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Subject Matter Chapter 6 - How to Use a Textbook

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Like the texts says, I truly think its ineffective for students to read the whole textbook for class. First of all, there is not enough time for students to read all of it, and secondly, even if students read it, they probably don't understand most of it. None the less, students would not even remember the contents, so to try and get students to read the whole text is literally a waste of time, and this applies for people of all ages. With personal experience, I think it is definitely more effective and memorable if students only read the most important part of the text, and like we all probably know, most of it's content is not as important as the standards emphasize it to be. 
I think vocabulary is one of the most crucial things teachers need to consider when teaching new concepts. Without really knowing what the subject matter words are, I believe we can't really move forward in our lesson because the vocab is used to comprehend the contents. Of course, we can't teach all the vocabulary listed in the texts, and truthfully, I think not all is needed in the course depending on the grade level. However, without any given standards, it really is stressful to determine which terms needs to be included and what needs to be thrown out since all the words given in the text is connected. There is really no standards that really explains that, so I liked the three criteria Isabel Beck offered in the text: "importance and utility, instructional potential, and conceptual understandings." Like she says, I think it really is important for students to be able to connect the words to other context and being able to use it a variety of ways makes it worth for the students to learn. So, although there might not be a specific rule that determines what needs to be included or not, I feel like these 3 criteria is extremely helpful in narrowing the list of terms!

WORD COUNT:  335


Comments

  1. Brad RobinsonSeptember 20, 2018 at 6:52 AM

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jane. Beck's three criteria are a great place to start when using a textbook as resource rather than as a guide. And be sure to make a note about those vocabulary tiers, which may help you think more strategically about what vocab instruction should look like in your future classroom. -BR

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