What Does a State Legislator Do?

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This lesson is most appropriate for High School classrooms.

Theme: What do state legislators do

MCF Benchmark: Evaluate how effectively the federal government is serving the purposes for which it was created.

Other benchmarks this lesson targets include: none

Materials needed:

  • A Citizen's Guide to State Government (see link below)
  • Copies of the Michigan Constitution (see link below)
  • Handout A—Structure of The Michigan Legislature (printable version attached—see supplementary files below)
  • Handout B—Summary of a Legislator's Responsibilities (printable version attached—see supplementary files below)
  • Handout C—Summary of Preamble, Functions of Govt. and Purpose of Rules and Laws (printable version attached—see supplementary files below)
  • Rubrics for the two assessment activities (printable versions attached, see supplementary files below)

Methodological procedure:

1. STRUCTURE OF THE MICHIGAN LEGISLATURE

  • The students work in pairs to complete Handout A —Structure of the Michigan Legislature. Although this activity is an online scavenger hunt, the teacher may also want to go over the information. This should not take longer than 25 minutes.
  • Below are summaries of the structure, qualifications, and compensation for use by the instructor:

Structure:

  • The Senate consists of 38 members who are elected by the qualified electors of districts having approximately 212,400 to 263,500 residents. Senators are elected at the same election as the Governor for four-year terms concurrent with the Governor's term of office.
  • The House of Representatives consists of 110 members who are elected by the qualified electors of districts having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents. House members are elected in even-numbered years for two-year terms. All legislators are elected from single-member districts, that is, only one legislator is elected from each district.
  • A law was passed in 1992 enacting term limits. Effective in 1998, House members are limited to three terms (six years), and effective in 2002, Senators are limited to two terms (eight years).

Qualifications:

  • Be a citizen of the United States, at least 21 years of age, and an elector of the district they represent.
  • Not have been convicted of subversion or, within the past 20 years, have been convicted of a felony involving the breach of the public trust.
  • Not hold any office, employment, or position under the United States, the State of Michigan, or any political subdivision thereof. A person may, however, be a notary public or a member of the armed forces reserve. This constitutional provision allows people holding office or positions to run for the Legislature, but since dual
    office-holding is prohibited, a legislator-elect must resign the prior office or public employment as a condition of taking a seat in the Legislature.

Compensation:

  • 2001 salaries for Members of the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives are $77,400.
  • 2002 salaries for Members of the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives will increase to $79,000.

2. WHAT DO LEGISLATORS DO?

This part of the lesson should take approximately 20-35 minutes.

  • Ask students who are employed to briefly write down their job responsibilities. Ask several students to share their job descriptions aloud and record their responses on the board or overhead.
  • Explain the responsibility of a legislator.
  • Through the use of examples, review the responsibilities of a legislator. If you want a visual illustration for the students, for each responsibility, place a hat (one on top of the other) on the head of a student volunteer.
  • Ask students to look at their job descriptions and at the responsibilities of a legislator. Record any common threads between the students' job descriptions and the responsibilities of a legislator on the board. When students are finished, circle those that can be tied to what a legislator does, i.e., customer service=serving constituents.
  • Distribute the Special Commission on Legislative Compensation's list of responsibilities to each student (Handout B) The students should work in pairs to complete the worksheet. This activity should take 10 minutes. The answer key can be found in author's notes.
  • Go over the worksheet and make sure that the students understand the roles of legislators.

3. LETTER TO YOUR LEGISLATOR

  • The students will view a video clip of Paul Hillegonds and Lynn Jondahl discussing how constituents should approach their legislators.
  • Instruct students to individually generate a question or a concern to ask or share with a state legislator. (IMPORTANT NOTE TO INSTRUCTORS: see Notes on Lesson section below for important information).
  • Review with students the letter-writing suggestions from A Citizen's Guide to State Government (see link below). Following the guidelines, students will individually compose a letter to a state legislator incorporating their question/concern.
    (Rubric attached—see supplementary files below)

4. LEGISLATOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES IN AN EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT.

This activity should take about 20 minutes, or less, depending on the number of groups.

  • Briefly review the Summary of Preamble, Functions of Govt. and Purpose of Rules and Laws (Handout C).
  • The students should divide into groups of 3-5. The teacher should hand each group a 3x5 note card with an example of a situation in which a legislator is carrying out one of his or her responsibilities. The students need to write a few sentences as to whether the responsibility being carried out helps to make the Michigan government more effective in serving the purposes for which it was created or whether it hinders it.
  • After a few minutes with each card, the groups should rotate. The group papers should be collected at the end of the activity.

5. ASSESSMENT

  • Students will create a detailed "want-ad", illustrating the roles of a legislator and the qualities they should possess. (Rubric attached—see supplementary files below).

Author's notes:

Notes to I:

This is an online scavenger hunt that will have students accessing three useful and important web sites. It will also lead them to information that will be used in one of the assessments. Answers to the handout/worksheet are incorporated in the summary provided to you in the procedure section.

Notes to II:

This is a good place for substantive conversations and making ties for the students between what students do and what legislators do. It's also a good place for students to make connections to the work world.

Answer Key to Handout B:

  1. Prepares and legislates for a program derived from a variety of sources, including the district, the committees on which he or she serves, his or her party, friends and interest groups. (manufacturer)
  2. Conceives the need for new legislation through study of the problems of the district and the state. Initiates research through the staff and committees and requests preparation of bills and amendments. (research and development)
  3. Develops support for proposals and lends support or opposes programs of other legislators following a thorough personal review.(marketing)
  4. Studies the daily calendar, journals and status to keep informed on bills scheduled for hearings and floor action. (research and development)
  5. Attends sessions, takes part in debates, and votes on business before the chamber. (marketing)
  6. Attends committee meetings and hearings throughout the state to become informed on the details of proposals, the arguments for and against them, and to vote on their submission to the Legislature. (research and development)
  7. Exercises legislative oversight over the administrative branch of government and the annual state budget through committee hearings, personal contacts, review of reports, and investigation of complaints. (management)
  8. Replies to correspondence and telephone calls from constituents and supervises the work of a secretary and other staff. (customer service and management)
  9. Keeps constituents informed on the progress of legislation and his or her position on specific bills and, in turn, keeps informed on the opinions of constituents, interest groups, and their respective political party. (customer service)
  10. Acts as liaison between the district, state and federal agencies, providing personal assistance to constituents in handling their problems. (customer service)
  11. 11. Assumes an active role in the district by serving on local committees, attending/speaking at civic organizations that are interested in legislation. (customer service)
  12. Plays an active role in the political party by attending and participating in party caucuses, meetings of a specialized nature and in general conventions. (customer service)
  13. Takes part in ceremonial local and state functions. (customer service)

    14. Explain that the Michigan Legislature also performs these other duties when applicable:

  14. Levies taxes and appropriates funds from money collected for the support of public institutions and the administration of the affairs of state government. (customer service and management)
  15. Proposes amendments to the state constitution, which must be approved by a majority vote of the electors. (management)
  16. Considers proposed amendments to the Constitution of the United States. (management)
  17. Advises and consents, through the Senate, on appointments made by the governor. (management)

Be sure that students understand the responsibilities in terms of the categories on the worksheet, manufacturer, research and development, customer service and marketing.

Notes to III:

  • Lead the students to generate questions that are narrow enough in focus that a legislator will take the time to answer. Also, encourage the students to develop questions that go beyond gathering information on what they already know a legislator's responsibilities are.
  • The video clip will show former legislators explaining approaches that will yield results.
  • The Citizen's Guide provides useful information on tone and format.

Notes to IV.

  • Be sure that there are an adequate number of situations. Also, try to include situations that both help and hinder the effectiveness of the government.
  • Have students use both Handout B and C as a reference for their essay.
  • A visit from your local representative or senator, allowing students to pose their questions/concerns in person would be an alternative to the letter-writing assessment.

Assessment strategies:

Handouts A and B should be checked for accuracy and completion. The weight of the handouts is left up to the teacher's discretion. The lesson also provides for two larger assessment activities. The first entails the writing of a letter addressing a question or concern of government to a legislator. The second involves designing a "want ad" that illustrated the roles of a legislator and the qualities he must possess. All rubrics and handouts are provided in the download portion of the site.

Enrichment suggestions:

Through this lesson students will make connections between a legislator's responsibilities and the work world. The letters to their legislators will help students gain experience in connecting with their legislators and in future lobbying efforts. If possible, arranging a visit from a legislator would be an invaluable 'real world' connection.

Available downloads:

  • Handouts A, B, and C, (37 K)
    Handout A is designed to accompany an online scavenger hunt in which students utilize three provided websites to answer questions about the structure of the Michigan government.
  • Letter to a Legislator Rubric, (23 K)
    Description goes herThis rubric sets out the requirements and the grading criteria for the letter writing portion of this lessons assessment.
  • Want Ad Rubric, (23 K)
    This rubric sets out the requirements and grading criteria for the want ad design assessment portion of this lesson.
  • Movie, ( K)
    This is a movie of a pannel discussion that can be used to supplement the lesson. It can be viewed using RealMedia Player.

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