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Teaching the Legislative Branch (Congress)

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The Legislative Branch, also known as Congress, is Latin for "most dysfunctional branch of the government." If your classroom is turning into a typical Congressional session, we can help you bring order to the floor.

In this guide you will find

  • lessons on interpreting the congressional membership profile and re-election rates.
  • activities analyzing political cartoons.
  • resources on the other branches of the government that Congress is supposed to work with: the executive and the judicial branch.

Unlike Congress, our teaching guide really works.

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Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 4-10 Common Core-aligned activities (including quotation, image, and document analysis) to complete in class with your students, with detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes to be sure students are looking at the material through various lenses.
  • Resources to help make the topic feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the topic and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching the Legislative Branch (Congress)?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: One theory of representation argues that Congress should be a mirror of the people, and that the membership of the House, in particular, should be a microcosm of the American public. 

Is it? 

In this exercise your students will answer this question by examining the profile of the 114th Congress and comparing its composition with demographics data from the U.S. Census.

Length of Lesson: One class period + a little homework (and maybe 15 minutes of discussion in a future class)

Materials Needed:

Step One: First, talk about the idea that in order to be truly representative of the people, Congress' composition should mirror the composition of the U.S. population. Do your students agree that this is true? Why or why not?

Work with your students to define the criteria that would measure the “mirror” like quality of Congress (age, gender, race, educational level, and the like). 

Step Two: Direct your students to this Congressional Membership Profile for the 114th Congress. Have them select and compile the most relevant data (i.e., the average age of members of Congress; how many men/women there are; their levels of education; etc.).

Step Three: Next ask your students to compare their data on the composition of Congress with data drawn from the U.S. Census Quick Facts page.

Step Four: Have them summarize their findings in a report. Students may write a few paragraphs explaining what they've found, or they may create a series of charts and include some explanatory text to show how the makeup of Congress compares with the U.S. population overall. 

Either way, their reports should include some observations on under- and over-representation—that is which groups (defined by age, race, education-level, religion, etc.) are either over-represented or under-represented in Congress.

Step Five: Go over students' reports in class and discuss how the over-/under-representation of various groups may affect the decisions made in Congress and whether or not all people in the U.S. are, in the end, adequately represented.

(Lesson aligned with CA 12th grade American government standards 12.6)

Instructions for Your Students

Magic mirror on the wall, does Congress represent us all?

Okay. So that's not what the Evil Queen wants to know in Snow White, but it's a fair question... maybe even the fairest one of all. 

Sorry. Couldn't help ourselves. Anywho...

Many of the Constitution’s framers argued that the House of Representatives should be a mirror of the people—a sampling of the public that could reflect the views and experiences of the public at large. Is it? 

Today you'll examine some statistics on Congressional membership and the American people in order to answer this question.

Step One: First, talk about the idea that in order to be truly representative of the people, Congress' composition should mirror the composition of the U.S. population. Do you agree that this is true? What do your classmates think?

Work with your teacher and classmatesto define the criteria that would measure the “mirror” like quality of Congress (age, gender, race, educational level, and the like). 

Step Two: Next look through this Congressional Membership Profile for the 114th Congress. As you do, select and compile the most relevant data (i.e., the average age of members of Congress; how many men/women there are; their levels of education; etc.).

Step Three: Next, compare your data on the composition of Congress with data drawn from the U.S. Census Quick Facts page.

Step Four: Take some time to summarize your findings in a report. You may write a few paragraphs explaining what you've found, or you may create a series of charts and include some explanatory text to show how the makeup of Congress compares with the U.S. population overall. 

Your report should include some observations on under- and over-representation—that is which groups (defined by age, race, education-level, religion, etc.) are either over-represented or under-represented in Congress.

Step Five: Discuss your report (and your classmates' reports) in class and talk about how the over-/under-representation of various groups may affect the decisions made in Congress. Is everyone in the U.S. adequately represented? Why or why not?