In this Learning Adventure, we’ll examine what parts of the Constitution give the branches of the Federal Government their specific powers. Those three parts are Article I, Article II, and Article III.

In this Learning Adventure, we’ll discover who made the Branches of Government and why they’re so important.

Learn about what a law is, who makes the laws, and how laws are made.

Learn about the language of the law and discover how laws are made.

How is a law actually made? What’s the whole process like? That depends, of course, on what type of law we're talking about. For this example, we'll look at a simple example of how a bill introduced in the House of Representatives becomes a public law.

Students will learn about the structure, function, and powers of the legislative branch of government. They will explore the legislative process, as well as the influence of citizens and political parties.

Who makes the laws? In this one-minute video, students learn about the legislative branch. A host describes the structure and functions of Congress, and students consider the significance of a two-chamber system.

In this social studies activity, students will review their understanding of the legislative branch of government using Nearpod's interactive quiz game, Time to Climb.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and Rep. Pete Sessions (R., Texas) explain the complex process of turning a bill into federal law in discussions with high school students.

What provisions in the U.S. Constitution are relevant to the debate over the Sedition Act? For this lesson, students will read brief excerpts from actual debates in the House of Representatives as the legislators attempted to work with the version of the bill "Punishment of Crime" (later known as the Sedition Act) already passed by the Senate.

When the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention convened in May of 1787 to recommend amendments to the Articles of Confederation, one of the first issues they addressed was the plan for representation in Congress. This lesson will focus on the various plans for representation debated during the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

How was the role of "President" defined in the Articles of Confederation? What were the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation regarding the role of the President?

As the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 continued to develop a plan of government that would remedy the defects of the Articles of Confederation, one of the most difficult challenges was creating the office of the presidency. This lesson will focus on the arguments over the various characteristics and powers of the office of president as debated during the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

How does Congress gather information, and how does it use that information to create legislation? How can this research impact the lives of Americans in both the short and long term? How can a bill that has been deemed unconstitutional still inform future legislation?

What role did Congress play in the development of the national interstate system? What evidence did President Dwight Eisenhower cite to justify Congressional funding for the National System of Interstate Highways? How did the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act fulfill Congress' mission "to provide for...general Welfare" (Article 1, Section 8, Constitution of the United States)?

The process of how a bill becomes a federal law is more than a series of linked steps. It is the fundamental way people in a democracy get involved and work through their elected officials to meet needs and solve problems for the benefit of themselves and other Americans. Through this lesson, students will learn about the dynamic interconnections of people, principles, and process that are involved in making federal laws.
The estimated time for this lesson plan is four class periods.

This documentary tells the story of a tiny school in Yosemite National Park that tries to solve its funding problem by getting a bill passed in Congress and, in the process, learns many lessons about how federal laws are made.

20 minute video explaining the process creating a law--small one room schoolhouse in Yosemite trying to get federal funding--more in depth than ÒIÕm Just a BillÓ Schoolhouse Rock

This activity is designed to accompany the contextual essay “Onto the National Stage: Congresswomen in an Age of National Crisis, 1935–1954,” from the Women in Congress website, history.house.gov/exhibition -and publications/wic/women-in-congress/. Students have the opportunity to learn more about the women who served in Congress from 1935 to 1954. Students are encouraged to analyze the role women Representatives and Senators played in Congress during this era, as well as the ways in which they may have changed the institution.