Week of 3/8

This week's plans:

3/8 (Monday)--"Clean Up" Day. Today is set aside as a "clean up" day for making up tests, retaking tests, completing outstanding assignments, etc. If you are not making up or retaking an exam, you may use the class period to work on completing your Final Position Statement for the Senate Debate simulation. Final Position Papers are due tomorrow!! Please review the sample Final Position Paper posted in the Senate Debate Simulation folder on Docushare if you are unsure about the requirements that should be included.

Reading Assignment: Read Chapter 6, sections 1 and 2, and Chapter 7, section 1 by Wednesday.

3/9 (Tuesday)--Congressional Reapportionment and Gerrymandering. This week most of your families will be receiving a census form in the mail. Did you know that one of the major purposes behind the census is to determine representation of each state in the House of Representatives? As we have previously learned, representation in the House is "proportional"--states with larger populations receive more seats than states with smaller populations. Because populations change over time, a census is conducted once each ten years to determine how many people live in each state. Seats in the House are then awarded according to a formula that we will study. Will Montana earn a second seat in the House? The census will help determine this, so PLEASE make sure your family completes and returns the census form!!

We will also discuss gerrymandering--the term used to describe the drawing of boundary lines for congressional districts that favor a particular group. We will look at how and why this is done, what limits apply to the practice, and consider how the problem might be dealt with.

3/10 (Wednesday)--Dynamic Legislative Process. Today we will go to the SSRC to complete an online interactive activity regarding the legislative (law-making) process. Your Essentials Packet outlines the steps by which laws are made, and we have simulated part of this process through last week's Senate Debate simulation. As today's lesson will show, the "real" legislative process is a bit more complicated, and not quite as "neat and tidy" as your book may suggest!

3/11 (Thursday)--Legislative Powers of Congress. Today we will take a closer look at specific legislative powers of Congress, including the expressed powers in Article I, section 8 and the implied powers under the Elastic Clause. You will learn about the very unique and important place of the "commerce clause" as a foundation for Congressional lawmaking.

3/12 (Friday)--Non-legislative Powers of Congress. Most people think of Congress as a body that makes laws. This is an accurate, but incomplete picture. Congress also fulfills many other important roles in governing our country that do not involve making laws. Today, we will learn about some of the more important non-legislative roles Congress performs, including investigations, oversight, and confirmation of treaties and appointments by the executive branch.

Next week, we will shift our focus from the legislative branch to the executive branch.

Have a great week!