Textbooks are heavily used in secondary-level content area classes, but previous research has identified numerous challenges for students associated with reading and understanding these texts. While students can learn reading strategies that help them better understand text, it is unclear the extent to which textbooks are written to promote or…

Features of eighth-grade history textbooks were examined through replication of a 20-year-old study that investigated "considerateness" of textbooks. Considerate texts provide clear, coherent information and include features that promote students' comprehension, such as explicit use of organizational structures, a range of question types…

Ten eighth grade U.S. history textbooks were evaluated with respect to factors such as readability level, global coherence, local coherence, questioning techniques, and vocabulary development. Findings indicated that texts had a mean readability level of 10.9; only 30 percent provided review of previous chapters; few offered introductory…