Using the textbook

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Using the textbook

by Point taken

Mar 16, 2013

How much do you depend on a textbook for designing lessons?

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Teacher Textbooks have a place. If you know very little history, primary sources alone you have nothing to fill in the gaps for your students. My history classes in college had textbooks that we had to read and were tested over. I add information to what is in the text to make history interesting.

On 3/21/13, Thank you. Thought maybe I'd awakened...See MoreTextbooks have a place. If you know very little history, primary sources alone you have nothing to fill in the gaps for your students. My history classes in college had textbooks that we had to read and were tested over. I add information to what is in the text to make history interesting.

On 3/21/13, Thank you. Thought maybe I'd awakened on another planet wrote: > On 3/17/13, Working Hard wrote: >> On 3/16/13, Point taken wrote: >>> How much do you depend on a textbook for designing lessons? >> >> Because we have a strong literacy component in our state, we >> need to read a lot. Most of my students come to me deficient >> in reading. A lot of money is invested in texts and so I use >> them - I use them at my discretion, but I am not one of the " >> let's hate textbooks" crowd. >> >> Listen- textbooks condense a lot of info into doable units. I >> have to cover a lot of territory and they are designed for >> that. We do most of our reading from them aloud in class and >> discuss the text as we go. My text has good ancillary >> materials - a Smart Board version with interactive maps, >> audio summaries, Reading study Guide workbooks, etc.... It >> has a good companion website with great review activities, >> and a PowerPoint CD. So - I use the text AND the accompanying >> materials and I am thankful for them. They help me get the >> job done. I add my own activities and use what is provided. A >> good teacher can take a mediocre text and make it pop - don't >> discount the text! > > > So this year it's textbooks that have fallen out of fashion. Good > to know, I suppose. For the last few years it was direct > instruction, and before that it was worksheets. LOL...somewhere, > a bunch of know-it-alls are probably making a lot of money sitting > around deciding what all the washed up, uncool teachers are using > to pollute the hungry minds of our eager young students. > > I don't know anyone who doesn't supplement the textbooks, but I > agree with you, Working Hard, that the textbooks are a useful, > efficient means of getting the basics across. Have to laugh > though envisioning tribes of new teachers across the country, each > coming up with their own, individual dog-and-pony show to teach > the kids about the American Revolution, for example. (And after > they stay up all night doing all that hard work to "make the > subject come alive" or whatever, the stoned kids sitting in the > back will still be just as sleepy as if the teachers had just used > what's already in the textbook.) > > Textbooks will always be textbooks, and eventually the Internet, > etc. may make them obsolete, but more because textbooks are heavy > than because they're useless and irrelevant. (And our history > books do a pretty good job of explaining why the Revolution > happened, and making connections to the French Revolution, and > explaining why Democracy suddenly mattered to all kinds of people > in the world at the time who were tired of being jerked around by > social stratification, clueless kings, etc.) > > I have to wonder whether the vehemently anti-textbook crowd is > making any effort to IMPROVE the textbooks they don't like (as in > writing to the publishers with their lists of feedback and > complaints), or if they consider whether all the "unique" lesson > planning (and subsequent photocopying...oops, what's > this...WORKSHEETS?) is really the most efficient use of their > time, or at least of piles and piles of paper and gallons of toner. > > And documentaries are great for teaching history, but as you point > out, we can't just have the kids sitting around all day watching > movies. The curriculum demands, and rightly so, that students > learn to read thoughtfully and critically. The textbooks are > designed to present the information at the students' > grade-specific reading level, and ours, at least, are also packed > with interesting pictures, graphs, maps, and original historical > documents. Any teacher who's lamenting that textbooks are lame > and worthless should at least crack the assigned textbook open and > take a look at what's inside. It may be a more valuable teaching > tool than you've ever imagined. And if it's not, then it's time > to contact the department head and/or the district purchasers and > start a discussion around WHY anybody's spending piles and piles > of public money on textbooks that suck. > > It's not enough to pass out the textbooks to the students (just > like we're told to do), sigh cynically, refuse to use them, and > pat oneself on the back for being all edgy and rebellious. And > it's not fair to the STUDENTS for any teacher to overlook the > possibility that some of the material in those books might > actually HELP them. (And the Students' Needs Come First. Every > day, no exception. School is all about the children...not about > my ego, or my self-importance, or my need to prove that I'm the > first person on the block who's ever really known how to teach > school, or my fear of embarrassment if anyone should ever catch my > students reading textbooks.) > > Finally, I'd caution any of the young, impatient, > too-cool-for-textbooks teachers against inflicting THEIR cynicism > on the students at school. Kids don't need to hear, "Your > schoolbooks are terrible, just because they're schoolbooks." A > lot of kids are burnt out, too, on the annual barrage of "Hey, > guess what? This year you're going to learn in a Whole! New! > Way!, unlike all the lameness those OTHER losers have been > inflicting upon you up until now. Because this year, you poor > victimized children, I Am Here to save you! This year, I AM IN > YOUR LIFE!" etc., from somebody not even noticing the roomful of > facepalms and "Oh no, not again" from children who've heard that > same speech five or ten times. > > Those textbooks have been purchased For The Children. Anyone > who's making the decision to keep them Away From The Children had > better be damned sure that what he or she is using instead is AT > LEAST as good as the textbooks. It's wonderful to engage the > students, and to protect the students, and to light the students' > minds on fire (metaphorically, of course), and all that other > enthusiastic stuff, as long as our Great Big Ideas don't wind up > being just one more way of cheating them

Mar 31, 2013

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Jay Coles On 3/17/13, Working Hard wrote: > On 3/16/13, Point taken wrote: >> How much do you depend on a textbook for designing lessons? > > Because we have a strong literacy component in our state, we > need to read a lot. Most of my students come to me deficient > in reading. A lot of money is invested in texts and so I use > them...See MoreOn 3/17/13, Working Hard wrote: > On 3/16/13, Point taken wrote: >> How much do you depend on a textbook for designing lessons? > > Because we have a strong literacy component in our state, we > need to read a lot. Most of my students come to me deficient > in reading. A lot of money is invested in texts and so I use > them - I use them at my discretion, but I am not one of the " > let's hate textbooks" crowd. > > Listen- textbooks condense a lot of info into doable units. I > have to cover a lot of territory and they are designed for > that. We do most of our reading from them aloud in class and > discuss the text as we go. My text has good ancillary > materials - a Smart Board version with interactive maps, > audio summaries, Reading study Guide workbooks, etc.... It > has a good companion website with great review activities, > and a PowerPoint CD. So - I use the text AND the accompanying > materials and I am thankful for them. They help me get the > job done. I add my own activities and use what is provided. A > good teacher can take a mediocre text and make it pop - don't > discount the text!

I am totally late. But I felt like I needed to throw in a suggestion. I agree with ^^^ using the textbooks! Obviously, textbooks are given to us to teach our kiddos History, right? But you must realize, not all students learn the same way. Aside from that, textbooks have been statistically proven to cause students to understand less due to their disengagement. Like I mentioned previously, about students having different learning styles and preferences; to benefit all students within the same class - you must keep note of the different learning strategies. For instance, I know I have visual learners, as well as auditory learners, as well as kinesthetic learners. I take this into consideration by alternating the different ways I teach the class. One day, we do a lot of article reading aside from the textbook (almost to trick them to pay attention to the textbook) - and this benefits my visual/kinesthetic learners. Other times, I assign video lectures with an activity that benefits all three styles. In class, regularly, we take notes - to do such, I use powerpoints and my powerpoints contain words obviously, but also includes relative pictures, and video clips with sound! The textbook shall be used in some form - but we shouldn't be totally dependent on it to teach our students. Appeal to the students, individually, by learning what kind of learners you have. That's the first step

Jun 22, 2013

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Chris in MA Great question....I view the textbook as an integral part of social studies instruction. It is valuable as a resource, however it is a necessity in the day and age of common core and the future PARCC test. Students will have to be fairly savvy about how to read varying texts, including history ones.

Jun 24, 2013

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Gianna my social studies teacher does not believe in using textbooks.He says that there can be many untrue stories and that he wants to know the real ones. he recommended to us to use the yale school resources its a great resource.

Oct 17, 2016

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K I don't use the text because it so bad. I use materials created by another teacher which I feel are excellent. I also use choice boards and menus. The thing I am wondering about is how much support should I be giving the students when it is time for independent work. I haven't been assigning group work or pair work because the students do not compl...See MoreI don't use the text because it so bad. I use materials created by another teacher which I feel are excellent. I also use choice boards and menus. The thing I am wondering about is how much support should I be giving the students when it is time for independent work. I haven't been assigning group work or pair work because the students do not complete much when we do. Should I assign the questions, then check them later, or give a certain amount of time, then go over the answers together? Read the content aloud for the students, let one read aloud, have them read quietly? Thanks, K

On 3/21/13, Thank you. Thought maybe I'd awakened on another planet wrote: > On 3/17/13, Working Hard wrote: >> On 3/16/13, Point taken wrote: >>> How much do you depend on a textbook for designing lessons? >> >> Because we have a strong literacy component in our state, we >> need to read a lot. Most of my students come to me deficient >> in reading. A lot of money is invested in texts and so I use >> them - I use them at my discretion, but I am not one of the " >> let's hate textbooks" crowd. >> >> Listen- textbooks condense a lot of info into doable units. I >> have to cover a lot of territory and they are designed for >> that. We do most of our reading from them aloud in class and >> discuss the text as we go. My text has good ancillary >> materials - a Smart Board version with interactive maps, >> audio summaries, Reading study Guide workbooks, etc.... It >> has a good companion website with great review activities, >> and a PowerPoint CD. So - I use the text AND the accompanying >> materials and I am thankful for them. They help me get the >> job done. I add my own activities and use what is provided. A >> good teacher can take a mediocre text and make it pop - don't >> discount the text! > > > So this year it's textbooks that have fallen out of fashion. Good > to know, I suppose. For the last few years it was direct > instruction, and before that it was worksheets. LOL...somewhere, > a bunch of know-it-alls are probably making a lot of money sitting > around deciding what all the washed up, uncool teachers are using > to pollute the hungry minds of our eager young students. > > I don't know anyone who doesn't supplement the textbooks, but I > agree with you, Working Hard, that the textbooks are a useful, > efficient means of getting the basics across. Have to laugh > though envisioning tribes of new teachers across the country, each > coming up with their own, individual dog-and-pony show to teach > the kids about the American Revolution, for example. (And after > they stay up all night doing all that hard work to "make the > subject come alive" or whatever, the stoned kids sitting in the > back will still be just as sleepy as if the teachers had just used > what's already in the textbook.) > > Textbooks will always be textbooks, and eventually the Internet, > etc. may make them obsolete, but more because textbooks are heavy > than because they're useless and irrelevant. (And our history > books do a pretty good job of explaining why the Revolution > happened, and making connections to the French Revolution, and > explaining why Democracy suddenly mattered to all kinds of people > in the world at the time who were tired of being jerked around by > social stratification, clueless kings, etc.) > > I have to wonder whether the vehemently anti-textbook crowd is > making any effort to IMPROVE the textbooks they don't like (as in > writing to the publishers with their lists of feedback and > complaints), or if they consider whether all the "unique" lesson > planning (and subsequent photocopying...oops, what's > this...WORKSHEETS?) is really the most efficient use of their > time, or at least of piles and piles of paper and gallons of toner. > > And documentaries are great for teaching history, but as you point > out, we can't just have the kids sitting around all day watching > movies. The curriculum demands, and rightly so, that students > learn to read thoughtfully and critically. The textbooks are > designed to present the information at the students' > grade-specific reading level, and ours, at least, are also packed > with interesting pictures, graphs, maps, and original historical > documents. Any teacher who's lamenting that textbooks are lame > and worthless should at least crack the assigned textbook open and > take a look at what's inside. It may be a more valuable teaching > tool than you've ever imagined. And if it's not, then it's time > to contact the department head and/or the district purchasers and > start a discussion around WHY anybody's spending piles and piles > of public money on textbooks that suck. > > It's not enough to pass out the textbooks to the students (just > like we're told to do), sigh cynically, refuse to use them, and > pat oneself on the back for being all edgy and rebellious. And > it's not fair to the STUDENTS for any teacher to overlook the > possibility that some of the material in those books might > actually HELP them. (And the Students' Needs Come First. Every > day, no exception. School is all about the children...not about > my ego, or my self-importance, or my need to prove that I'm the > first person on the block who's ever really known how to teach > school, or my fear of embarrassment if anyone should ever catch my > students reading textbooks.) > > Finally, I'd caution any of the young, impatient, > too-cool-for-textbooks teachers against inflicting THEIR cynicism > on the students at school. Kids don't need to hear, "Your > schoolbooks are terrible, just because they're schoolbooks." A > lot of kids are burnt out, too, on the annual barrage of "Hey, > guess what? This year you're going to learn in a Whole! New! > Way!, unlike all the lameness those OTHER losers have been > inflicting upon you up until now. Because this year, you poor > victimized children, I Am Here to save you! This year, I AM IN > YOUR LIFE!" etc., from somebody not even noticing the roomful of > facepalms and "Oh no, not again" from children who've heard that > same speech five or ten times. > > Those textbooks have been purchased For The Children. Anyone > who's making the decision to keep them Away From The Children had > better be damned sure that what he or she is using instead is AT > LEAST as good as the textbooks. It's wonderful to engage the > students, and to protect the students, and to light the students' > minds on fire (metaphorically, of course), and all that other > enthusiastic stuff, as long as our Great Big Ideas don't wind up > being just one more way of cheating them.

Mar 6, 2017

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