“of the People, by the People, for the People”
Democracy Unit: Comparing the United States Legislative Branch and the German Bundestag
Linda Sorenson Holmen Middle School District of Holmen U.S.U.S. ConstitutionConstitution vs.vs. Germany’sGermany’s BasicBasic LawLaw Table of Contents
Lessons Pages
Standards and Objectives……………………………………….4
Government/Democracy……………….………………………..5
Vocabulary………………………………………………………..7
Legislatures Structures………………………………………….11
Law-Making Process…………………………………………….13
Political Parties……………………………………………...……20 Democratic Government
Wisconsin Social Studies Standards addressed:
B.8.4 Explain how and why events may be interpreted differently depending upon the perspectives of participants, witnesses, reporters, and historians
B.8.5 Use historical evidence to determine and support a position about important political values, such as freedom, democracy, equality, or justice, and express the position coherently
B.8.6 Analyze important political values such as freedom, democracy, equality, and justice embodied in documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights
C.8.1 Identify and explain democracy's basic principles, including individual rights, responsibility for the common good, equal opportunity, equal protection of the laws, freedom of speech, justice, and majority rule with protection for minority rights
C.8.2 Identify, cite, and discuss important political documents, such as the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and landmark decisions of the Supreme Court, and explain their function in the American political system
C.8.3 Explain how laws are developed, how the purposes of government are established, and how the powers of government are acquired, maintained, justified, and sometimes abused
C.8.4 Describe and explain how the federal system separates the powers of federal, state, and local governments in the United States, and how legislative, executive, and judicial powers are balanced at the federal level
C.8.6 Explain the role of political parties and interest groups in American politics
Unit Objectives:
Students will be able to: Define democracy Understand how and why governments are created, maintained, and changed Compare and contrast the structure of the U.S. federal government and the government of Germany Evaluate the necessity of political parties and their functions Gain a global perspective of the diversity of democracies Government/Democracy
1 class period “What is democracy?” worksheet
The opening lesson is set up to capture the interest of the students about government. It is designed to find out what students know and value about government and democracy. The lesson should help student s gain an understanding of what a democratic government is, how it are formed, and why it is important.
1. Individually students will list reasons why government is important and what makes up a democracy. This will take about 5-10 minutes. 2. After completing the individual work, students need to work with a partner and prioritize their combined lists. The students are then to write their top 5 on separate post-its and stick them to a board. 3. Have several students organize the post-its into categories and disposing of duplicates. 4. Discuss with the class what government is and its importance. Using the post-its, have the class come up with a working definition of a democratic government.
WhatWhat isis democracy?democracy?
Why is government Define democracy important? Vocabulary: Define/Compare & Contrast/Apply
2-3 class periods “Legislative Branch Vocabulary” worksheet “Compare and Contrast Vocabulary” worksheet “Word Splash” worksheet
The purpose of these lessons is for students to gain a working knowledge of vocabulary dealing with the legislative branch of government. This lesson will also introduce German legislative vocabulary.
1. Students need to define the vocabulary in their own words using available resources— Social Studies book(s), dictionaries, internet (www.house.gov and www.bundestag.de). 2. Students will then place the vocabulary in the modified Venn diagram (C&C worksheet) to gain a better understanding of the vocabulary. 3. The Word Splash worksheet has the students use the vocabulary in sentences. This also introduces students to the workings of both legislatures. Legislative Branch Vocabulary
Vocabulary Define the terms in your Bill own words. Bundesrat Using the attached chart, Bundestag divide the vocabulary up Coalition into 3 groups—which words Conference committee go with the U.S. legislative Congress branch, the German Constituency legislative branch, and both House of Representatives branches. Lander Legislative Initiative Legislature Use your Social Studies Mediation committee book, the dictionary, and the Parliament following websites to help: Pigeon-hole www.house.gov (go to Kids Plenary sittings in the House or Educational Senate Resources) Speaker of the House www.bundestag.de (click Standing committees on the English translation) Veto Compare and Contrast Vocabulary Word Splash House of Representatives Bundestag
Write two sentences (using vocabulary words from above) about the House of Representatives:
Write two sentences (using vocabulary words from above) about the Bundestag:
Write two sentences (using vocabulary words from above) that discuss BOTH the House and the Bundestag:
Your sentences’ will be scored using this rubric: Exemplary Proficient Basic All of my sentences show that I Most of my sentences show that I I wrote six sentences, but they have learned new things about the have learned new things about the really don’t show that I’ve learned legislative branches of the U.S. and legislative branches of the U.S. and anything new about the legislative Germany. Germany. branches of the U.S. and Germany. Legislature Structure: Compare & Contrast 1-2 class periods Internet: www.house.gov and www.bundestag.de
This lesson brings to the students the differences between the American legislature structure and the German Parliament structure.
Students will visit the above websites in order to find the information to fill in the worksheet. When they enter the Bundestag website, students need to click on the English button unless they can read German.
This information is great for discussion of democratic governments and their likenesses and differences.
Compare and Contrast The House of Representatives and the Bundestag
Qualifications
Term of Office
Compensation
Number of states represented and number of members
Leadership
Role/Function/Job Description
Political Parties 4-6 class periods “Movie Review” worksheet “Federal Laws…” chart “How a Bill…” chart “Comparison/Contrast Essay” worksheet “Sample essay” worksheet Mr. Smith Goes to Washington video Legally Blonde 2 video Internet: www.house.gov and www.bundestag.de Plain white paper
These activities will give students the experience of understanding the process of making laws.
1. To start this process, students need to read through the “Movie Review” sheet. The teacher should give a short synopsis of each movie.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: The governor of an unnamed state, Hubert "Happy" Hopper, has to pick a replacement for the deceased Senator, Sam Foley. His corrupt political boss, Jim Taylor, pressures Hopper to choose his handpicked stooge, while popular committees want a reformer. The governor's children want him to select Jefferson Smith, the head of the Boy Rangers. Unable to make up his mind, Hopper decides to flip a coin. When it lands on its side – and next to a newspaper story on one of Smith's accomplishments – he chooses Smith, calculating that his wholesome image will please the people while his naiveté will make him easy to manipulate. (Start the movie where Smith gets to Washington and takes a tour. Continue through to where he gives his speech in the Senate.—about 25- 30 minutes.)
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde: Elle Woods wants Bruiser to reunite with his mother. Elle hires a detective to find Bruiser's mother, only to discover that the company that has her dog's mother is a cosmetics company that uses Bruiser's mother for cosmetic testing. She finds out that her law firm represents the C'est Magnifique Corporation, that also uses animals for testing. Elle argues that the animal testing is unjust, and as a result, she is fired from her law firm. Elle is so upset that her dog's mother is in a make-up testing laboratory, that she decides to take it upon herself to have a "voice for those who can't speak", and to outlaw animal testing. Elle decides to leave Boston and move to Washington, DC and work for Congresswoman Victoria Rudd. (Start the movie where Elle decides to write her own bill and tells Sydney about it. Play through to where she puts it into the hopper.—about 25-30 minutes.) 2. Have students visit the two websites to find the detailed accounts of how a bill becomes a law and also look at the charts. a. www.house.gov go to Educational Resources then How Our Laws are Made b. www.bundestag.de go to Function and Role then Adoption of Legislation c. Students then create 2 flowcharts, mapping out the steps of the law-making process in both countries. d. Students to answer the following questions (discussion or written) i. Why don’t both countries have the same process for making laws? ii. Which of the two processes best matches your definition of democracy? Why? iii. List at least 3 ways the processes are alike. iv. List at least 3 ways the processes are different. 3. Compare and Contrast essay a. Students will write an essay according to the worksheet directions. Movie Review Introduction: You are going to watch two movie excerpts about Hollywood’s ideas of how laws are made. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was made in 1939 and Legally Blonde 2 was made in 2003. Directions: Please read the following questions BEFORE the movie begins so you know what to look for. Answer the questions in complete sentences.
1. What bill does Mr. Smith want to pursue? What bill does Elle Wood want to pursue?
2. Ms. Saunders, Mr. Smith’s secretary, explains the process of writing a bill to Mr. Smith. Sydney Post, the Wellington doorman, explains the process to Elle. What are the steps according to Ms. Saunders? What are the steps according to Sydney Post?
3. What are at least 3 differences between 1939 and 2003 in the law making process according to the movies? What did Mr. Smith do differently from Elle Wood?
4. Why do you think there are differences in the law making process between these two movies?
A Comparison/Contrast Essay
This type of essay has four-parts –1) an introduction to topics, 2) a focus on similarities, 3) a focus on differences, and 4) a conclusion. Make sure the essay is arranged in a logical order. Students should be given both an opportunity to compose a rough draft and an opportunity to revise and edit before composing a clean and final copy.
Background knowledge needed: First, students should see an example essay on a different topic, and they should discuss the organization techniques used in the example (purposes of paragraphs, use of transition words, effectiveness of the introduction and conclusion). Second, students should be given time to plan their essay using their graphic organizer, and to discuss their organizer with others before writing a rough draft. Third, students should be given time to share and discuss their rough drafts meaningfully (peer edit) before they compose a finished essay.
A “map” for this type of essay: Paragraph 1: An introduction to the two topics being written about.
Paragraph 2 (or 3): A focus on the two topics’ most interesting similarities.
Paragraph 3 (or 2): A focus on the two topics’ most interesting differences.
Paragraph 4: A conclusion to the essay.
Comparing/Contrasting: During pre-write, students are to avoid the simple and obvious comparisons (one is a man, the other is a woman, etc) and to search for interesting similarities and differences. Often students will find comparable concepts that are “kind of similar, but kind of different,” and they should be encouraged to decide if it’s more similar or more different. A Sample Compare/Contrast Essay discuss this author’s techniques with a friend
Edison & Franklin
Today I am going to compare two great inventors from our past: Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin. You would be hard-pressed to find any elementary-aged student who didn’t recognize these two names, but in case you don’t, here is a fast introduction. Thomas Edison lived from 1847 to 1931; he is most famous for inventing the light bulb. Benjamin Franklin lived from 1706 to 1790, and he is credited with discovering electricity.
Both men were inventors, and both were born in the United States. As children, both Franklin and Edison had limited schooling, which didn’t seem to affect how smart they became later on. Both inventors are said to have self-taught themselves mostly through their love of reading. They are each credited with dozens of inventions that are still used today. Franklin and Edison were both interested in electricity, and I think they would have had a lot to talk about if they had ever met face-to-face.
They were different too though. They lived in very different times. While Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity, it was still such a new thing that he didn’t do much with it afterwards. Instead, he put his inventing energy into other cool things like swim-fins and bifocals and musical instruments. Edison was mostly about electricity all the time. His inventions and discoveries all required electrical currents: light bulbs, microphones, phonographs, fluoroscopes, etc. They had different religions too. Edison’s religious beliefs have been said to be that of the “Free Thinkers,” which means he believed science and logic should be taken into account when explaining religion. Franklin’s parents wanted him to be a very religious person, but when he discovered deism, he began to move away from organized religion.
I have tried to show you how Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin were similar and different in this essay. Oh, another difference! While Benjamin Franklin ended up on the hundred dollar bill, Edison never did, but he ended up with a lot more of those bills in his pocket!
Discuss: How could this writer’s introduction have shown more personality? Which paragraph seems more thought out? Paragraph #2 or paragraph #3? How could the ending been stronger? Where might transitions like these have helped this essay? like, similar to, also, unlike, similarly, in the same way, likewise, again, compared to, in contrast, in like manner, contrasted with, on the contrary, however, although, yet, even though, still, but, nevertheless, conversely, at the same time, regardless, despite, while, on the one hand Political Parties
1-2 class periods “Political Parties” worksheet “Political Party Chart” worksheet
In this lesson, students will gain an understanding of what political parties are, what they represent, and why they are important.
Students will need to visit the websites listed on the worksheets, to find the chart information and to answer the questions. Political Parties
United States of America
Republican Party http://www.gop.com/
Democratic Party http://www.democrats.org/
Germany Political parties in general: http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_parties.htm
Scroll down the above site to find specific information on each of the five political parties:
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU)
Free Democratic Party (FDP)
The Left Party Alliance 90/The Greens Political Party Chart Party Legislature 3 Major Platform Stands total #
1. If you had to join a political party, which one best suits you? Why—give at least 3 reasons. 2. List 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages in having only 2 major political parties. 3. List 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages in having more than 3 major political parties.