My Representatives
Essential Question
Who helps make decisions for our community at the national level?
Overview
Students discover who their elected representatives are at the federal level by looking up their congressional district with the school's address.
C3 Standards Alignment
Learning Objectives
- Define what a representative does(D2.Civ.3.K-2)
- Use the school address to find their federal representatives on CIV.IQ(D2.Civ.1.K-2)
- Name the members of Congress who represent them (typically 2 senators and 1 House representative)
- Identify the political party of each representative
Materials
- --Computer/tablet with internet access
- --Projector for demonstration
- --Worksheet E1: My Representatives
- --School street address written on board
Vocabulary
Procedure
1Introduction
5 minutes- Ask: "Who makes rules at our school?" (principal, teachers)
- Ask: "Who makes rules for our whole country?"
- Introduce the word "representative" — someone who speaks for a group of people
- Explain: "Today we're going to find out WHO represents US in the government"
2Guided Practice
15 minutes- Display CIV.IQ homepage on projector
- Point to address search box
- Enter school address together
- Results page appears — typically three representatives (two senators and one House member)
- Walk through each: "This is one of our Senators. Senators represent our whole STATE."
- "This is our other Senator. Every state has exactly TWO senators."
- "This is our Representative. They represent our DISTRICT."
- Click on one representative to show their profile page
- Point out: photo, name, party, state
3Independent Practice
10 minutes- Students complete Worksheet E1
- They record the names of all 3 representatives
- They draw a picture of one representative (from the photo)
- They write or dictate one thing they noticed
4Closing
5 minutes- Share: What did you notice about your representatives?
- Preview: "Next time we'll learn more about what these people DO for us"
Activities
Find Your Representatives
Use CIV.IQ to look up representatives by entering your school's address. Record the names of your U.S. Representative and two Senators.
Open on CIV.IQ: Address Lookup→Representative Profile Cards
Create a simple profile card for each representative with their name, photo, party, and one interesting fact.
Discussion Questions
Why do we have representatives instead of everyone voting on every law?
Follow-up: What would it be like if everyone had to vote on everything?
How do you think representatives learn what the people in their area want?
What makes a good representative?
Assessment
Students can correctly name their U.S. Representative and at least one Senator, and explain that representatives are elected to make decisions for the people.
Extensions
- --Students who finish early can explore the representative's profile page
- --Find one interesting fact to share with the class
Teacher Notes
- For K-1, consider doing the worksheet as a whole class activity
- Use the school's street address for the lookup so the whole class sees the same district — ZIP codes alone can return the wrong district because ZIP boundaries do not match district lines
- Students can also look up their home address with a family member — some may live in a different district than the school
- Students in DC, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories will see a non-voting delegate (or Resident Commissioner for Puerto Rico) and no senators — this is a good discussion point about representation
Common Questions
- Why do we have representatives instead of everyone voting on every law?
- What would it be like if everyone had to vote on everything?
- How do you think representatives learn what the people in their area want?
- This discussion question is explored in the My Representatives lesson plan.
- What makes a good representative?
- This discussion question is explored in the My Representatives lesson plan.