The US. Congress has two parts: the
Senate and the House of Representatives.
Every state has two senators, so small
states and large states are equal in the
Senate. There are 435 representatives in
the House, and states with more people
have more representatives. States with a
small population have only one
representative. States with a very large
population (California, Texas, New York,
and Florida)have more. California has
more than 50 representatives. You can use
Congress's websites to find the name of
your senators and representatives, and to
write to them.
VOCABULARY
Citizenship requirements
Resident card
Application for naturalization
Citizenship test
Oath of allegiance
Passport
LIFE STORIES
A Community Problem Michael Ford's son, Tony,
is a student at Parkside High School. Tony likes
his school and his teachers. Tony also likes
music. Every Tuesday he has a music class at
school. Last night, Mr. Ford went to a PTA
meeting at Tony‘s school. The PTA president
said, "The state has budget problems. They are
cutting the budget for music. This school has to
cut music classes." Mr. Ford was very unhappy
about this. He knew that money was a problem,
but he thought all children should study music.
He talked to other parents about the problem.
They decided to write to the governor. They were
going to email their friends and other parents.
They wanted to send 200 emails to the governor
about music classes. They thought the schools
should have enough money for music classes.