Alabama Social Studies SS24.USG.4

SS24.USG.4 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• SS24.USG.4a

  Compare and contrast the leadership roles within Congress, including the Speaker of the House, the Senate President Pro Tempore, majority and minority leaders, ...

• SS24.USG.4b

  Identify the types of congressional committees and explain their roles in policy-making.

• SS24.USG.4c

  Outline the process by which a bill becomes a law, including introduction, committee review, floor debate, lobbyist actions, voting in both chambers, and presid...

01

What Students Need to Do

Students compare congressional leaders and explain what standing, select, joint, and conference committees do. They track a bill from introduction through lobbyist input, committee review, floor debate, votes in both chambers, and presidential action. They explain how spending votes, oversight, and veto overrides check the president.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can explain that the Speaker directs House business, while the president pro tempore presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent. They distinguish majority and minority leaders, who guide party strategy, from whips, who count votes. They can show why both chambers must agree on a bill and how a funding vote can limit an agency.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may think the president introduces bills or that one chamber can pass a law alone. They may think lobbyists vote on bills or that every committee is permanent. They may confuse party whips with the leaders who preside over each chamber.

04

How to Assess It

Exit ticket: A bill funds new buses. List its steps from introduction to presidential action, mark where lobbyists may weigh in, and explain how the funding vote gives Congress power.

1. 01

   Hand groups step cards and a bus-funding bill; have them sequence committee review, lobbyist input, debates, votes, a possible conference, and presidential action.

2. 02

   Ask: How do the Speaker, president pro tempore, majority and minority leaders, and whips differ when a funding bill reaches the floor?

3. 03

   Set four corners labeled standing, select, joint, and conference; read tax-writing, investigation, shared study, and bill-reconciliation cards for students to match.

4. 04

   Open an enacted spending bill on Congress.gov; students find both chambers' votes, the president's action, and one agency affected by its funding.

• SS24.6.16

  Compare duties and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches at various levels of government.

• SS24.USG.6

  Summarize the functions and duties of the judicial branch, including the power of judicial review and interpretation of laws.