Mock Congress Rules & Parliamentary Procedure

On April 21 to April 25th , each committee will give their opening speeches and will debate each bill in class. Once the bills are introduced to the other committees, the class will vote on the bills. By the end of the week, each class will decide who will be sent to the House or Senate on full congress day.

The approved bills (from class) will then go before the whole House of Representatives or Senate on Model Congress Day-Monday, May 5th. After both houses meet in the morning, the members of both houses will come together to debate the approved bills. Full 7th Grade Congress will meet together to host the Full Congress Session during______. During this time, each house will vote on which bills they want to pass as a law.

Parliamentary Procedure Directions for House of Reps: When the Chair or Speaker of the House (Ms. Vito) asks if: “the sponsor of bill # HR--- is present?” The person who is for (pro) the bill must rise and respond: “Yes, Representative (your name) is present and would like to make a motion to move bill # HR--- to legislation.” Then your committee member will rise and second the motion (“I second the motion”) and sit back down. The Chair or Speaker of the House will then ask the representative: “How will you be accepting points?” The representative will respond by stating: “unlimited and at the end.”

The Chair or Speaker will then ask the clerk to read the preamble and bill to the audience. The Chair or Speaker will then motion to the representatives to begin and for the audience to note for the record. At this time the clerk begins the timer and the class takes notes on the speech. The representative will begin his/her speech. All speeches are 2-3 minutes. If the representative does not use all 3 minutes, he/she can relinquish the remainder of the time to the Chair or Speaker of the House. At this point, points of inquiry or points of information will begin (5-10 minutes total).

Key Vocabulary: Motion-to open debate, to move bill into legislation (introduce it) Points of Information-to make a comment Points of Inquiry-to ask a question Point of Order-when a violation of the rules of procedure is taking order. Recess-The meeting will break until the next specified meeting time. Adjourn-At the end of the conference for it concludes the session of committee

Parliamentary Procedure Review: What is Parliamentary Procedure? Answer: A method of giving group discussions to a census. How do you move a bill? Answer: The sponsor (of the bill) must make a motion to move the bill to legislation (must be seconded).

Debate Card Requirement Each member must have debate cards 1 card with parliamentary procedure notes (key vocab) 2 cards-each with a question for the opponent 2 cards-each with statistics and the citation, that will help support your position 1 card with a quote and the citation that supports your position 2 blank cards-this is for you to add questions based on your opponent speech (as you listen to it) 2 blank cards-this is for you to include specific information from your fact sheet that will help you with a rebuttal based on your opponents speech (as you listen to it) Total: 10 Cards (6 that are prepped before)

SPEECH FOR VITO Highlight the following in your formal speech: Hook: highlight in yellow Claim: highlight in light green Logical Argument 1: highlight in light pink Supporting evidence to argument 1: also highlight in light pink (this should be the source, quotes, and paraphrase…evidence) Logical Argument 2: highlight in light orange Supporting evidence to argument 2: also highlight in light orange (this should be the source, quotes, and paraphrase…evidence) Rebuttal argument: highlight in light red (not too dark) Supporting evidence to rebuttal and alternative suggestion: also highlight in light red (this should be the source, quotes, and paraphrase…evidence… reasons against the claim and explain why the claim is valid anyway.)

KEY REMINDER FOR FORMAL SPEECH KEY REMINDERS MS. VITO’S TYPED FINAL VERSION OF SPEECH: DUE FRIDAY 3/23/12 Double Space 12-14 font Highlight key requirements (see back of this page) Name on it Make sure the speech you hand in is the full written detailed speech/essay. Follow all requirements of a paragraph. (Use the RACER organizer to help you structure your paragraph and follow the steps and outline given in your speech packet to help you put include all parts and put all parts together as one speech/essay)

Your Copy of the SPEECH YOUR COPY OF THE SPEECH: DUE MONDAY 3/26/12 Double Space   Chose any font size you want that will help you at the podium (that you feel comfortable with) Highlight parts that you want to stand out or bold areas that you need to make more dramatic….this will help when you look down…that is easier to see Write reminders in the margin (ex: LOOK UP, BE LOUD) Tweak your formal speech/essay that you handed in to fit the time given for your performance…this means you need to PRACTICE! If you take anything out or skip information…make sure you sure that you include that info during your “debate” time. Make sure you PRACTICE…INFRONT OF A MIRROR OR SMALL AUDIENCE AT HOME. TIME YOURSELF AND RE-EDIT IF NEEDED. Pay attention to your voice (volume and pitch) Make eye contact with audience (not with your written speech or the floor); Watch your pace (not too fast and not to slow)