Understanding American Politics and Government, second edition Instructors Manual

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Understanding American Politics and Government, Second Edition

By John J. Coleman , Kenneth M. Goldstein, William G. Howell

Instructor’s Resource Manual to accompany

Coleman Goldstein Howell

Understanding American Politics and Government Second Edition

Prepared by Deron Schreck Moraine Valley Community College

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Table of Contents Chapter 1: Thinking About American Politics Chapter 2: Political Culture Chapter 3: The Constitution Chapter 4: Federalism Chapter 5: Civil Liberties Chapter 6: Civil Rights Chapter 7: Public Opinion Chapter 8: Political Participation Chapter 9: Voting, Elections, and Campaigns Chapter 10: Media and Politics Chapter 11: Political Parties Chapter 12: Interest Groups Chapter 13: Congress Chapter 14: The Presidency Chapter 15: The Federal Court System Chapter 16: The Bureaucracy Chapter 17: Economic and Social Policy Chapter 18: Foreign Policy Chapter 19: State and Local Governments

PREFACE New Format The Coleman Instructor’s Resource Manual is delivered in a format created with direct feedback from teachers. We spoke with a range of instructors—from those who have been teaching only a couple of semesters, to those who have been teaching for many years. Most of the feedback involved accessibility and ease of use. With these concerns in mind we asked a number of instructors what the ideal instructor’s manual would be like, and came up with the following: Access to the “best of” materials Pearson Education publishes a number of introductory American Government texts, and the instructors we spoke with recommended that we review all of our introductory American Government instructor’s manuals, pull the best lecture, classroom activities and assignments found in each and use these resources in all of our instructor’s manuals to ensure that each Pearson introductory text offers instructors the “best of” experience. Structure your course In addition to providing the best instructor resources we have to offer, this manual can also help you to structure your course. The IM is organized in the order that you should assign the content, and works in conjunction with the other supplemental resources for the text (available on the IRC): Chapter Overview This book-specific content lists the Learning Objectives that will guide your teaching, as well as a Chapter Summary that outlines the main points of each chapter. Student Assignments – Pre-Lecture This section lists the activities that a student should complete before you begin your lecture, such as the assigned reading and the Reading Comprehension quiz in the Test Bank (ISBN: 0205066755). Lecture Resources This section includes thumbnails of the PowerPoint slides developed for the book (ISBN: 0205060374) alongside notes for each slide. This overview can help you prepare what you want to use in lecture, or it can be lectured from alone if you don’t use PPTs. In addition to this Lecture Outline, this section also provides additional lecture suggestions that you can use to supplement your presentation, organized by Learning Objective.

Student Assignments Post-Lecture This section includes the bulk of material, used for both formative and summative assessment, including Class Discussion, Class Activities, and Research Assignments, also organized by Learning Objective. Quantitative Assessment Once you’ve finished your lesson, this section directs you to the Test Bank (ISBN: 0205066755) so you can test your students’ comprehension of the material. Resources for Further Study Still want more ideas? This section provides background materials in the form of Books, Articles, Media, and Websites for you to supplement your lesson. Easy Navigation We’ve provided a linked Table of Contents in each chapter so that you can easily jump to the section you’d like. We’ve also placed links at the end of each section to bring you back to the TOC for easy navigation. Acknowledgements We’d like to thank the following instructors for their hard work reviewing and editing the wealth of American Government instructor content to identify the “best of” resources: Maryann Zihala, Ozarks Technical Community College Brian Dille, Mesa Community College Reed Welch, West Texas A&M University We hope this resource makes teaching your course a lot easier and promotes greater success among your students. We welcome any and all feedback. Pearson.politicalscience@pearson.com

Integrated Guide to the Text’s Resources (Instructor’s Resource Manual)

Chapter 1 - Thinking About American Politics Table of Contents I. Chapter Overview A. Learning Objectives B. Chapter Summary II. Student Assignments – Pre-Lecture III. Lecture Resources A. Lecture Slides B. Additional Lecture Suggestions IV. Student Assignments – Post-Lecture A. Class Discussion Questions B. Class Activities C. Research Assignments V. Quantitative Assessment VI. Resources for Further Study A. Books B. Articles C. Media D. Web Resources

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I. Chapter Overview: A.

Learning Objectives

¾1.1 Assess the challenges that researchers face when studying causal relationships within politics. ¾1.2 Analyze the purposes of government and explain why government is necessary. ¾1.3 Compare and contrast the U.S. government to other democratic systems and identify core values and beliefs within American political culture. × Return to Chapter 1: Table of Contents B.

Chapter Summary

Thinking About Politics Political science is a discipline within the social sciences that studies politics, political behavior, and political systems. Analytically driven, political scientists use the scientific method to determine what factor(s) produce particular political phenomena. Answering causal questions is at the root of what political scientists do. In order to answer these kinds of questions, one must be able to conceptualization and measure the various characteristics of American society and government. Researchers then seek to identify those factors that influence or cause change in the political phenomena they are studying. However, it is rarely the case that only one factor is involved in the causal relationship. It is much more likely that several factors influence any political outcome. Therefore, political science involves the analyses of complex relationships, hence creating several challenges for any researcher in the field. One of the most important challenges is for scholars to recognize that correlation and causation are different concepts. Correlation simply implies that two factors have a relationship with each other. Correlation does not mean that one factor is causing the other to occur. As the author states, just because ice cream sales and burglaries move together does not mean that ice cream sales are causing burglaries to occur. Contexts for Studying American Government and Politics The democratic form of governance in the United States is just one form of democracy. Historical and comparative contexts allow for a more complete analysis of government in the United States by allowing students to compare and contrast democratic development across democracies. For instance, one of the shared characteristics of democracy is majority rule through the use of elections. Differences between American democracy and other democratic forms can also be traced to the unique history of the United States. History has greatly influenced the dominant political culture of the United States, known as the American creed. The American Creed is characterized by respect for individualism, democracy, equality, liberty, private property, and freedom of religion. American political culture provides citizens with an understanding of what is politically possible in the United States. In other words, it informs citizens what they can demand and expect of their government.

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Government and Why It Is Necessary Government refers to the network of institutions that create and enforce rules for a specific geographic area and people. Governments are necessary because they make people do what they otherwise might not do. In that way, stability and order can ensue. In exchange for granting government the monopoly on force, citizens will receive access to public goods in addition to guarantees of security. Therefore, the primary responsibilities of government include: keeping order, providing individual rights, and the provision of public goods. In a democracy, the government receives its power from the people through a social contract. The social contract outlines which rights will be afforded to the state and which rights the people will maintain. In the United States, the U.S. Constitution further delineates the responsibilities of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The Bill of Rights further outlines what the government can and cannot do in terms of its relationship with individuals. Overall, engaging in politics means influencing who will govern, how the government will operate, what the substance of governmental decisions will be, and how government will enforce its decisions. × Return to Chapter 1: Table of Contents

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II. Student Assignments – Pre-Lecture A. B.

Student Required Reading: Chapter 1 – Thinking About American Politics Administer Reading Comprehension Quiz (see Test Bank, Chapter 1)

× Return to Chapter 1: Table of Contents

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