A Day in the Senate PDF

A DAY IN THE SENATE BY TERRY MILLER SHANNON STRATEGIES & SKILLS Comprehension Strategy: Ask and Answer Questions Skill: Cause and Effect Content Standards Social Studies Civics and Government Vocabulary amendments, commitment, compromise, democracy, eventually, legislation, privilege, version Wo...

A DAY IN THE SENATE BY TERRY MILLER SHANNON STRATEGIES & SKILLS Comprehension Strategy: Ask and Answer Questions Skill: Cause and Effect Content Standards Social Studies Civics and Government Vocabulary amendments, commitment, compromise, democracy, eventually, legislation, privilege, version Word Count: 1,542** Photography Credit: (t)Ingram Publishing/SuperStock, (c)Brand X Pictures/PunchStock, (b)Hulton Archive/Getty Images **The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words in captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars are not included. mheducation.com/prek-12 Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, network storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Send all inquiries to: McGraw-Hill Education Two Penn Plaza New York, New York 10121 ISBN: 978-0-02-118910-6 MHID: 0-02-118910-2 Printed in the United States of America. 10 11 12 13 14 QLM 22 21 20 19 18 E Genre Narrative Nonfiction Essential Question Why do we need government? Table of Contents Chapter 1 Meet a Senator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Chapter 2 Working Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Chapter 3 A Senate Vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Respond to Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 PAIRED READ A New President Takes Office . . . . . . 16 Glossary/Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Focus on Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 CHAPTER 1 MEET A SENATOR You might not think senators have much to do with your life . However, what they do affects you and everyone else in the country . Senators make laws that shape things in your everyday life. For example, they write laws to regulate businesses and to protect the environment. They pass laws that set the speed limits on the highway, and they decide if a new freeway will be built in your town . Senators work in the Senate . The Senate and the House of Representatives make up Congress, which is the legislative, or lawmaking, branch of the U.S. government. We need legislation, or laws, to ensure that the country runs smoothly. Laws provide rules to follow. Without them, everyday life would be chaotic. Congress meets in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. 2 A candidate campaigns across the state to gain enough support to win a seat in the Senate. Sometimes new laws are necessary to solve problems, and sometimes existing laws need to change in order for them to work better. Senators introduce new laws and amend current laws. They study problems and then work with other lawmakers to turn the best solutions into laws. People choose senators by voting in elections. Two senators represent each state in the Senate. Who Can Become a Senator? The U.S. Constitution states that a senator must be at least 30 years old and live in the state he or she represents. A senator also must have been a United States citizen for at least nine years before being elected. Each senator’s term lasts for six years. When a senator is elected, he or she makes a commitment to serve the full term. Let’s look at what happens during a day in the Senate. 3 Many senators begin their day by meeting with their staff. All senators need a good team of people, known as staffers, to assist them in their busy day. It would be impossible for senators to do a good job without them. Staffers run the senators’ offices, organize meetings for them, and ensure that the senators know where to be and what they need to do. They help to answer phone calls and letters from constituents in a senator’s home state. Staffers also do research. For example, if the Senate is discussing a new highway project, senators need information about it. They need to know how it will be paid for, which states it will cross, and how it will affect the lives of people nearby. Staffers find answers to these questions. U.S. Capitol Map Key 3 1 U.S. Capitol 2 Supreme Court 3 Senate Office Buildings 4 Libraries of Congress 2 6 1 4 5 Congessional Office Buildings 6 Capitol Reflecting Pool 5 The senators’ offices are in the Senate Office Buildings. 4 4 Staffers for Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine (far left) do many jobs to help her. At their staff meetings, senators and staffers talk about what’s on the calendar for the day. On a typical day, most senators attend several committee meetings . Much of the Senate’s work is done in small groups called committees. The Senate has up to 20 committees and 70 subcommittees, but the number varies with each new Congress. Every committee works on a different area: some on education issues, others on budgets or trade. Each committee has senators from different states. 5 CHAPTER 2 WORKING TOGETHER After the staff meeting, a senator might head to the Capitol building for a commitee meeting. Senators can ride the Capitol subway to get there . Senators work together in subcommittees and then in full committees to study new bills. A bill is a proposed law that has not been passed by Congress yet . For example, the education subcommittee might meet to discuss a bill that reduces class sizes in schools. The bill recommends that all kindergarten to third-grade classrooms have only 18 students . A subway connects the Capitol to other buildings so senators can move quickly and easily between the buildings. 6 Supporters of the bill argue that smaller classes improve students’ reading skills. If the bill becomes law, more teachers will need to be trained and hired. The subcommittee may agree to reject the bill. But if they agree to move the bill forward, it is sent to the full committee for further work. The full committee asks other government agencies, such as the Department of Education, for more information about the bill. Senators also invite education experts to talk to the committees. These people can provide information about the connection between class size and reading ability. After gathering more information, the committee might decide to accept the bill as it is, or it might add amendments to it . The committee will then vote on whether to send the completed bill to the full Senate. There, all of the senators can discuss the bill. Senator Scott Brown asks a question during a small business committee meeting. 7 Committee meetings can last for different amounts of time. However, all meetings break for lunch. Fortunately, senators and their staff don’t have to go far to find a restaurant. The Capitol and its buildings are truly a city within a city. They contain cafeterias, a gym, a beauty parlor, a dry cleaner, and a barbershop! The Capitol is also a tourist attraction that is visited by millions of people every year. The visitor center includes a museum of American art and history and the Exhibition Hall, which contains displays about Congress and the construction of the Capitol. Having everything nearby in the Capitol complex is very convenient for lawmakers. 8 The History of the Capitol A view of the Capitol in 1856 after the dome had been removed. In 1793, a doctor and architect named William Thornton designed the Capitol. President George Washington laid the cornerstone on September 18, 1793. Builders finished the Senate wing in 1800. During the War of 1812, British soldiers set fire to the Capitol. Luckily, the building wasn’t completely destroyed. Once it was repaired, the building held the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court. By 1850, it was too small for the growing number of senators and representatives. The Capitol was then extended in the 1850s. The dome was taken down and replaced with a new dome that suited the new building Today the Capitol covers an area of 175,170 square feet. The House of Representatives and the Senate meet in the Capitol building. 9 CHAPTER 3 A SENATE VOTE After lunch, the senators might meet in the Senate Chamber to discuss legislation and to vote on completed bills. Visitors can watch the proceedings from a gallery above. Senators have what is known as the privilege of speech and debate. This means that they can speak freely and openly in the chamber, which allows them to better represent the people in their state. Senate Pages Pages are used in the Senate to deliver messages and other documents. They also attend committee meetings and prepare the Chamber for Senate sessions. A Senate page must be a high school junior who is at least 16 years old. They attend school in the morning at the United States Senate Page School. Then they watch history in the making while they work at the Capitol. 10 The Senate elects members to be leaders. These leaders are chosen from the main political parties. The leaders help things run well in the Senate. When a bill is being considered, Senate members debate the issue and can introduce amendments. They can also delay the voting process. Bills are passed by a majority vote. Each vote is recorded by a Senate officer. If there is a tie, the vice president of the United States gets to vote. After a bill is approved in one house, it must go to the other house to be voted on and passed. Although either house of Congress, the Senate or the House of Representatives, can propose bills, both houses must approve the final bill. This page got to meet President Obama. Sometimes both houses support a bill but cannot agree on everything in the bill. In these cases, they form a joint committee and work together to solve their differences. 11 Bills often go through many changes. The final law might be a very different version of the bill that was first proposed. Changes occur because senators have different points of view. This is often because they are representing people with varied interests. The senators might need to compromise on their ideas. Some changes will be made so that the bill will be approved. After the Senate and the House of Representatives have approved a bill, it is sent to the president. If the president agrees with and signs the bill, it becomes law. However, if the president doesn’t agree with a law, it is vetoed and returned to Congress. Then, Congress can amend the bill or even override the president if more than two-thirds of Congress agree. Compromise between people with differing views is necessary for most bills to be passed. 12 Visitors can watch the senators at work from the Senate Gallery. Another important part of a senator’s day is meeting with constituents. These meetings provide opportunities for constituents to ask questions and to share ideas and concerns. Senators explain their actions to ensure that they are representing their state. Even people too young to vote can be interested in the process. School groups visit their senators to see Congress at work. They can visit the Exhibition Hall and other places, including the Senate Chamber. From here they can watch their senators and the activity on the floor from the Senate gallery. 13 Senators work long hours and often travel a lot. Each senator has an office back home with a full staff. Staffers organize town hall meetings, where senators meet with constituents to listen to their concerns and discuss what is best for their state. This is how senators stay in touch with the people they represent and their issues. It is how those issues then make their way to Washington, D.C., and eventually make their way into the law of the United States. Town hall meetings give voters the chance to ask their senators questions and to find out what their senators have been doing. 14 Respond to Reading Summarize Use key details from A Day in the Senate to summarize the selection. Your graphic organizer may help you. Text Evidence 1. What features in A Day in the Senate help you identify it as an informational text? GENRE 2. Reread page 7. If a full committee agrees on a bill, what happens as a result? CAUSE AND EFFECT 3. The word elections on page 3 contains the Latin word electus, which means “chosen.” What does elections mean? Explain how context clues and knowing the root helped you. LATIN ROOTS 4. Write about why bills change before they become laws. WRITE ABOUT READING 15 Genre Expository Text Compare Texts Read about Inauguration Day, when a new president’s term begins. PAIRED READ: A New President Takes Office The United States is a democracy. This means it is governed by the people. The president leads the country’s people. The Constitution has rules about how the president is elected. A presidential election is held every four years, and the winner usually takes office on January 20. The inauguration takes place in Washington, D.C., in front of the Capitol. It is usually held outdoors so that as many people as possible can attend. President Barack Obama took the oath of office on January 20, 2009. 16 More than a million onlookers may attend the presidential inauguration. Inauguration Day follows a set of traditions, but the main event is the new president taking the oath of office. The new president officially becomes the president the moment he or she finishes saying the oath. The oath’s words are in the Constitution: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The ceremony begins at 11.30 a.m., and the president takes the oath of office at noon. Afterward, the new president gives a speech. This is called an inaugural address. 17 In their inauguration speeches, presidents set out and explain their goals for the nation. On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln aimed his inauguration speech at the southern states. He said, “… no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union … You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it.” At the time, several southern states were trying to break away from the United States. President Lincoln wanted to avoid a civil war. He was telling the southern states that he would do anything he could to save the union and keep the country together. This illustration shows Abraham Lincoln taking the oath of office. Make Connections Why is Inauguration Day held? ESSENTIAL QUESTION Compare the role of a senator in A Day in the Senate with the role of a president in A New President Takes Office. TEXT TO TEXT 18 Glossary amendments (uh-MEND-muhnts) alterations or changes in words or meaning (page 7) committee (kuh-MI-tee) a small group of lawmakers who consider bills in a specific area (page 5) Congress (KON-gruhs) the legislative branch of the U.S. government, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives (page 2) constituents (kuhn-STICH-yew-wuhnts) people who live in an elected official’s home state or Congressional district (page 4) House of Representatives (HOWS uhv re-pri-ZEN-tuh-tivs) one house of Congress; works with the Senate to write and pass the country’s laws (page 2) inauguration (i-naw-gyuh-RAY-shuhn) a ceremonial induction to the office of president (page 16) oath (ohth) a solemn promise (page 17) Senate (SE-nuht) one house of Congress; works with the House of Representatives to write and pass the country’s laws (page 2) vetoed (VEE-tohd) refused to approve (page 12) Index Capitol, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 17 Senate pages, 10 constitution, 3, 16, 17 staffers, 4, 5, 14 Inauguration Day, 17 Thornton, William, 9 Lincoln, Abraham, 18 Washington, George, 9 Obama, Barack, 16 19 Focus on Social Studies Purpose To find out why people run for public office Procedure Step 1 With a partner, make a list of your local school board members. You can find this online or ask at the school office. Step 2 Write a short letter or e-mail to each elected board member, asking him or her to say, in 50 words or fewer, why he or she ran for office. Show your letter or e-mail to your teacher before you send it. Make sure that each board member receives only one letter or e-mail. Step 3 With your partner, analyze the responses you receive. Make a chart or graph to illustrate the results. Display the results and discuss your findings with the class. Step 4 Write another letter or e-mail to the school board members who responded, thanking them for their help and telling them what you learned. 20 Literature Circles Nonfiction Thinkmark Text Structure How does the author organize information in A Day in the Senate? Vocabulary What new words did you learn in A Day in the Senate? What helped you understand their meaning? What are the key words in this text that relate to the topic? Conclusions What conclusions can you draw about the kinds of people who run for public office? Author’s Purpose Why do you think the author wrote A Day in the Senate? Make Connections What other elected jobs do you know about? How are they similar to or different from a senator’s or a president’s job? Our Government Social Studies GR T • Benchmark 50 • Lexile 890 WondersMHE.com