Who Can Influence Legislators?

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Overview

In this lesson students will examine the role of special interest groups, political parties, the media, and public opinion on the development of public policy and the political process.

 

Grade Levels

9 – 12

 

Objectives

Students will:

• identify four influences that affect how a Member of Congress decides to vote on a bill; and
• describe ways that individuals and groups influence legislators.

Estimated Time

2 days

 

Materials Needed

• E-Learning Module: How a Member Decides to Vote
• Internet connection with Macromedia FLASH ® enabled
• Projection device
• Paper and pencil

Procedure

Day 1

1. Use a projection device to project the How a Member Decides to Vote E-Learning Module. Complete the activity as a class.
2. Have students name everything that influenced them to vote for or against the bill during the activity.
3. Mention that some issues, by their nature, require immediate action (e.g., national security after a terrorist attack, bridge and road repair after a natural disaster, etc.).
4. Explain that other issues are acted on due to the attention called to them by various people trying to influence legislators to act on various agendas.
5. Tell students that special interest groups have issues that are of special interest to them. For example, the American Association of Retired People (AARP) may be interested in increasing prescription benefits available through Medicare. Discuss how special interest groups call attention to their causes.
6. Have students think about how public opinion polls influenced their opinion during the How a Member Decides to Vote Activity. Talk about how public opinion polls may influence legislators.
7. Discuss how legislators must balance the causes of special interest groups with the interests of the general public.
8. Ask students how the media influenced their opinion during the How a Member Decides to Vote Activity. Discuss the increasing role the media have had in promoting agendas.
9. Ask students to define the term political party. Make sure students understand that a political party is an organization that seeks to gain control of government by organizing citizens who share the same views and by running candidates for public office. Discuss how a legislator’s party affiliation may affect his or her personal opinion.

Day 2

1. Divide students into small groups or allow them to work individually.
2. Have students visit the U.S. Senate Web site and the U.S. House of Representatives Web site and find out what bills are currently before Congress — or have them visit the Web sites of their Member of Congress and Senators and find out which bills they are supporting. Ask each group or student to choose one proposed bill and determine which groups’ interests are served by the proposed bill and which groups are likely opposed to them.
3. Tell each group or individual to write a paper that does the following things: a) describes the proposed bill; b) discusses which groups’ interests are served by the bill and which groups oppose it; c) examines what the media are saying about the proposed bill; and d) explains how these groups are trying to influence legislators to support or not support the bill. If time permits, have student volunteers share their papers with the class.

Extension and Adaptation Activities

Individualizing the Curriculum

Encourage motivated students to participate in government as concerned citizens by writing to an elected official or candidate, talking to other citizens about issues, attending a town meeting or other public forum, or by some other means. Have them state how they felt about their interactions and what they learned about making their voice heard.

 

Assessment

Basic Concepts and Processes

Ask your students to respond to the following requests for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.

1. Name four influences that affect how a Member of Congress decides to vote on a bill.

2. Describe ways that individuals and groups influence legislators.

Scoring Guide for Group Paper

Elements	Possible Score	Assigned Score	Notes
Correct Spelling	10
Correct Grammar (sentence structure, punctuation)	10
Good beginning, middle, and end	10
Describes the proposed bill	10
Identifies at least one group whose interests are served by the bill.	15
Identifies at least one group that is likely to oppose the bill.	15
Explains how groups are trying to influence legislators to support or not support the bill.	30

 

Lesson Plan Feedback

If you have suggestions for improving this lesson plan, or if you have ideas for others using the module, please let us know. We value your input. Thank you!

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