Welcome to The Dirksen Congressional
Center's Communicator - a web-based e-newsletter providing
educators with news and ideas to improve the understanding of
Congress -- http://www.webcommunicator.org.
1. People Who Served in Congress
2. Congress Defined
3. Grants: Congressional Research Awards
4. *New* Creating a Television Ad for an Interest Group
5. *New* Cartoons & Related
Lesson Plans
6. Electoral College Strategy 2008
7. *New* A Nation's Voice
8. Bill of Rights Match Game & Trivia
9. Postscript Information
1. PEOPLE WHO SERVED IN CONGRESS
Sketches of famous and not-so-famous Senators and Representatives
Patsy Mink (1927-2002). A Democrat from Hawaii and the
first non-Caucasian women elected to Congress, Patsy Mink participated
in the passage of much of the 1960s Great Society legislation
during her first term of service in the House, 1965-77. One of
her greatest legislative achievements was the Women’s Education
Equity Act (1974) which provided $30 million a year in educational
funds for programs to promote gender equity in schools, to increase
educational and job opportunities for women, and to remove sexual
stereotypes from textbooks and school curricula. She gave up
her seat Congress to run for the Senate in 1976, a race she lost
to Spark Matsunaga.
Mink remained active in politics after 1977, serving as president
of the Americans for Democratic Action and running for political
office in Honolulu. She returned to the U.S. House in 1990 as
a defender of the welfare state at a time when much of the legislation
she had helped craft was being dismantled. Mink died in September
2002—her name remained on the November ballot, however,
and she was re-elected by a wide margin.
For her significant contributions towards equal rights in the
country, Congress commissioned a likeness of her image to place
in the U.S. Capitol. They also renamed the Title IX Amendment
of the Higher Education Act to become the Patsy T. Mink Equal
Opportunity in Education Act.
Sources:
Women in Congress, 1917-2006, prepared under the direction
of the Committee on House Administration of the U.S. House
of Representatives by the Office of History and Preservation,
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives (U.S. Government
Printing Office, 2006): 424-29.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Mink
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000797
2. CONGRESS DEFINED
Words and phrases that describe congressional processes
Executive Calendar. The Senate’s calendar for consideration
of treaties and nominations. Items are numbered in the order
they are placed on the calendar, but items may be considered
in any order when the Senate, by motion or unanimous consent,
resolves itself into executive session to consider treaties and
nominations.
Source: Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional
Dictionary, 3rd edition, ed. Walter Kravitz (Washington
DC: CQ Press, 2001):93-94.
3. GRANTS: CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH AWARDS
DEADLINE: All proposals must be received no later
than February 1, 2008.
The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants
to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress.
A total of up to $30,000 will be available in 2008. Awards range
from a few hundred dollars to $3,500.
The competition is open to individuals with a serious interest
in studying Congress. Political scientists, historians, biographers,
scholars of public administration or American studies, and journalists
are among those eligible. The Center encourages graduate students
who have successfully defended their dissertation prospectus
to apply and awards a significant portion of the funds for dissertation
research.
The awards program does not fund undergraduate or pre-Ph.D.
study. Organizations are not eligible. Research teams
of two or more individuals are eligible. No institutional
overhead or indirect costs may be claimed against a Congressional
Research Award.
There is no standard application form. Applicants are responsible
for showing the relationship between their work and the awards
program guidelines. Applications are accepted at any time. Applications
which exceed the page limit and incomplete applications will NOT be
forwarded to the screening committee for consideration.
All application materials must be received on or before February
1, 2008. Awards will be announced in March 2008. Complete
information about eligibility and application procedures may
be found at The Center's Web site: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_grants_CRAs.htm.
Frank Mackaman is the program officer -- fmackaman@dirksencenter.org.
The Center, named for the late Senate Minority Leader Everett
M. Dirksen, is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and
educational organization devoted to the study of Congress and
its leaders. Since 1978, the Congressional Research Awards (formerly
the Congressional Research Grants) program has paid out $680,000
to support 350 projects.
4. * NEW LESSON PLAN
* CREATING A TELEVISION AD FOR AN INTEREST GROUP
During our annual Congress in the Classroom® workshop –– http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm –– participants
are asked to introduce the lesson plans, resources, and techniques
that have proven successful in teaching about Congress in their
classrooms. A 2007 participant, Gregory Stewart, Whitewater High
School, Whitewater, WI, presented his lesson entitled, Creating
a Television Ad for an Interest Group. Background information
for this lesson follows:
It is important for students to understand what they, as citizens,
can do to become involved in the political process. In addition,
students need to understand the way in which bias and stereotyping
are used by various media and interest groups to influence popular
opinion.
In this lesson, students examine propaganda and media bias and
explore the ways interest groups get their message across through
the use of media campaigns. Following the development of their
own interest group, students develop an advertising campaign
which includes the development of a radio and television commercial.
Find Creating a Television Ad for an Interest Group at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_creatingad.htm.
5. *
NEW* CARTOONS AND RELATED LESSON PLANS
The Dirksen Congressional Center recently announced the completion
of the Editorial Cartoon Collection project: http://www.congresslink.org/cartoons/index.htm.
The editorial cartoons and related lesson plans from The Dirksen
Center will teach students to identify issues, analyze symbols,
acknowledge the need for background knowledge, recognize stereotypes
and caricatures, think critically, and appreciate the role of
irony and humor.
This month we have posted three new cartoons and related lesson
plans:
Caption: Foreign
Aid
Caption: Easy
Ev
Caption: The
Great Society
6. ELECTORAL COLLEGE STRATEGY
2008
Although the next presidential election is more than a year
away, presidential candidates are already developing their strategy
for winning around the Electoral College, not the popular vote.
What must the candidates do to prevail in the Electoral College
vote?
During our 2007 Congress in the Classroom® workshop
for teachers –– http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm –– Tom
Schaller Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, presented Electoral College Strategy 2008.
His PowerPoint for this presentation can be found at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm#Schaller.
Congress in the Classroom® is dedicated to the exchange
of ideas and information on teaching about Congress. The 2007
program featured a broad overview of Congress with special attention
to the new 110th Congress with the Democrats in charge for the
first time in more than a decade.
Read what our 2007 participants had to say about the workshop: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm#say.
We will keep you updated with more information about the 2008
workshop in future announcements.
7. *
NEW RELATED LESSON PLAN * A NATION'S
VOICE
In addition to the lesson plans posted on CongressLink,
the Web hosts scores of other lessons about Congress. This section
of CongressLink –– Lesson Plans on the
Web –– highlights the best and provides links
to them. If you know of a lesson that should be included on CongressLink,
please send an e–mail to Frank
Mackaman.
A Nation's Voice
In this lesson, students will understand U.S. policy making
in times of military conflict by learning about constitutional,
statutory, and customary factors that affect policy. They will
apply their knowledge of policy making to determine if U.S. involvement
in its 20th century conflicts was warranted. This lesson plan
also includes great sound bites (e.g., Roosevelt, JFK, and Bush)
that could be used to discuss the justification of war powers.
Grade level: 9-12.
Find A Nation's Voice at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_teaching_relatedlessons.htm
8. BILL OF RIGHTS MATCH GAME
Choose a level to begin the game –– elementary or
secondary!
Elementary Level –– The object of the game
is to read each statement and decide if the answer to the question
at the end is "yes" or "no" based on information
from the Bill of Rights. When the question is answered correctly,
the information and the Amendment number will be revealed.
There are six questions to answer, and once finished, you will
go to the Certificate screen. If you answer incorrectly, one
minute will be added to your total score; however, you have the
ability to try again. Once you start the game, the time will
begin on the clock. Your final time will appear on the Certificate.
Secondary Level –– The object of the game
is to read each statement and decide if the answer to the question
at the end is "yes" or "no" based on information
from the Bill of Rights. When the question is answered correctly,
you will be asked to choose the number of the Amendment that
applies.
There are eight questions to answer, and once finished, you
will go to the Certificate screen. If you answer incorrectly,
one minute will be added to your total score; however, you have
the ability to try again. Once you start the game, the time will
begin on the clock. Your final time will appear on the Certificate.
Find Bill of Rights Match Game at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/billofrights/2_billofrights.htm
Trivia:
The ideas of one these men formed the basis of the Articles
of Confederation. Who was it?
A. John Dickinson
B. Alexander Hamilton
C. Roger Sherman
D. James Madison
*Find the answer in next month's issue.
Answer to September's Fun, Facts, and Trivia: http://www.webcommunicator.org/classroom%20resources/funfactstrivia_ans0907.htm
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