Lesson One
Identifying State and Local Legislators
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This lesson involves using
a variety of resources to identify students' local and state legislators. The activity can be introduced with a general
group discussion on how laws are made at the state and national level, as well as how legislators are elected, the
kind of laws recently passed, and the relationship between laws and environmental issues.
Objectives
Students will:
In developing our lessons and activities, we made some assumptions about the hardware and software that would be available in the classroom for teachers who visit the LETSNet Website. We assume that teachers using our Internet-based lessons or activities have a computer (PC or Macintosh) with the necessary hardware components (mouse, keyboard, and monitor) as well as software (operating system, TCP/IP software, networking or dial-up software, e-mail and a World Wide Web client program, preferably Netscape, but perhaps Mosaic or Lynx). In the section below, we specify any "special" hardware or software requirements for a lesson or activity (in addition to those described above) and the level of Internet access required to do the activity.
Before starting, collect printed materials on how laws are made, how legislators are elected, representation at the state and local level, and recent laws related to environmental issues. Use books, magazines, and newspaper articles that discuss the legislative process.
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