The main purpose of this study is to determine the level of use of primary sources in the 6th Grade Social Studies Course Books. The "document analysis" method from among the qualitative research methods was used in the study. The study was conducted on 4 books from among the Social Studies course books published by total of 6 Publishing…

Criticizes the organization, emphases, scope, and intellectual challenges of basal social studies textbooks widely used in elementary schools. Includes recommendations for improving such textbooks and social studies curricula. (MCG)

Article adapted from a talk to the Connecticut Council for Social Studies on May 3, 1968.

Examines the impact of the new California History Social Science Framework on the development of new textbooks. Provides an outline of this K-12 framework and discusses the question of whether the program will falter if textbook development is not adequate. (KO)

Explains how teachers can help their students better understand their textbooks. Describes five textbook writing styles, such as linear time sequence style or a cause-effect style, and activities related to the style. Provides hints to help students develop an understanding of their textbooks. (CMK)

Elementary social studies textbooks in the United States were analyzed to determine the sort of information they contained about Australia. Only those texts which made substantive references to Australia were analyzed; these included 4 books for level 3, 2 for level 4, and 4 for level 6. Books examined were all published by major textbook…

The paper analyzes seven widely-used fifth grade social studies textbooks with the hypothesis that texts are unnecessarily loaded with poorly conceived instructional design features that often do not relate to content or skills and tend to minimize the primary function of the texts. Using present and future challenges facing the United States as a…

Stating that the primary function of textbooks is to transmit quantity and quality of knowledge, Woodward argues that photographs and other design features should be relevant to the topic, extending learning beyond the written text. Presents recommendations for evaluating the instructional quality of textbook photographs. (GEA)

This interim report, intended to help textbook authors and publishers, describes the results of a project in which American schools critiqued Soviet textbooks and Soviet scholars critiqued American textbooks. Secondary level history and geography texts were the focus of the study. There are five chapters to the report: Background to the Study;…

Most elementary teachers are inadequately prepared to teach about the Middle East. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that elementary texts dehumanize Middle Eastern peoples by reducing them to mere caricatures. Needed are the involvement of Middle Eastern studies experts in writing textbooks and the improvement of teacher's manuals. (RM)

Reports on a study of "considerateness" of five fifth-grade social studies textbooks. Identifies four elements of considerateness: (1) readability level; (2) placement of relevant pictures or illustrations; (3) use of subtitles; and (4) use of words and phrases to connect ideas within and between sentences. (CFR)

Describes an assignment in an undergraduate course on Roman history for junior and senior history majors in which students create their own 15-page textbook using primary sources. Explains how each class session developed student analysis of primary sources. (CMK)