Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 310 Unit 4 The Teacher T eachers face a similar dilemma all the time. They know what they want students to learn. Next, they must decide how best to achieve it. Chapter 13 explored the process that determines what to teach. The end result, a lesson plan, is an individual teacher’s strategy for teaching a par- ticular topic. Learning activities form the heart of lesson plans. Teachers can create successful learning activities because of their knowledge of and experience with various instructional methods. Instructional methods, often called instructional strategies or teaching strategies, are the basic tech- niques used to promote learning. Teachers know the uses of these meth- ods—such as discussions, skits, and demonstrations—and choose the best one for a particular learning objective, topic, and class situation. They then use that method as the basis for developing a specific learning activity (Figure 14.1). This chapter looks at the characteristics of a variety of common instruc- tional methods. There are certainly other strategies that you may want to add to your instructional repertoire, your list of skills, activities, and meth- ods or strategies for teaching. You will often combine several methods for one lesson. You have the perspective of experiencing these strategies as a student. Now, you will see how teachers view and utilize them. What perfect timing! Not only is it a US Presidential Election year, but it is also an election year for your city mayor. For a history teacher focusing on US government and civics, the timing could not be better. You will be teaching a unit covering political parties, the practice of democracy, the electoral process, politics and the media, political special interests, and the Bill of Rights. Your desire is to explore each of these topics with your students and for them to be able to accurately articulate how each operates in society. Let’s Discuss Brainstorm at least one instructional activity that could be used for each of the topics within this unit. Think broadly and include as many different types of instructional activities as possible. Discuss with the class why you selected specific activities for certain topics. Read the case study and complete the activity that follows. After reading the chapter, review your chosen instructional activities for these topics. Would your selec- tions remain the same? Why or why not? CASE STUDY t a d t o t a L t u t w f larry1235/Shutterstock.com