Name: Lobbying in United States Congress

Class/Subject: Civics

Date: October 25, 2010

Student Objectives/Student Outcomes:

Students will gain the understanding of the term “lobbying” through a quick power point presentation.
Through a small group activity about interest groups, the students will come up with reasons for their
involvement in Congress.
After reading an article about lobbying, the students will be able to point out some negatives about
lobbying.

Content Standards

ILS 16.D.5 (W): Analyze the relationship between an issue in world social history and the related aspects of
political, economical, and environmental history.

Material Resources

Smart Board
Computer/Projector
Power Point
“Lobbying” article

Teacher’s Goals

To define the term lobbying and point out various lobbying strategies used by interest groups in Congress
Demonstrate the positives and negatives of lobbying in Congress

Time

3min Start of Class

The teacher will point out the agenda and objectives of the lesson.
10min Lobbying Power Point
The teacher will give the definition of lobbying on a power point. Students will be asked, how they think
lobbying looks like in Congress. Afterwards, the teacher will present various lobbying strategies in
Congress.
20min Interest Groups Activity
The students will get a worksheet with a list of popular interest groups and big corporations. In small
groups, they will come up with reasons for their lobbying and some potential policies that a particular
interest group would have a stake in. Answers will be discussed once the groups are finished.
10min Lobbying Article
The students will read an article about lobbying. As a whole class, striking and interesting facts about the
article will be pointed out.
5min Is Lobbying Bad or Good
The students will do a quick write-up expressing their opinion about lobbying. The posed question will
be, “Do you think that lobbying is good or bad for American democracy?”
2min Closure/Wrap-Up/Review

Name: Lobbying in United States Congress

Class/Subject: Civics

Date: October 25, 2010

Student Objectives/Student Outcomes:

Students will gain the understanding of the term “lobbying” through a quick power point presentation.
Through a small group activity about interest groups, the students will come up with reasons for their
involvement in Congress.
After reading an article about lobbying, the students will be able to point out some negatives about
lobbying.
Students will become more accustomed to the learned material through the usage of various available
technologies.

Content Standards

ILS 16.D.5 (W): Analyze the relationship between an issue in world social history and the related aspects of
political, economical, and environmental history.

Material Resources

Smart Board
Computer/Projector
Power Point
“Lobbying” article
I-Pad
Glogster

Teacher’s Goals
To define the term lobbying and point out various lobbying strategies used by interest groups in Congress
Demonstrate the positives and negatives of lobbying in Congress
To familiarize the students with available technologies
Use technology to incorporate diversity and different types of learning

Time

3min Start of Class

The teacher will point out the agenda and objectives of the lesson.
10min Lobbying Power Point
The teacher will give the definition of lobbying on a power point. Students will be asked, how they think
lobbying looks like in Congress. Afterwards, the teacher will present various lobbying strategies in
Congress.
20min Interest Groups Activity
The students will get a worksheet with a list of popular interest groups and big corporations. In small
groups, they will come up with reasons for their lobbying and some potential policies that a particular
interest group would have a stake in. Answers will be written down by the student on the Smart Board

10min Lobbying Article

The students will read an article about lobbying. As a whole class, striking and interesting facts about the
article will be pointed out. In order to incorporate students who might be slower readers into the
lesson, I-pads with headphones and a Natural Reader program would have been provided in order to
assist them.
5min Is Lobbying Bad or Good
In order to assess the knowledge gained from the lesson. The students would create a Glogster poster
for homework. The poster would have to answer the question “Is lobbying good or bad for the
American democracy?”
2min Closure/Wrap-Up/Review