When Textbooks Fall Short: New Ways, New Texts, New Sources of Information in the Content Areas

by Nancy Walker, Thomas W. Bean, Benita R. Dillard

To help students understand content, don't throw out the old, just add the new. Exposing students to various ways to express a thought or idea gives them the opportunity to be successful and share their experiences in ways that resonate. The range of options is expanding so quickly that it can be both exciting and intimidating. Which tools will work best for a particular assignment? How should you use them? That's what this book is about.
Nancy Walker, Thomas Bean, and Benita Dillard What do you do When Textbooks Fall Short ? When students can't or won't engage with content-area textbooks that seem like artifacts filled with disconnected facts? You stay with the old and add a little something new. Nancy Walker, Thomas Bean, and Benita Dillard show how to go beyond the textbook with print and online resources that reflect how adolescents read today. You don't have to spend thousands or rewire your classroom-you only have to be willing to support core texts with shorter readings that build comprehension and competency with key concepts in your content area. Nancy, Tom, and Benita combine years of research and the experiences of numerous teachers and reading specialists to When Textbooks Fall Short isn't just for those who have already embedded new literacies into the curriculum. It's also for veterans committed to their content-area textbook. It meets teachers where they are-and shows how to meet students where they are-by bringing in a little something new that can do what the textbook can't do by itself.

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

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Reviews

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This slim volume was published in 2010.

It shows.

It is so dated to me.

I do not think the information was bad or poorly communicated; I feel like I know about all of this. I would hope that most educators DO know about all of this.

I've been using supplementary texts for YEARS--probably a decade. The vignettes of teacher choices and activities did not seem revolutionary or exciting. It honestly seems like the way most good teachers teach.

I was disappointed that in this book about teachers using new texts to teach and students using the web to create content that there was no discussion about copyright and Creative Commons licensing.

However, if you are a new teacher OR if you have been trained to follow a scripted program/text OR if you are a veteran teacher who wants to know more about using other texts, reading this slim book will be valuable.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short, easy to read professional development book offered ideas on incoporating varied pieces of text to traditional textbook based instruction. It suggested ways to increase student engagement by connecting core novels and textbooks to blogs, online venues, web 2.0 tools, and inquiry studies. Each chapter included examples from actual teacher's classrooms.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short and easy read of how to incorporate common core reading and writing into all curriculum. I liked it because it showcased teacher case studies to illustrate the ideas.