Instructional Materials

So what are instructional materials? Every teacher needs supplies and resources in order to have a successful classroom.
Writing utensils, paper, and inspirational wall signs are all useful objects in a classroom, but they are not instructional
materials. Instructional materials are the tools used in educational lessons, which includes active learning and assessment.
Basically, any resource a teacher uses to help him teach his students is an instructional material.

Example of Instructional materials

Traditional Resources
Traditional resources include any textbooks and workbooks used in the classroom. For example, language arts
classrooms almost always have literature textbooks, writing textbooks, and even vocabulary and spelling
workbooks. In addition to these, traditional resources also include any supplemental reading material, like
novels or poems outside of the textbook.
These materials can really help to introduce new concepts to your students. For example, when learning the
concept of theme, a literature textbook can provide numerous reading materials all displaying theme in
different types of literature. In the same way, workbooks can give some useful basic practice activities for a new
vocabulary words or even writing activities that might be difficult for students. Then, when mastery is shown on
a basic level, a teacher can introduce more challenging material related to that concept.
To evaluate these traditional resources, the most important aspect is to make sure you choose material within
the resource that appropriately relates to your learning objective. Most textbooks and workbooks have already
been designed to align with certain educational standards and are therefore very reliable in regards to
addressing classroom goals. Still, it is important to be sure to choose material within the textbooks that matches
your specific learning objective.

Graphic Organizers
A second type of instructional material is the graphic organizer, which is any type of visual representation of
information. Diagrams, charts, tables, flow charts, and graphs are all examples of graphic organizers. For
instance, in a math classroom, it is essential to use graphs on a coordinate plane when learning about the
equation of a line so that students can actually see how a line is graphed. In language arts, Venn diagrams and
plot diagrams are clear instructional tools to use when comparing or analyzing events in a piece of literature. All
of these graphic organizers allow students to physically see relationships between ideas. This is imperative for
learning, especially for students who are more visually oriented. Seeing a clear relationship is always easier than
an abstract idea in your mind.

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES

Behavioral objectives that are useful in the classroom must meet certain criteria. The four essential elements of a well-
written behavioral objective are outlined below. When writing a behavioral objective, evaluate it using these criteria.

1. Good behavioral objectives are student-oriented. A behavioral objective, which is student-oriented, places the
emphasis upon what the student is expected to do, not upon what the teacher will do.

Sometimes teachers use instructional goals which emphasize what they are expected to do rather than what they
expect of their students. Such teacher-oriented objectives only have the value to the extent that they direct the
teacher to do something, which ultimately leads to student learning. A teacher attempting to help his or her students
 attain the goal of solving long division problems may work out some of the problems on the blackboard, explaining
each of the steps involved. A teacher-oriented objective associated with this behavior might read something
like: "To explain the steps of long division on the blackboard." Notice that this might be a helpful teacher activity,
but it is only one of many possible activities that could help the students reach the goal of solving long division.

2. Good behavioral objectives describe learning outcomes. The important thing to keep in mind here is that we are
interested in what the students will learn to do. In other words, it is the learning outcome that is important, not the
learning activities that should lead to that outcome. To say that students will practice long division problems, using
two different methods, is not to specify a learning outcome; it describes a process. It specifies an activity designed to
help the students reach some outcome. As such, it is a student-oriented activity, not an outcome. Your objective
should reflect outcome language, rather than process phrases.

It may be helpful to you as a teacher to determine what kind of learning activities you may want your students to
carry out. However, determining which learning experiences and activities are most appropriate for your students
can only be made after you have decided what it is you want your students to accomplish. Once learning outcomes
are identified and described, then activities that are appropriate for attaining those outcomes can be determined.

3. Good behavioral objectives are clear and understandable. The first prerequisite for a clear and understandable
objective is explicitness. It should contain a clearly stated verb that describes a definite action or behavior and, in
most cases, should refer to an object of that action. People observing the products of those behaviors should agree
in their judgment about whether the behavior had occurred as stated.

4. Good behavioral objectives are observable. The evaluation of learning outcomes hinges on the ability to observe
those outcomes. The key to an observable objective is an observable verb. Consequently, when selecting behavioral
objectives for use in your teaching, watch the verbs! The verb must describe an observable action or an action that
results in an observable products.

References :

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES: Retrieved from http://www.oswego.edu/~hurley/BehavioralObjectives.htm

Janovsky , Angela Instructional Materials: Definition, Examples & Evaluation Retrieved

from http://study.com/academy/lesson/instructional-materials-definition-examples-evaluation.html