A lesson, one period, grade 7 and up
What a hearing is for
Most hearings are not tied to a bill. What it means when a bill does get one, who gets one more often, and who actually sits at the witness table, with a real hearing to sort.
- Grades
- 7 and up
- Time
- About 45 minutes
Standards
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
- Name the four kinds of committee hearing and tell a hearing on a bill from a hearing on a topic.
- Read a bill's committee record and find whether a hearing is listed, and on what date.
- Compare how often bills get a hearing by who sponsors and cosponsors them, and explain why a comparison is not a cause.
- Sort a real witness list by the kind of organization each witness speaks for, and ask who is missing.
Words this lesson uses
Subcommittee · Markup · Ordered to be reported · Reported out of committee · Cosponsor · Public law · Committee record
Defined on the student handout.
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