How a Bill Becomes a Law Teaching Ideas

This anchor chart simplifies the steps for a bill becoming a law.

• Have students use the anchor chart to explain the steps in sentence form.
• Ask questions such as…
  • Name some ways a bill is killed.
  • When the President of the United States vetoes a bill, what happens?
  • What percentages of the Senate and House are needed to override a veto?
  • If one house passes a bill, what happens next?
  • What are the two ways a bill can become a law?
  • In which house can a bill be introduced?
  • What can the President do once he receives a bill?
  • Only the House has the power to —-.

Download the Google Form quiz.

The official USA.gov website contains lessons with activities for teachers to use with their students. The webpage covers the standard NCSS Standard: VI. Power, Authority, & Government. Using the activities included, students learn terms, methods and the ins and outs of lawmaking.

The website breaks down the activities by grade level making it appropriate for 3 – 12 grades.

FirstLadies.org contains a lesson with a great schematic showing the steps of a bill becoming a law. 

Scholastic provides the steps from a bill being drafted to overriding the President’s veto in easy-to-understand text.