Introduction
In this online treasure hunt, you will examine one of the three branches of government, the Legislative Branch. As you know, the Legislative Branch (Congress) is divided into two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress is comprised of 535 men and women who represent "we the people" (435 in the House and 100 Senators).
Task
Using the links provided, you will visit sites for the House of Representatives and Senate. You will explore each chamber of the federal legislature and answer all of the assigned questions.
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A.) Click on the House of Representatives Link: https://www.house.gov/ |
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1.) Find a state that has only one representative in the House of Representatives. Do NOT choose a district or territory. |
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2.) Which state has the most representatives in the House? How many do they have? |
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3.) How many representatives does Virginia have? |
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C.) At the top right of the screen, there is a spot to type in your ZIP CODE. Type in your zip code and find your local congressman's name and a link to her/his home page. Blackstone = 23824, Burkeville = 23922, Crewe = 23930. You might have to type your street address to find the exact match if two or more representatives are suggested in the initial search results. |
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4.) Who is your local Congressman? |
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5.) Click your representative’s name to go to their page. Read the “About” or “Biography” information. Do you think his experience and qualifications make him a good Congressman? Why or why not? |
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6.) Using the menu and sub-menu available on your congressman’s page, find what cities/counties make up their congressional district and list them here. |
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7.) Using the menu and sub-menu available on your congressman’s page, find what committees s/he serves on at this time. Do NOT include their sub-committees in this listing. |
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8.) Using the menu and sub-menu available on your congressman’s page, find two issues that s/he focuses on and share her/his opinion on these two topics (ex: education).
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D.) Now click on the second link, the US Senate: https://www.senate.gov |
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9.) Who are the two senators representing you? (Hint: click “Find Your Senators” at the top and choose Virginia from the drop-down menu.) |
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E.) Go to Kaine’s web page by clicking his name form the search results to step #9. Using his page, answer the following questions. |
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10.) Read Senator Kaine’s Biography (listed under “About Tim” at the top of the page). What are some of the important issues he works on for our state? |
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11.) What committees is Senator Kaine a member of at the present time? Click “Committee Assignments” under “About Tim” at the top of the page. Do NOT list sub-committees. |
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12.) Which committee do you think is the most important? Why? |
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13.) Click on Constituent Services – Student Resources. What are some of the services he offers to students? |
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14.) Click on Issues. Pick one of the issues and provide details of how Senator Kaine is working to address that legislative priority.
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F.) Go back to Senate Home Page and find Senator Warner’s web page (using same process as you did to find Tim Kaine aka repeat D9 directions. |
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15.) Click on Meet Mark - Biography. Do you think his experience and qualifications make him a good senator? Why or why not? Explain your answer. |
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16.) Under Meet Mark – Committee Assignments, look and see what committees are listed that Senator Warner works on? Which do you think is most important? Why?
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17.) Click on Priorities on Mark Warner's home page. Describe three of the most important issues that Senator Warner is addressing. Is he achieving his goals? Why or why not?
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