A lesson, one period, grade 7 and up
Cosponsors and coalitions
Who signs on to a bill, and when. What the record says about bills with support from both parties, and why it cannot say which came first: the support or the progress.
- Grades
- 7 and up
- Time
- About 45 minutes
Standards
D2.Civ.2 C3 Framework
- Grades 6-8
- Explain specific roles played by citizens (such as voters, jurors, taxpayers, members of the armed forces, petitioners, protesters, and office-holders).
- Grades 9-12
- Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans' participation over time, and alternative models from other countries, past and present.
D2.Civ.5 C3 Framework
- Grades 6-8
- Explain the origins, functions, and structure of government with reference to the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, and selected other systems of government.
- Grades 9-12
- Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
D2.Civ.10 C3 Framework
- Grades 6-8
- Explain the relevance of personal interests and perspectives, civic virtues, and democratic principles when people address issues and problems in government and civil society.
- Grades 9-12
- Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.
D3.1 C3 Framework
- Grades 6-8
- Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.
- Grades 9-12
- Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.
The C3 Framework and Common Core publish these by grade band, so each is shown at every band it has. Neither framework goes above grade 12.
Objectives
- Explain what a sponsor and a cosponsor are, and the difference between an original and a later cosponsor.
- Read a real cosponsor list and count its cosponsors by party and by date.
- Compare, using the record's own numbers, how bills with and without a cosponsor from the other party fared, and explain why that comparison is not proof of a cause.
- Describe how one bill's cross-party support grew, and match it against the steps on its record.
Words this lesson uses
Sponsor · Cosponsor · Markup · Reported out of committee · Passed a chamber · Public law
Defined on the student handout.
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