Capitol Idea: Capitol Words
If you’re teaching students how to gain a better understanding of the government of the United States, you’ll want to get acquainted with the Sunlight Foundation and its powerful project, Capitol Words. Visitors who access Capitol Words are able to track and visualize the most used words in the Congressional Record. The words being tracked and visualized are displayed in more than one manner. They appear in a word cloud as well as in list view.
Word cloud of most used terms in the Congressional Record
If, however, your pupils are curious about the most loquacious lawmakers, they can take a look at the site’s Heat Map of Vocal States.
Related links: While you and your learners are exploring these government-related resources, why not take a gander at Subsidyscope? It’s a site that was launched by the Pew Charitable Trusts that’s attempting to increase public awareness about the role of federal subsidies in the economy. Want to follow that money? You can.
You might also want to check out Congress Speaks (http://congressspeaks.com). It’s a great way to look at the words spoken by the 110th congress as well as most words spoken, tenure, and voting records.