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Civics, Economics, and Geography
Worksheet Answer Key
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Table of Contents
CHAPTER-LEVEL ACTIVITIES:
What Do You Know? Concept Web......................................... 2
Vocabulary Builder Activity................................................... 2
Hands-On Chapter Project: How a Bill Becomes a Law ............. 3
LESSON-LEVEL ACTIVITIES:
Guided Reading: Lesson 1 Structure of Congress..................... 3
Guided Reading: Lesson 2 Powers of Congress........................ 4
Guided Reading: Lesson 3 How Congress Works...................... 5
Guided Reading: Lesson 4 How a Bill Becomes a Law ............... 5
Lesson Activity Handout:
Congress Makes Headlines ............................................. 6
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THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
CHAPTER WORKSHEETS
What Do You Know? Concept Web
Structure—Two Houses:
House of Representatives; each state's population; 25; 7
Senate; the same for all states--two; 30; 9
Main Responsibility: to pass laws
Bills can begin in either house.
If a majority in both houses votes for a bill, it goes to the president.
If the president signs the bill, it becomes a law.
If the president vetoes, or rejects the law, it goes back to both houses for a re-vote.
If two-thirds of both houses vote for a bill, it becomes law.
Vocabulary Builder Activity
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A. Content Vocabulary
1. c
2. g
3. i
4. m
5. l
6. a
7. j
8. e
9. f
10. k
11. b
12. n
13. d
14. h
15. q
16. o
17. p
B. Academic Vocabulary
1. Sentences should reflect an understanding of the vocabulary word occur.
2. Sentences should reflect an understanding of the vocabulary word adjust.
3. Sentences should reflect an understanding of the vocabulary word regulate.
4. Sentences should reflect an understanding of the vocabulary word draft.
5. Sentences should reflect an understanding of the vocabulary word estimate.
6. Sentences should reflect an understanding of the vocabulary word submit.
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THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
C. Combined Vocabulary Reinforcement
Senate, House of Representatives, joint resolution; drafted; special-interest group;
lobbyists; regulate; rider; veto; adjust, joint resolution
Hands-On Chapter Project
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Worksheet 1: Planning a Bill
1-6. Groups’ answers will vary.
Worksheet 2: Committee Review of the Bill
1-5. Groups’ answers will vary.
Worksheet 3: Assessment Rubric
Students’ self-assessment will be based on their opinions about their performance
during the project.
LESSON WORKSHEETS
Guided Reading: Lesson 1 Structure of Congress
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The Two Houses of Congress
1. Terms: Congressional terms last two years; begin on January 3 of odd-numbered
years; identified by a number and divided into two sessions.
Sessions: Congress meets in two regular sessions; special session and joint
sessions may be called.
2. Notes may include:
-435 voting members
-number of representatives per state is based on state’s population
-two-year terms
-census counts adjust the number of representatives per state every 10 years
-each state gets at least one representative
-state legislatures draw district boundaries; districts include roughly the same
number of constituents
-districts are sometimes determined by gerrymandering
3. number of members (Senate has 100, two from each state); who they represent
(the entire state, rather than one district); term length (six years)
4. Duties of the House Speaker include:
guiding legislation
leading floor debate
Vice president is president of the Senate
Duties include:
presiding over the Senate
voting to break a tie
President pro tempore:
serves as: chairperson of the Senate
usually the most senior member of majority party
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THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Duties of majority & minority floor leaders include:
speak for their party on issues; move bills along; try to sway voters
Duties of party whips include:
making sure legislators are present for key votes
The Committee System
5. It makes the workload easier to handle.
6. standing: These are permanent committees.
select: These committees are formed to handle special issues and meet for a
limited time.
joint committees: These committees include members from both houses of
Congress.
7. Often (but not always) the best committee assignments are made on the basis of
seniority. Committee appointments may also be based on loyalty, experience,
and interests.
Guided Reading: Lesson 2 Powers of Congress
Legislative Powers
1. Graphic organizer answers are underlined:
Legislative Powers
Implied Powers
• Also called enumerated powers
• Powers clearly listed in 18 clauses
in Article 1, Section 8
• Examples include power to coin
money
• Powers given, but not clearly listed in
Article 1, Section 8
• The elastic clause gives Congress the
power to do what is “necessary and
proper”
• Examples include power to hire Defense Department workers
Other Powers and Limits
2. Answers for sentences in the graphic organizer are underlined.
A majority of the House accuses federal official of misconduct in office.
The Senate holds a trial of the official, acting as a jury.
The Senate determines guilt by a two-thirds vote.
If convicted, the official is removed from office.
3. Congress may not pass laws that…
restrict freedom of religion; restrict freedom of speech; favor one state over another; tax interstate commerce; tax exports; block the writ of habeas corpus; punish a person without a trial; interfere with powers of the states; pass ex post facto
laws.
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Expressed Powers
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THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Guided Reading: Lesson 3 How Congress Works
Qualifications and Staffing
1. Senate: 30 years old, 9 years; must live in state they plan to represent
House: 25 years old, 7 years; must live in state they plan to represent
2. Each member is paid $174,000 annually; free office space, parking, trips to
home state; franking, or free postage on job-related mailings; low-cost life and
health insurance; use of gym, special restaurants, medical clinic
3. Personal Staffers: manage offices, gather information on new bills and issues,
handle voter requests, interact with reporters and lobbyists, work on reelection
campaigns
Interns and Pages: interns help with research and office duties; pages run
errands and deliver messages
Committee Support Staff: draft bills, gather information, organize committee
hearings, negotiate with lobbyists
Library of Congress: collects and organizes information; offers library services
to Congress
Government Accountability Office: reviews financial information, reviews federal spending, studies federal programs, makes suggestions on how to improve
spending
Congressional Budget Office: provides information needed to create government budget, estimates costs and effects of programs, helps Congress come up
with a budget
Guided Reading: Lesson 4 How a Bill Becomes a Law
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Congress at Work
4. A bill is a draft of a proposed law that is presented to the House and Senate.
5. Many constituents request help in dealing with the government. Doing casework
helps lawmakers increase their public support and thus get reelected. It helps
lawmakers see firsthand how government programs such as veterans' benefits
are working.
6. Members of Congress try to win a fair share of federal funds for their districts.
Federal funds from public works bills, grants, and other sources bring money and
jobs, improving the local or state economy.
Types of Bills
1. Bills generally fall into two categories: private and public. Private bills concern
individual people or places. Public bills concern national issues.
Most resolutions express lawmakers’ decisions or opinions. They do not have
the force of law. A joint resolution, which is passed by both houses of Congress,
however, becomes law if signed by the president.
From Bill to Law
2. after the bill is introduced by a senator or representative
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THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
3. Pass; passage; new bill; Pigeonhole; majority vote
4. Chart answers:
Feature of Debate
House
Senate
Amendments allowed?
Yes
Yes
Riders—amendments unrelated to bill—allowed?
Limits to debate time?
No
Yes
Usually
No
Filibusters and cloture
votes allowed?
No
Yes
5. President with bill may…sign the bill into law, veto it, or do nothing for 10 days.
If the president does nothing and Congress is in session, the bill becomes law.
If the president does nothing and Congress is adjourned, the bill dies.
Lesson Activity Handout:
Congress Makes Headlines
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1. check on executive branch; The president nominates ambassadors to foreign
countries, but Congress must approve them.
2. check on executive branch; Congress can override a presidential veto by a 2/3
vote of each house.
3. check on judicial branch; The Supreme Court can declare a law challenged in a
court case unconstitutional. If Congress wishes to change that, they must pass an
amendment to the Constitution.
4. check on judicial branch; In this case, because a federal judge is the official being
impeached, the check is on the judicial branch. The House has the power to impeach. The Senate holds a trial of the accused official, and can vote to remove
him or her from office by a two-thirds majority.
5. Neither; The president, a member of the executive branch, is demonstrating a
check on Congress.
6. check on executive branch; The president nominates justices to the Supreme
Court, but Congress must approve them.
7. neither; Congress has expressed power to run the capital district.
8. neither; Congress attempts to check itself by revising previous legislation.
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