP: 2007 – Speaker of the House Gavel Change (Rep. Boehner to Rep. Pelosi) (1:56)
VIDEO CLIP: Vice President’s Role as President of the Senate (0:44)
VIDEO CLIP: Line of Succession/25 Amendment (0:28)
Additional Resource
- Handout: Leadership Positions
(Google Doc)
Vocabulary
- 25th Amendment
- Ballot
- Caucus Meetings
- Committee Chairs
- House Majority Leader
- House Majority Whip
- House Minority Leader
- House Minority Whip
- Leadership And Committee Positions
- Leadership Positions
- Line Of Succession
- Member-elect
- President Pro Tempore (senate)
- Secret Vote
- Senate Majority Leader
- Senate Majority Whip
- Senate Minority Leader
- Senate Minority Whip
- Speaker Of The House
- Swearing-in
- Term Of Congress
- Vice President