A lesson, one period, grade 7 and up
The floor: how a bill gets a vote
Getting out of committee does not put a bill on the floor. The roads a bill takes to pass a chamber, who controls each one, and why most bills that pass never have a close vote.
- Grades
- 7 and up
- Time
- About 45 minutes
Standards
D2.Civ.3 C3 Framework
- Grades 6-8
- Examine the origins, purposes, and impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements.
- Grades 9-12
- Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order.
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.12 C3 Framework
- Grades 6-8
- Assess specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) as means of addressing public problems.
- Grades 9-12
- Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
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
- Describe the main ways a bill passes the House (suspension, a special rule, unanimous consent) and the Senate (unanimous consent), and who controls each.
- Explain why most bills that pass a chamber pass with broad agreement, using the record's own numbers.
- Trace a real bill through the steps on its record from committee to passage.
- Explain what one Senator's objection can do, and why the leaders check first.
Words this lesson uses
Reported out of committee · Voice vote · Public law · Cosponsor · Chamber
Defined on the student handout.
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