Special Interest Groups Of Michigan Simulation

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This lesson is most appropriate for High School classrooms.

Theme: What do lobbyists in Michigan do

MCF Benchmark: Identify benefits and challenges of diversity in American life.

Other benchmarks this lesson targets include: none

Materials needed:

  1. Internet Access
  2. Colored Markers or Pencils
  3. Construction or Unlined Paper
  4. If possible dress in formal clothing on the final day of simulation.
  5. If possible access to a copying machine.

Methodological procedure:

Day 1

1. ASSIGNING THE ROLES

  • The teacher will introduce the concept of special interest groups in the Michigan government, focusing on their role, function, and actions and their relationships with lobbyists. The teacher should also explain how the number of members in a group and the amount of money it has affects its influence. In order to better illustrate interest groups, it may be beneficial to provide students with an example of a recent success of a special interest group.
  • Divide class into groups of six and assign each student one of the following roles within their group (SEE THE "NOTES ON LESSON"):
    • State Representative
    • Special Interest Group
    • Expert/Lobbyist
  • "Letter to the editor" writer
  • "Letter to a state representative" writer
  • Flier/Pamphlet/Brochure writer
  • Historian to summarize the history, function, and recent actions of the assigned interest group
  • The teacher will then assign each of the various groups to represent one of the following state of Michigan special interest groups (Explain to the students that the 10 following groups are among the most influential/well-funded in the state of Michigan):
    • MI Chamber of Commerce
    • Right to Life of MI
    • MI Education Association
    • MI State Medical Society
    • MI Insurance Federation
    • MI Association of Realtors
    • MI Retailers Association
    • MI Farm Bureau
    • Small Business Association of MI
    • Michigan Pro-Choice Network
  • The students should take the rest of the class period to begin researching their assigned special interest group. Instruct the students to do the following:
  • Find out what their special interest group is all about. Who they represent, what are their goals, where their funding comes from, etc...(SEE LINK BELOW CONCERNING WEB SITE ADDRESSES)
  • Decide as a group on a bill proposal that would be advantageous for their special interest
    group.
  • If necessary, research should be continued at home.

DAY 2

2. CREATING THE PROPOSAL

  • Start class by reintroducing the goal of the simulation.
  • Inform students, "The six members of your group will begin to perform the following tasks:
  • The state representative and lobbyist will type up the bill proposal. The proposal must include a number and title, formal language("fancy talk"), and at least three sections detailing why this bill is needed, whom it will affect, and how it will be enforced.
  • The pamphlet author will create a pamphlet/flier/ brochure to be issued to each member of the class that explains what your bill is and why your proposed bill is advantageous towards the public good.
  • The "letter to the editor" author will create a letter to the editor of a local newspaper of at least four paragraphs. The letter should identify yourself as a member of your special interest group and explain the merits of the proposed bill.
  • The "letter to a state rep." author will create a letter to a state representative of at least four paragraphs. The letter should identify yourself as a member of your special interest group and explain the merits of your bill. This should not be a copy of the letter to the editor. Remember, you are writing to a different audience.
  • The historian will create a four paragraph summary of the history of your special interest group. The summary should include who and how many people the group represents and the types of issues of which they are proponents.
  • At the end of class, inform the students of the simulation to be held the next class period. The students should be reminded that quality of information and presentation are important.
  • Inform the class, "As a class you are acting as a congressional committee. You determine whether a bill moves on to be considered by Congress or whether it is dropped." Inform the students that congressional committees are made up of both Republican and Democratic legislators. Explain to some degree that although legislators have their own opinions, they are associated with larger political parties that have specific platforms on certain issues, like abortion. Then split the class between Democrats and Republicans. Inform them that although they are to vote according to presentation, they cannot vote completely out of character for their assigned party. Assign light research so that students will at least have a general idea of their party's platform on each subject. **You may want to take time in class to briefly go over some differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. Ask the students to bring in a brief summary of their research to ensure that voting students are knowledgeable about their assigned party.

DAY 3

3. THE SIMULATION

  • The groups should be given 5-7 minutes to regroup.
  • Act as the moderator. Each group will present their findings to the class. The class will act as a congressional committee and vote on the proposed bill following the presentation(SEE "NOTES ON LESSON"). The presentation and committee vote will be carried out as follows:
  • The writers of the letter to the editor and the letter to the state representative will hand in their work to the teacher.
  • The writer of the pamphlet/flier/brochure will hand a copy of his/her work to each student and to the teacher.
  • The author of the special interest group historical summary will stand up before the committee and briefly summarize the history and function of his/her special interest group.
  • The state representative will read aloud the proposed bill.
  • The committee will have 5-10 minutes to ask the state representative and lobbyist questions concerning the merits of the proposed bill.
  • Following the questioning, the proposed bill will be voted on. A simple majority vote will pass the bill out of committee.
  • Facilitate an informal class discussion following the presentations of all the groups on the following topics:
  • How are interest groups a positive part of our political system concerning the representation of a diverse state like Michigan?
  • What shortcomings and challenges are there concerning interest groups and their representation of all citizens in our state? In other words, who gets left out of the process?
  • Each student will then write an extended response essay answering the following questions: What is the function of special interest groups and why are they important in representing diversity in our state? Furthmore, what challenges and shortcomings are there with special interest groups concerning the representation of all citizens of our state? In other words, who gets left out?

Author's notes:

Notes for assigning the roles:

Prior knowledge necessary to conduct this lesson:

  • The role, function, and actions of special interest groups and their relationship with lobbyists.
  • The influence the number of members and money play in how influential a special interest group is.

Also be prepared to provide an example with a national interest group. Use this example throughout the lesson as prompts to answer questions and generate discussion.

Map out groups and roles for students prior to beginning this assignment. Be sure to combine lower and higher level students in groups.

It might be of interest to let students see an actual bill that has been passed so that they have a frame of reference from which to write they proposal. If you wish to incorporate a bill into the lesson, see the Michigan legislator website below.
Teacher is encouraged to assign the roles of lobbyist and state representative to outgoing students.

You may want to assign political party affiliations and the demographics of the represented districts to the committee members before the committee hearings. (This will add at least 2 days to the assignment.) If so, do so on the first day of the lesson. Students should be responsible to research party affiliation, which issues are particularly important to certain members constituencies, and what platform has previously been taken with regard to each groups' agenda.

I have also published a lesson on the different political parties.
See: Let's Party! Michigan's Political Parties.

Notes on the simulation:

The room should be set up before class begins. Organize the chairs in a horseshoe fashion so that they create an audience for the presenters.

Notes on the summation:

In facilitating the discussion be sure to use examples as prompts. Before the lesson get old clippings from news stories or research instances where interest groups really benefited the governmental process and ones where people suffered. Try to use examples that the students might be familiar with.

Another alternative would be to make up a situation in which the students' lives would be directly affected by the success or failure of a special interest group. For example, For a lesson that fits well with mine see the lesson created by Jane Wyckoff entitled, "Lobbying Power"!

Assessment strategies:

Assessment of student learning will take place during the informal discussion following the simulation and will be based on the content of the material presented during the simulation and the content of the extended response essays.

Available downloads:

  • Extended Response Rubric, (24 K)
    This rubric lays out the requirements and grading criteria for the extended essay portion of the assessment.
  • Special Interest Group Simulation Rubric, (23 K)
    This rubric lays out the requirements and grading criteria for the simulation portion of the assessment. Although there is a part of the rubric that addresses the group dynamics, each group member should be graded separately on his or her part. The content of the different parts of the assignment are the same, thus they have the same criteria in the rubric.
  • Movie, (24 K)
    This is a move that can be used to supplement this lesson. It can be viewed using RealMedia Player.

Suggested web sites:

  • Politics 1: Online Guide to Michigan Politics
  • Michigan Republicans
  • Michigan Chamber of Commerce
    This website provides a detailed description of the fuction and recent actions of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. This site is necessary for the simulation.
  • Michigan Right to Life
    This site provides detailed information concerning the function and progress of the Michigan Right to Life group. This site is necessary for the simulation.
  • Michigan Insurance Federation
    This site provides detailed information concerning the function and recent actions of this group. Use of the site is necessary for the completion of the simulation.
  • Michigan Association of Realtors
    This site provides detailed information concerning the function and recent actions of this group. This site is necessary for the simulation.
  • Michigan Retailers Association
    This site provides a detailed description of the function and recent actions of this group. This site is necessary for the simulation.
  • Michigan Farm Bureau
    This site provides detailed information concerning the function and recent actions of this group. The site is necessary to carry out this simulation.
  • Michigan Pro-Choice Network
    This website provides a detailed description concerning the function and recent actions of this group. This site is necessary to carry out this simulation.
  • Small Businees Association of Michigan
    This website provides a detailed desription of the function and recent actions of this group. The site is necessary to carry out the simulation.
  • Michigan State Medical Society
    This website provides a detailed description of the function and recent actions of this group. This site is necessary to carry out this simulation.
  • Michigan Education Association
    This site provides a detailed description of the function and recent actions of this group. This site is also necessary for the simulation.