Lesson Plans for High School Civics, Government and U.S ...

FUNDAMENTALS OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Lesson Plans for High School Civics, Government and U.S. History Classes

Fundamentals of Representative Democracy

Lesson Plans for High School Civics, Government and U.S. History Classes

By Alan Rosenthal

These lessons about the fundamentals of representative democracy are designed mainly for civics and American government courses taught at the high-school level. They also can be used in American history courses. The lessons relate to core themes that lie at the very center of American government and politics, and practically every lesson needs to be built on it. They are adapted to state standards for civics and government.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Educating for Democracy Act approved by the U.S. Congress

July 2009

Center for Civic Education

National Conference of State Legislatures 7700 East First Place

Denver, Colorado 80230 (303) 364-7700

trust Printed on recycled paper. ? 2009 by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Permission granted to reproduce materials needed for classroom use of the lesson plans. ISBN 1-978-58024-559-3

Contents

Acknowledgments..................................................................................................iv Introduction...........................................................................................................1 Appreciating Democracy.........................................................................................3 How Lawmakers Decide.......................................................................................25 What Makes Lawmakers Tick?..............................................................................49

Fundamentals of Representative Democracy

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Acknowledgments

This publication is product of the Alliance for Representative Democracy, a partnership of the National Conference of State Legislatures' Trust for Representative Democracy, the Center for Civic Education and the Center on Congress at Indiana University. Appreciation is given to Greer Burroughs, adjunct professor of education at Seton Hall University, for her contributions to the Appreciating Democracy lessons, and to the Dirksen Congressional Center in Illinois for cosponsoring the first lesson.

Alan Rosenthal, who designed these lessons, is professor of public policy and political science at Rutgers University. He is a long-time student of state legislatures and state politics. His most recent books are Heavy Lifting: The Job of the American Legislature (2004) and Engines of Democracy: Politics and Policymaking in State Legislatures (2009).

The lessons reflect the research and writing of four political scientists who are students of Congress, state legislatures and public opinion. The work of John Hibbing, University of Nebraska; Burdett Loomis, University of Kansas; Karl Kurtz, National Conference of State Legislatures; and Alan Rosenthal is contained in a book designed mainly for introduction American government courses at the college level: Republic on Trial: The Case for Representative Democracy (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2003).

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Fundamentals of Representative Democracy

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