Trade book concepts and applications

¶ … Trade Books in a Specific Curriculum

In the book give title, author's name discusses the potential advantages and difficulties of using textbooks and trade books in a specific curriculum. Though the use of such books can cause problems in terms of student learning, there are also many ways to integrate the use of text and trade books into specific curriculums. The key lies in the way the teacher integrates the material into their thematic study curriculums.

This paper looks at two examples of the use of textbooks in specific curriculums.

In the first article, Jean Ciborowski argues that too many students have difficulty comprehending information that is in their textbooks. Among the reasons Ciborowski cites are unduly difficult textbooks and uninspired teacher's editions.

Meanwhile, in the second article, Peter Afflerbach and Bruce VanSledright examine a case where an innovative history text enhances the learning of history in middle school classrooms.

This paper thus argues that when integrated with care, textbooks have much to offer the learning process in children. However, this task also depends largely on the teacher, who will need to use their skills and knowledge to fully utilize what these books have to offer.

Ciborowski: Using textbooks with children who cannot read

Ciborowski believes that many textbooks cause problems for students at very early grades. In first grade, some children remain stuck in the early stages of reading, struggling to develop the phonological awareness that links sound to the written letters. The result is children who have great difficulty reading.

This difficulty, Ciborowski believes, soon snowballs. Their lack of reading skills hinders other the development of other skills as well, such as vocabulary, spelling and even writing. By the time they are old enough for textbooks, many do not have the skills necessary to truly benefit from the textbook material and exercises.

Ciborowski cites two reasons for the failure of students. First, while textbooks have remained "relatively unchallenged in their role as a primary instructional tool" (Ciborowski 1995), these materials have actually been criticized by several educators. Some critics charge that these books cover too much information, are poorly written and poorly designed for instruction.

Furthermore, Ciborowski points out that these textbooks do not take into account the needs of students who have poor reading skills. As a result, many children who cannot answer the textbook exercises simply get labeled "slow" or get sent to "watered down" classes.

Afflerbach and Van Sledright: Hath! Doth! What? Middle graders reading innovative history text.

In this study, Afflerbach and Van Sledright look at a case where the use of textbooks has resulted in a positive learning experience for middle school history students. The authors examined how innovative history textbooks with "embedded" texts such as news stories, poems and diary entries affected the historical thinking of seven fifth graders from an ethnically diverse middle school.

For Afflerbach and Van Sledright, the results were largely positive. For example, the students were asked to read two textbooks on United States history. One book chapter entitled "The Starving Time" supplements text on the Jamestown colony experience during the 1609-1610 winter with a diary excerpt and a poem. The other text involved a more traditional chapter covering "The Early Colonists."

The Starving Time" was an unqualified success with the students. In response to the diary's description of "the sharp prick of hunger," students reported that the text "really gives me a feeling." The students reported taking time to imagine themselves in the shows of the hungry colonists. Some even reported that these primary documents and diary excerpts inspired them to learn more about Jamestown (Afflerbach and Van Sledright 2001). This orientation is particularly important in a subject such as History, where students can have difficulty making the connection between events in the past and their present lives.

What is to be done?

In summary, when properly used, textbooks have much to offer classroom instruction. However, the success of textbook instruction is also contingent upon several factors. First, all students need the adequate foundation in the form of reading skills. Towards this, Ciborowski (1995) suggests a greater exchange between special and general education teachers to help slow readers. Teachers should also challenge their students, even those who have "low" reading abilities. Ciborowski believes that a teacher who takes the time to help students make the connections between the textbook content and their own lives are the key. Teachers such as these, Ciborowski asserts, can make even mediocre textbooks into good learning tools.