Chapter 6: How to Use A Textbook

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Using a textbook can be a daunting task for teachers and students in any content area. When I was in middle and high school, I dreaded the idea of reading a chapter from a textbook. I faced difficulties in assessing important information and processing new concepts that were introduced to me. However, I know that a textbook can be a productive resource for learning new material. In this chapter, there were several strategies and ideas that were introduced for best utilizing a textbook. One of the most important things that I can do as a teacher assigning students textbook pages to read is to be selective and to focus on vocabulary and information that is most vital to learn. Also, it is important to find out what your students will be tested on so that you are providing them with information that is relevant and helpful for them. 



One strategy that I liked from the chapter is the "Guide-o-Rama Study Guides." Reading a text can be intimidating for students, as it was for me, but providing them with a reading guide with notes could make a huge difference. The Guide-o-Rama essentially uses a think-aloud in written words to help guide students while they are reading through a text. The guide helps show students your own thought process as a teacher, so that the students can more effectively comprehend the text. As a teacher making a Guide-o-Rama, I could place emphasis on the most important information in the text as well. Another strategy that stood out to me was Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review, or "SQ3R." This strategy breaks reading processes into steps that can help guide a student to understanding what they are reading. Also, this strategy can be used as a study tool for when they finish their steps after reading. 

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Comments

  1. Cody McCanceSeptember 19, 2018 at 7:16 PM

    I also dreaded reading my textbook. Directing the students to the important vocabulary, vital information, and finding out what is on the tests, are important strategies to use to point the students to the information that they need to grasp completely, rather than the complete text. The Guide-O-Rama engages them with the concepts from the text and helps them to understand these points completely. By doing the Guide-O-Rama activity in class, I am finding it hard to incorporate this strategy for the math textbook however. Mainly because there are so many example problems and not as much vocabulary text. It would be interesting to see a teacher’s example of a Guide-O-Rama for their math textbook.

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  2. UnknownSeptember 19, 2018 at 7:20 PM

    Hey Luke,

    I liked how you took something you struggled with in school and turned it into something positive to help future students with reading. Being reflective of our own struggles is a powerful tool that we can use in the classroom. It provides us with the insight needed to create meaningful and helpful resources that can help students read and learn much better. Loved the gif too!

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  3. UnknownSeptember 20, 2018 at 8:06 AM

    Hey Luke! I really like the idea of doing a Guide-O-Rama, especially because textbooks can have so much going on the page with graphs, pictures, and random text bubbles and you never know what you're supposed to read. I also really like that the Guide-O-Rama gives you a chance to add some of your own humor and personality to the text, which is perfect to build relationships and connections with your students and the text. Great post! (77)

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