Chapter Three
(Page 40) “School textbooks belong in the same category with encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses…textbooks are designed to inventory huge amounts of information that can be looked up when needed.”
Y’know, when I read these sort of statements, it just makes me want to knock myself upside the head and say, “Duh!” This really is such a common sense thought, but having gone through school the “traditional” way, I never thought about it because the textbook was the curriculum. How much better prepared would our students be if we relied on the textbook very little and used an abundance of other resources, so students could discover different way to find information since they won’t be given textbooks at different points in life? (They certainly didn’t give me a baby textbook after giving birth when I left the hospital a few weeks ago. That would have been helpful, but I’m having to rely on other sources to get information.) When I first started teaching in a learning disabled resource class, I was very frustrated because there was no textbook for me to use, so I had to go out and find things on my own to use to teach the students. But it certainly ended up helping me in the long run because I was able to pull a lot of different resources for class. Of course in hindsight, some of things I used weren’t so great, but some of the things were.
Chapter Nine
(Page 202) “Book Clubs help…differentiate instruction in (the) classroom…by using temporary kid-driven forms of grouping and re-grouping.”
(Page 40) “School textbooks belong in the same category with encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses…textbooks are designed to inventory huge amounts of information that can be looked up when needed.”
Y’know, when I read these sort of statements, it just makes me want to knock myself upside the head and say, “Duh!” This really is such a common sense thought, but having gone through school the “traditional” way, I never thought about it because the textbook was the curriculum. How much better prepared would our students be if we relied on the textbook very little and used an abundance of other resources, so students could discover different way to find information since they won’t be given textbooks at different points in life? (They certainly didn’t give me a baby textbook after giving birth when I left the hospital a few weeks ago. That would have been helpful, but I’m having to rely on other sources to get information.) When I first started teaching in a learning disabled resource class, I was very frustrated because there was no textbook for me to use, so I had to go out and find things on my own to use to teach the students. But it certainly ended up helping me in the long run because I was able to pull a lot of different resources for class. Of course in hindsight, some of things I used weren’t so great, but some of the things were.
Chapter Nine
(Page 202) “Book Clubs help…differentiate instruction in (the) classroom…by using temporary kid-driven forms of grouping and re-grouping.”
Ah, the magic word: differentiate. Book Clubs really are an easy way to achieve differentiation in your classroom. The key is that the students get to choose what they want to read, so they can’t complain about it too much! It’s generally a bit easier to get kids to do things when they’ve had some say in it. Even though the students are reading different texts, you’re still able to cover the same concept and all of the students are able to get something from it, not just those who always do their work. If you’ve never used book clubs in your classroom before, I think you’re going to enjoy experiencing one for yourself and seeing how they operate.
Devising the groups for book clubs can get a little tricky. You want to give everyone his or her first choice, but this is rarely possible. In dividing y’all into groups, I wasn’t able to give everyone his or her top pick, but everyone did get either their first or second choice. During our next class, y’all will get together with your group and decide what method you want to use lead your book club discussion. Different methods are mentioned on page 207 of this chapter and we’ll discuss them in class. Here are your groups and the book you will be reading:
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things: Ruth Anne, Cheryl, Karen, Anna
The First Part Last (Group One): Nicole, Bill, Stefanie
The First Part Last (Group Two): Lisa, Rachel, Amanda, Deborah
Devising the groups for book clubs can get a little tricky. You want to give everyone his or her first choice, but this is rarely possible. In dividing y’all into groups, I wasn’t able to give everyone his or her top pick, but everyone did get either their first or second choice. During our next class, y’all will get together with your group and decide what method you want to use lead your book club discussion. Different methods are mentioned on page 207 of this chapter and we’ll discuss them in class. Here are your groups and the book you will be reading:
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things: Ruth Anne, Cheryl, Karen, Anna
The First Part Last (Group One): Nicole, Bill, Stefanie
The First Part Last (Group Two): Lisa, Rachel, Amanda, Deborah
Now don't be one of "those" students who goes and gets the book and finishes it before our next class! Besides, you'll end up having to go back to reread anyway, because you won't know which method of response your group will use.
11 comments:
I never had my students read from a textbook when I taught science. I knew it was boring stuff that they would not read. I gave notes through the TV using PowerPoint and that was the material they needed for their test. I did always tell them at the start of notes which chapters out of the textbook went with the notes. They could use the textbook to help clarify anything that they didn’t understand as well as asking me to explain further. They also used the textbook to answer questions on worksheets. That was the extent that I used textbooks in my class.
One source of reading that I used other than the textbook was the magazine Popular Science. The students really enjoyed looking at those and the material was much more interesting. Unfortunately they are expensive so I could not buy enough for the whole class. They had to read the ones that I had collected over the years.
I think the idea of a book club is great but especially in a science class. The information would definitely be presented in a much more interesting way. I could see students getting more involved and I think it would be a good way to help them connect the information.
I think the pendulum is swinging away from textbooks being the primary mode of instruction in many classes. The way that Lisa used texts in science is the way that I am seeing more and more teachers using them. As a special education teacher, my job (as it related to textbooks) is usually helping students learn how to find specific information in their texts using textbook features and active reading strategies. How wonderful if no one pretended that they were works of literature to be read from cover to cover!
The chapter on book clubs made me excited to try them this year. I’ve been looking for practical suggestions on ways to incorporate them to help students understand content area topics, and these authors make is seem almost foolproof. The suggestions for nonfiction books across the curriculum are perfect for my kids who have finally discovered they like reading IF they are allowed fiction books of their choice (and the audiotape format helps even the unlikeliest readers). My next challenge is to find nonfiction books that tie in to the ninth grade curriculum – looking to build prior knowledge so that they have something on which to attach their new learning in science or social studies or math! And now I have $100.00 to spend – what could be better….. And yes, I’m taking suggestions for trade books.
I enjoyed both of these chapters. I appreciated all that Daniels and Zemelman noted in Chapter Three. It’s so easy for teachers to view textbooks as the “final answer” in class information. In addition, I was surprised when I read all of the mistakes that have been noted in textbooks. I have to honestly say that as an English teacher, sometimes I don’t know if I use my textbook enough. I’m fortunate to have a class set of the textbooks, and I’ve chosen to pull from these textbooks for supplementary materials. For example, my students just finished up a “Who Am I?” Unit, formed thematically around the book Bronx Masquerade. At the end of this unit, we’ve studied “I Have a Dream” and “Glory and Hope,” both found in the students textbook/Interactive Reader (which I’m a huge fan of). As I wrote before, there are times that I feel I maybe don’t even use my textbook enough, but I think that’s a good thing about English. Textbooks can be supplementary materials used to create thematic units. Plus, they can be just what Daniels and Zemelman call them—reference books!
I have read Harvey Daniels’ Literature Circles books. Because I participated in literature circles in one of my graduate classes, I quickly became a fan. When I did my long-term subbing at Fulmer, I taught the 8th grade English I Honors class. In this class, I did literature circles with my students. I began with students’ deciding their reading schedule and how they’d get through the reading in the allotted amount of time. Then, students began reading. It was good because I had enough choices of novels to give most of the kids one of their top choices. In addition, the students seemed to really enjoy the project tied in at the end of the study. They worked as a team to create a news program for their book…including top news story, sports, weather (metaphorically speaking, of course), commercials, etc. I even had a parent e-mail me and say that her son enjoyed the assignment a good bit…and many of them were quite creative. One of the main aspects I liked about reading this chapter was the list of suggestions Daniels and Zemelman gave us about assessment strategies. I’m a fan of the Post-It notes…just wish I could afford them for all of my kids. In addition, I was grateful to reread about the use of role sheets. When I did literature circles with these kids and used role sheets, I did them ALL WRONG! I didn’t have them refer to role sheets as a last resort. And so when kids got together on certain days, all they would do is share what they wrote down and then adjourn the meeting. I know now how I’ll do things differently.
What really bums me out is that I have sooooo many students (123), and I’m afraid we don’t not have the materials/funds for me to do literature circles with all of my students. I have to do all novel reading in class because all we have funds for are class sets of the books. Literature circles cannot work if students have to do all the reading in class…can they? I don’t see how we could ensure students would get through the reading in a practical time frame. I want to use them, but I’ll have to figure out how it can be done!
Chapter 3
First of all, I completely agree that textbooks are not enough for classroom instruction. While I have used the textbook to help me plan my curriculum, I’ve also strayed away from it on various occasions. We recently finished reading one novel in class and are currently working on a second class novel. That being said, I’m not sure how I feel about the comment that all classes/contents should not solely rely on a textbook. I’m not too experienced, and I’m not experience with other contents, but perhaps there are some classes that do fairly well with using only a textbook. Also, I’m sure that there are good textbooks and not-so-good textbooks. I really like the textbook the English department has in this district. That being said, I did the bulk of my student teaching in this district and in Richland 2 (where I was for a short time, I was there during a class novel and never saw the textbook or it in use). I think it is very important to supplement the pieces in a textbook with other resources/readings/etc. As far as textbooks being too large, yes they are, but think of all the material they have in them and all that offers to the teacher as far as starting ideas for the curriculum. I do not see a point in students carrying around their textbooks, so they keep them in the classroom---orthopedic problem solved. Overall, I enjoyed what this chapter had to say about textbooks, but at the same time, felt it was a handful of pages that bashed the use of textbooks (though I do realize they were arguing against the sole or main use of textbooks in instruction) and could have instead given ideas of how to successfully incorporate textbooks into a classroom.
Chapter 9
I really like the idea of book clubs and would like to try them in my class. I think they are important to helping students take control of their own reading, understanding, and comprehension. I really like how this chapter explains in detail the activities and discussion should be taking place during book clubs. I also like how the students are each assigned a role and know how they should be participating in the book club. I guess I don’t have much to say on the subject until I try it. I’ve never seen one in actual practice, and while it is something I look forward to trying, there is also that fear that it will go HORRIBLY, HORRIBLY wrong. I’m up for the challenge…
I’m not really sure what to say in response to these two chapters.
It was interesting for me to read the chapter about textbooks because I realized the kind of journey that I’ve taken with my current textbook. When I did my student teaching, I taught straight through the book. It didn’t matter if I liked what they were bringing up or if I thought the material was unnecessary. Last year, I gradually moved from there to rearranging things – bringing them up in an order that made more sense to me. This year, I hardly pull out the book at all. Typically, when I do, it’s for some form of written practice or drill.
Languages are in a tricky spot with textbooks, as it is. We’re getting ready to adopt new textbooks next year and our state now requires a certain curriculum. I’m finding that it’s easier for me to rearrange my lessons and plans the way I want to and then use my TB to support that. This way, I do not have to completely rewrite my lessons when I get the new TB.
As far as the book clubs go, perhaps it’s that I’ve never really been a part of one, but I just can’t picture how this would work. I probably don’t have enough faith in my students, but I find that they get off topic before I’ve hardly dismissed them to complete something. So I can’t imagine them staying on topic for half an hour or so as they discuss something they read. I do, however, like that they get a choice of what they’re reading. Even if they never would have picked something from that list on their own, they still have a feeling of choice, since they picked it from those options.
Also, if I were to do something like this, I would most likely need to do something nonfiction and in English. Does anyone have any suggestions? I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Almost everything I had to read in my subject area was awful and I would never subject my students to that torture.
BTW, are we only reading two books for our book clubs? What happened to the other two books?
CHAPTER 3
I have generally been pretty dependent upon textbooks for short stories and poetry, but I usually develop my own novel curriculum and materials. This chapter said a lot about the faults in textbooks, however. I guess I never really thought about them having too much information, but just too little of it all. Thinking back, I've always supplemented certain units with stories and terms from my old college texts. I guess that I somehow saw inadequacies and things that I knew kids needed to know, but that were missing from the books. This is a real issue now, because I think this school's literature book for the 10th grade is very weak in the area of poetry, which is the unit I'm currently teaching. I'm just choosing poems off of the internet and some that I've taught in the past (I'm finding and making copies for my students)to cover the poetic terminology that I think is important based on the state standards. Textbooks can make my job easier, but I guess that isn't really the point.
CHAPTER 9
I've studied literature circles before, but never book clubs. I see some similarities between the two, but I really learned a lot from this chapter. It gave many great examples for teaching book club procedures to my classes, and also ways to keep students interested and on task. I think that the lit. circles I had planned for the last 4-5 weeks of the semester will be converted into book clubs that employ several of the suggestions from this chapter! I'm so glad you had us read it, Diane!
I feel as if I already treat the textbook for my class as a reference book. I hardly ever use the textbook in my class. I have started to integrate the text more often this year. I like to use the book for supplemental information and problems. I give students questions to answer that follow along with the information in the book. I try not to use trick questions, but I do not want the questions to be word for word what is printed in the textbook.
I really enjoyed the section on book clubs. As I was reading, all I could think was "How can this work in my class?" I am all for doing a book club in my class, but I am anxious about a few things. Could I find relative books for my students to choose? How in the world would I be able to accomplish having my students do a book club in 45 minute classes? Also, this sounds like a lot of work. I know that I would really have to prepare my students for a book club.
One of my greatest opportunities in my teaching experience was being an Accelerated Reading Instructor. I taught slow readers in the elementary school at Fort Hood Texas methods to improve their reading levels. I taught groups of 3 to 4 students ranging from 1st to 4th grade in each session. There weren’t text books, but I had access to numerous varieties of books grouped in according to reading levels. The students were sent to me from their regular classrooms on a daily basis. The groups constantly change as the students increased their reading levels. It was exciting and very gratifying to see the growth, commitment, and enthusiasm of each student as they realized potentials they never thought possible.
This chapter quotes- “But most English instruction is focused on processes (reading, writing, speaking and listening) rather than a hierarchal body of knowledge.” page 37. I feel that this statement is true in teaching reading. I had freedom in teaching reading and it was exciting. The author stated that in teaching math, Spanish, earth science, or almost anything else in a secondary school, text books are a basic part of life. And for many teachers, the content-area text book is a treasured asset. Page 36. I find this statement also to be true. It can be difficult in other subjects without a textbook guiding you through the process. We as educators want to make sure we are teaching the essentials to maximize and challenge the students’ educational experience. But I feel we should also have the freedom to supplement and use other resources to help reinforce and coincide with the lessons intent to obtain the desired outcome of the instructions / lesson.
In college, I remember having days where I left at 7am and not returning till 9pm, so I’d carry all my books with me for the entire day. One excessively windy day, I was walking back to my dorm and my book bag was so heavy that when the wind pushed against it, I actually toppled over. Since then, I never had trouble believing that American students have the heaviest textbooks in the world. I agree that textbooks alone are not enough to help our students reach their fullest potential. I never compared a text book to a reference book, but thinking about it, it makes perfect sense. They contain massive amounts of words and thoughts without ever truly conveying one idea in great depth. I’d imagine it is hard for textbook companies to compete with the different internet and video game genres of today’s society. I do agree that textbooks can be used properly if we use other resources to provide students with background knowledge and strategies to help them make sense of their work.
While I haven’t taken part in a book club yet, I enjoy the ideas that they portray. Having the opportunity to work in groups and on an individual basis; basing groups on what common interests and themes; holding both the group and individual accountable; and using multiple strategies to form self empowerment for the students. These are all opportunities that can help students grow as well.
Subjects Matter 3&9
B. Raines
The text book, in my opinion is a guide not the alpha and omega. The Automotive Technology text is as good as they come, however I could not convey real world scenarios with the text book alone. In 1965 there were approx. 500 pages of text that a tech had to locate, read, comprehend, and apply to be able to repair any automobile in the US. Now there are millions +. Reading material for any given subject has to include today, yesterday, and tomorrow, the text book does not always do that for every subject matter addressed. It is usually from the perspective of the author (i.e. the text book may indicate that you replace brake shoes when they are 1/6 in thick. The manufacturer may indicate that you consider driving habits). Therefore the more diverse the reading material in the given subject area, the more well informed one may be.
Book club? Maybe a magazine club Hot Rod, Motor, Car and Driver, etc.
OK, I am old school. When you read the textbook you comprehend and then you can discuss the material in class instead of me, the teacher delivering material via a lecture or powerpoint...blah, blah, blah. I feel like the teacher on Charlie Brown comic strips when I lecture. I want my students to discuss what they have read. Their book club is the material from their textbook in the classroom. In a perfect world I could get them to read historic novels and get them to relate the material to their textbook but that simply is not going to happen because of $$$$ resources.
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