As we wrote this book we were mindful of our students: preservice middle school and high school social studies teachers who are enrolled in social studies methods courses. We call these students aspiring teachers, because they aspire to become effective in helping their students learn. We frequently notice, however, that aspiring teachers struggle with selecting instructional strategies, and often the strategies they select do not line up with the curriculum. For example, a teacher will decide to lecture because it is efficient, and not because it is deemed the best strategy for helping students learn a set of key concepts; or a teacher will use a simulation or group project to “add some variety” to the day, and not because these approaches will promote student learning more effectively than others. Similarly, decisions about the assessment of student learning, classroom management, use of digital technology, and many other common areas of the classroom are difficult for aspiring teachers to make because each decision is modified based on the content being learned and the instructional activities planned for the class session. Aspiring social studies teachers need guidance as they make decisions, and we believe a book that provides this will be a unique and important contribution to teacher education programs. It is as a result of these thoughts that we decided to write Instructional Strategies for Middle and Secondary Social Studies: Methods, Assessment, and Classroom Management.