Chapter 7 Classroom Activities

1. Divide the students into groups. Present each group with a list of bills with brief explanations. Have them decide as a group what category each bill falls into (local, general, special). What calendar should they go on? What committee should it be assigned to? [LO 7.1]

2. Divide the students in groups and present each group with the biography of a legislator, along with their voting record. Have the students decide as a group what the strategy of the legislator should be in terms of position taking and credit claiming. How does the location of their home district play into this decision-making? How does their party affect decision making? [LO 7.1] [Use Student Handout #1]

3. Divide the students into groups. Have each group design a new structure to the Texas legislature. How many members should there be? How often should they meet and for how long? What should the compensation be? [LO 7.2] [Use Student Handout #2]

4. Divide the students into two groups, and label one group the House and the other the Senate. Present the class with an issue and instruct each group to develop a bill to address that issue. What is the process that must be followed to create and pass the bill? When the bills are created do they need to go to a conference committee? [LO 7.4]

5. Divide the students into two groups. Make one group the Democrats and one the Republicans. Present a series of issues. Have the groups decide (based on their party) would they seek to speed up or slow down the process in relation to those bills. What strategy would they use to speed up/slow down? [LO 7.5]