Lesson #1: The Legislative Branch

Activity 1.5: The Redistricting Game

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Minnesota’s new legislative district maps, released in 2012, pitted 46 incumbents against each other and created 23 open seats. In the words of Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), “You can’t take politics out of politics, and there is nothing more political than redistricting.”^[2]

Political redistricting is the process of setting up new district lines after reapportionment has been completed. Currently, our political system allows state legislators themselves to draw the district lines. Through the years some state legislatures have abused this power by creating congressional districts of very unequal populations (so citizens’ votes are not equally powerful) and by gerrymandering (when incumbents draw district lines to protect their seats). Redistricting is one of the most important yet least understood aspects of our political system. In this lesson, students will learn a bit more about redistricting and the abuses and manipulations our system invites.

Social Studies Benchmark:

9.1.4.6.2: Explain the purposes, organization, functions and processes of the legislative branch as enumerated in Article I of the United States Constitution.

Reading Benchmarks:

9.12.4.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, geographic, historical, or economic aspects of history/social studies.

Learning Target:

I can explain how Congress works and describe the lawmaking process.

• I can describe the factors that invite abuse and manipulation into our redistricting system.

Essential Question:

What is the role of the legislative branch, and how does Congress function?

• How does our current system of redistricting invite abuse and manipulation?

To complete Activity 1.5 please follow the steps below:

Complete the tasks listed below and submit your scoresheet by uploading a file to the “Add Submission” box located at the bottom of this moodle page. Please answer with proper response construction and make sure to include your name properly on the assignment. Name, Course, Grade, Date.

STEP 1: Gather Background Information

Redistricting became very important after 1910, when Congress limited the size of the House of Representatives to 435. From then on, if a state’s population was shown to increase in the federal census, it could not simply have another seat in the House. If a state gained a seat, another had to lose one to even things out. In the late 1920’s, Congress repealed the law that mandated districts to be roughly equally sized and compact within states. This newly found flexibility in how to draw districts caused a lot of stress in state legislatures as they were dealing with urbanization, the Westward Movement, and an influx of immigrants moving to immigrant communities. Several states began to demand that their district lines be redrawn to account for these changes.^[3]

STEP 2: Play the Game

1. Go to the USC Annenberg Center’s “Redistricting Game”.
2. Watch the introductory video.
3. Click on .
4. Your goal is to play at complete at least two rounds (Mission 1 and Mission 2). Before playing each round (Basic or Advanced), be sure to read the background information in the “Learn More” link.

1. Note: If you have pop ups blocked, please change your browser settings to allow them.

5. During each round, keep a tally of the number of times you had to submit for approval until you were approved by the legislature, governor, and courts. Make a copy of this scoresheet on which you should record your answers. (This will be submitted for credit.)
6. Each time you complete a mission, capture and save a screenshot as proof, then paste it into your scoresheet (#2).

STEP 3: Processing

1. Select one of the Mission 1 Quotes. Record and summarize it on your scoresheet (#3), then explain what the author’s perspective on gerrymandering most likely is (#4). How do you know?
2. Respond to the following statement (#5 on scoresheet): “Congressional districts should be based on geographic location, not population counts.”^[4] Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Upload your scoresheet to the “Add Submission” box!

1. Open document to your computer
2. Complete the Activity
3. Click "Save As" and save it onto a special place on your computer
4. Click "Upload a File"
5. Upload the file to this Moodle page
6. Click Save