Who is My Representative?
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Essential Questions
- How can the people ensure their local interests are represented at the national level?
Objectives
- Students will research and identify their representative in the U.S. House of Representatives and/or one of their senators and describe their roles and job duties.
- Students will explain how their Congress member’s decisions affect their daily lives.
Facilitation Notes
- In this lesson, you and your students will discuss the elected officials who represent them in the House of Representatives and/or the Senate. Students will research and create a résumé for their representative to understand who the official is and how they perform the job. The lesson includes reflection and extension activities.
- Both houses of Congress are included in this lesson. Students may work to research both their representative and one of their two senators, depending on the teacher’s instruction. If students study two members of Congress, no more than one should be a senator.
Anticipate
- To begin, engage your students with a quick warm-up activity.
- Ask students to share the names of any politicians they know who represent them. Students can start by mentioning the president and then proceed to other positions. Ask if students know the names of their senators, House member, governor, state representatives, or the mayor.
- If students cannot name the people who hold certain positions, ask them why.
- Why do we know our president and not our representatives in Congress? Why do we know the name of our governor but not our state representatives?
- Facilitation note: To explain the importance of students knowing their representatives in Congress and state legislators you could share the following points. By sharing these points, students can better understand the tangible benefits of being informed about and engaged with their less visible, but equally important, elected officials.
- Direct Impact: Explain that while the president and governors have prominent public roles, the decisions that most directly affect daily life are often made by Congress members and state representatives. Knowing these officials helps students to know the representatives who make laws for various aspects of their lives and who will listen to their concerns.
- Representation: Emphasize that representatives in Congress and state legislatures consider the concerns and needs of their constituents. If students do not know who these representatives are, they miss the opportunity to communicate their views and have less influence on decisions that impact them.
- Accountability: Point out that by knowing who their representatives are, students can keep track of their actions and decisions. This awareness allows citizens to hold their elected officials accountable for the performance of their duties, ensuring they truly represent their interests.
- Local Solutions to Local Problems: Illustrate with examples that local and state officials often have more flexibility and capability to solve local problems quickly. Understanding who these officials are and how they can be approached can empower students to seek solutions and support for local issues.
- After writing all these names on the board, tell students that later in the lesson, they will research their representative in the U.S. Congress.
Engage
- To help guide your students when researching their representative, ask them to create a résumé outlining the past and current work of their representative. Their resumes should include the following information. You may also use this template and provide this example.
- Name, state, district, political party, years in Congress
- Previous work experience (include job titles, employers, dates of employment)
- Ask students, looking at your representative’s previous jobs, how might these experiences equip them to represent their constituents?
- Current position or committees they serve
- Ask students, what committees does your representative serve on? Discuss how the goals or focus of these committees might align with the interests of their constituents.
- Voting record in the House or Senate
- Ask students, analyze your representative’s voting record. How do these decisions serve the needs or values of the people in their district?”
- Website and social media accounts
- Ask students, examine how your representative uses their website and social media platforms. How effectively do they communicate stances on issues to their constituents? Provide examples of how they engage with or inform their followers.
- Any additional information you think applies to their current work
- Include contact information
- Mailing & email addresses
- Phone number
- Social Media handles
Explore
- After researching their representative or senator, instruct students to choose a national issue that is impacting their local community. Students should choose a topic that their representative or senator has the power to address.
- Next, ask students to research their representative or senator’s stance or previous/current work on this issue.
- Next, students will apply their chosen issues and complete this handout to explore how representation affects their issues.
Assess & Reflect
- After they finish their research, have students reflect on the following questions:
- What challenges might representatives face in effectively addressing the needs of their constituents?
- How can citizens actively participate in the democratic process to ensure their voices are heard?
- Students can present this information to the class or write it in their journals.
Extend
- As an optional activity, allow students to write a letter to their representative or senator. Explain the significance of letter writing as a tool for democratic engagement. Writing to elected officials is an important way for citizens, even young ones, to make their voices heard and influence government decisions.
- Guide students to write a letter to their representative or senator. The letter should:
- Introduce themselves and explain why they are writing.
- Clearly state the concern or suggestion they have regarding representation.
- Express the importance of this issue and its impact on their community.