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Democracy in the Classroom: A Parliamentary Committee Simulation

Step Four: Learning About the Bill

(Suggested time — 20 minutes)

Distribute one copy of the Vegetable Harmony Act to each student.

Guide students in understanding the key components of the bill by reading it aloud as a class. Discuss the questions in the chart below at each stage of the bill.

Section of Bill Questions to guide reading
Title page

1. What is the title of this bill?
2. Based on the title only, what can you infer about the purpose of the bill?
Preamble 1. What reasons are given as reasons for introducing this bill?
Definitions

1. Do any of the definitions of terms surprise you? 
2. What is the purpose of defining terms in a bill?
Clauses in main section of the bill 1. What are the three most important clauses in the bill? Why?

Extension: If you would like students to conduct independent research into the issue prior to undertaking the simulation, assign this task as homework or allocate a 60-minute session for completion in the computer lab.


Back to Step 3

Proceed to Step 5

Simulation Setup Step 1 - Pre-simulation planning Step 2 - Assigning student roles Step 3 - Introducing the simulation to students Step 4 - Learning about the Bill Step 5 - Configure the classroom Step 6 - Run simulation Step 7 - Post simulation