The Dirksen Center wants to help teachers teach better by giving them the opportunity to use technology to create, customize, and share online learning activities in their classrooms. The Center wants to help students learn more by bringing educational resources together in one place that provide new ways to learn about Congress interactively.

* NEW *  SUPREME ORDER IN THE COURT, SUPREME DECISION & TRIVIA

The information about the Judicial Branch in this activity is in major disorder.  Drag the words up to the horizontal lines in order to form a sentence.  When you think your answer is correct, click on “Check” to check your answer.  If you get stuck, click on “Hint” to find out the next correct part.  When you have finished, click on “Sentence 2 of 9” in the blue bar at the top of the page.  Continue through the activity until you reach the final page 9.  When you have completed page 9, click “Play More” to find additional activities related to the Supreme Court.

Find Supreme Order in the Court at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/judicialbranch_justices/supremecourt_1.htm

* NEW *  Supreme Decision

Play a clerk to a justice of the Supreme Court and help decide about a student’s rights in school. Find Supreme Decision at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/judicialbranch_justices/2_justices.htm

* Trivia *

Despite the extraordinary power that the Supreme Court holds in the United States, many people do not know that much about it. Here is a question that deals with the Justices of the Court and a Supreme Court decision.

What was the general idea behind Franklin Roosevelt’s so called “court-packing” plan?

1. The Court’s membership would be increased to eleven justices.
2. The president would be allowed to appoint one new Justice for each Justice over the age of seventy. [Answer: President Franklin Roosevelt won a landslide reelection in the election of 1936. Much of his New Deal legislation (to help get the US out of the Great Depression), however, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Roosevelt called the Supreme Court Justices “nine old men.” As a result, Roosevelt announced what would be termed “the Court Packing Plan.” Roosevelt could nominate one new Justice for each Justice over 70. His plan was met with some opposition, but the death knell(s) for the plan were: (a) a letter to the Senate by Chief Justice Charles Evan Hughes that said the Court was not overworked, and that the reorganization would make the court more inefficient; (b) a decision by Justice Owen J. Roberts to change his vote in a New Deal case to support the legislation. His decision to change his vote led to the phrase “A Switch in Time Saves Nine.” In the end, Roosevelt got to appoint more than his fair share of justices. He appointed Hugo Black, Stanley Reed, Felix Frankfurter, William Douglas, Frank Murphy, James Byrnes, Robert Jackson, and Wiley Rutledge to the Court. He also elevated Harlan Fiske Stone to the position of Chief Justice.]
3. There would be a whole new court just to deal with his “New Deal” programs.
4. For each vacancy that came up on the court, he would be allowed to appoint two new Justices.

*Find the answer in next month's issue.

Answer to November 2009’s Fun, Facts, and Trivia: http://www.webcommunicator.org/classroomresources/funfactstrivia_ans1109.htm

Do you have or know of an online activity you would like The Dirksen Congressional Center to feature on its new Web site for students -- Congress for Kids? The Center is currently seeking online activities that provide new ways to learn about Congress and the workings of the federal government interactively.

If you have questions or suggestions for online activities, contact Cindy Koeppel.