Representation

Overview

This Fact of Congress explains who represents citizens in Congress and introduces the term legis­late. It also describes the difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Standards

Please select your state to view the corresponding standards:

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Key Terms

Legislate: To make new laws.

House of Representatives: One of the two houses of Congress. The number of Representatives from each state is determined by the state’s population.

Senate: One of the two houses of Congress. Every state has two Senators.

Discussion Questions

Check for Understanding

These questions are designed to assess students’ knowledge of concepts introduced in this Fact of Congress.

1. What does the term legislate mean?
2. What do legislators do?
3. Explain the difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Extending Concepts

These questions are designed to extend students’ understanding of concepts introduced in this Fact of Congress.

1. How many Senators does your state have? How many Representatives does your state have? (Note: At this point, you may wish to tell students that Congress consists of 435 Representatives of the people, 100 Senators from 50 states, and 5 delegates from the territories of the United States.)
2. How do legislators stay informed about the needs and concerns of their constituents?

Suggested Activities

You may want to complete one or more of the activities below after your students have watched Fact of Congress: Representation.

Grades 4 – 8

Who is Representing You?

Have students identify the congressional representatives of their district. Ask students to visit the House of Representatives and Senate Web sites and find information about their legislators. Then have students create a biography for each legislator. Each biography should contain information about that legislator’s background as well as information about his or her work in Congress.

 

The Difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate

Ask students to use presentation software to create a presentation about the similarities and dif­ferences between the House and Senate. The presentation should contain information about terms, qualifications of membership, and committee organization of each house.

 

Grades 9 – 12

Representative Democracy in Action

Make sure students have a clear understanding of representative and direct democracies. Students should understand that in a representative democracy like the United States, people choose a small number of people to represent their interests and negotiate differences on their behalf. In a direct democracy all members in society have equal say and influence in the decision-making process. As a class, create a chart that shows the similarities and differences between the two forms of govern­ment. Students should know that the United States is a representative democracy. Have them read the local newspaper or go online and read the news. Ask students to find examples of representa­tive democracy in action.

Advantages of Representative Democracy

Review the term representative democracy with students. Then ask them to research countries that have other types of governments. Compare the types of government and talk about the advan­tages of representative democracy.

 

Lesson Plan Feedback

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