1. D-3The Trouble with Textbooks Katie McKnight, Ph.D. Katie@katherinemcknight.com
2. The Textbook Challenge Often Superficial Exceedingly Hard to Read Badly Designed Authoritarian Inaccurate Not Written for Students
3. Six Ways to Use Textbooks More Effectively Empathy- Do you remember when you had difficulty in a subject and the text was difficult? Help the students to get started. We need to “front-load” our teaching. Don’t leave kids alone with their textbooks. Choose wisely. Be more selective with assignments. Be strategic about what is most important. Supplement richly.
4. Textbook Feature Analysis Think about the textbooks that your students encounter. What kinds of features would they find in these texts? How do textbooks affect our students’ study habits and success?
5. Now What? Consider the role of your textbook in teaching your subject matter. How can you promote critical thinking with textbooks?
6. Strategies for Textbooks: A Sample Sticky Notes Bookmarks ReQuest Supplement Richly Audio Assist Making Smaller Book Versions
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10. Sketch Through Text Daniels, H. and Zimmerman, S. (2004). Subjects Matter: Every Teachers’ Guide to Content –Area Reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, p 121.
12. Textbook Circles Modeled after Literature Circles Students work in teams of 4-5 members. Going BEYOND the textbook Using a wide variety of reading material Students choose what they will read.
13. Getting Started Assign groups for some reading experiences. When the students are reading a longer work, groups are formed by choice.
14. Going Beyond the Textbook Other than textbooks, how do we get information? Look at the adult world and what do we read and use to get the information that we need?
15. Going Beyond the Textbook Other than textbooks, how do we get information? Look at the adult world and what do we read and use to get the information that we need? Reference Books News Stories (Print and Digital Media) Historical Accounts Memoirs Narrated nonfiction
16. Using a Wide Variety of Reading Material Fiction vs Non Fiction Levels of text difficulty Different levels of length Primary and Secondary Sources Multiple Texts and Single Sources
18. Books for Content Reading See American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/yalsa.cfm The Official Site of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents http://www.alan-ya.org/
19. Resources I Like Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-Area Reading, Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman Differentiating Textbooks: Strategies to Improve Student Comprehension and Motivation, James Grant The Teacher’s Big Book of Graphic Organizers, Katherine McKnight
20. How to Reach Me Email: katie@katherinemcknight.com Website: katherinemcknight.com Twitter: @literacyworld Facebook: Katie Siewert McKnight Literacy
