Bill Writing

Your goal in this phase of the course is to support your students in writing a good will that will get a fair hearing, while also learning about the process, their issue, and learning skills for collaboration, persuasion, and compromise.

The bill writing process is an example of truly collaborative/cooperative group work, and is designed to incorporate the five elements of cooperative learning:

• Positive interdependence

• Individual and group accountability

• Equal Participation

• Interpersonal and small group skills

• Face-to-face interaction

• Group processing

Use the Class Bill Tracker ( see the class tabs at the bottom) to keep information organized, keep track of tasks, and make sure that students are making progress towards completing their bills.  

Bill Writing Stage 1:  Research

Once students have finalized their "issue groups" they will start the bill writing process. In order to encourage them to think deeply and creatively about the problem they are trying to solve and plan their research, start with the following two activities:

1. Root Cause Analysis  and Root Cause Analysis in Bill Groups (Graphic Org) to dig into the complexity of the problem, and consider the types of solutions they could propose

2. Generating Questions for Research, and slides with student instructions  to focus their research and ensure that all students have a role.  

Next students will begin to plan for and conduct their research.  You'll need to set up a space on Google Classroom where they can post their research summaries and access what their group members have posted.  (see #4 below).  During the research they should also check in with their group regularly to share information, ideas, questions.

3. Planning for Research- A followup activity after generating questions

4. Research Instructions - to provide guidance and ensure that all students are contributing to their group.

5. Each group member will eventually complete an Individual Position Paper drawing on the research of their group. 

Bill Writing Stage 2:  Drafting

Once groups have gathered enough background information they will begin to draft their bill. 

1. Bill First Draft - walks them through the first draft.  They will likely need to do additional research once they try to draft the bill.   Work through one section at a time. 

2. Blank Bill Writing Template and Bill Cover Page

Bill Writing Stage 3:  Revision and Finalization

3. Rethinking your Bill Partner Interviews - This activity helps them get feedback from classmates who are NOT in their group and helps them clarify their bill, find opportunties to gain support with small changes, and find co-sponsors. 

4. Individual Position Paper 

5. Group Position Paper - This is a compilation of the best parts of the individual position papers, in order to make the best case for the bill.    OR Bill FAQ page with possible graphics

6. Bill Sponsor Speech  - This walks groups through the process of writing their bill sponsor speech, which will be delivered by ONE group member at the Committee Hearings and Full Session.  Includes instructions, a model for persuasive speaking, and examples of past speeches. 

Sample Bills for reference