There is an ongoing concern regarding the alignment of textbooks with curriculum standards across different subjects. Such studies have emphasized the critical, yet complex, role of textbooks in bridging pedagogical practices with curricular reforms. The present research builds upon these discussions, by examining not only the alignment but also…

Recent literature on the use of exemplars in the context of higher education has shown that exemplar-based instruction is implemented in various disciplines; nevertheless, how exemplar-based instruction can be implemented in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing classrooms in higher education institutions remains under-explored. In this…

Educational reforms and standards have been a topic of public debate for decades, with the latest go-round being the State Common Core Curriculum Standards. But time and again those reforms have failed, and each set of standards, no matter how new and different, has had little impact on improving student achievement. Why? The textbooks. Textbooks…

Examines shortcomings of the predominant elementary social studies curriculum approach, expanding environments. Analyzes a fourth-grade text to illustrate the ways that materials reinforce this approach. Suggests that freeing the curriculum from the developmental theory of expanding environments would foster a variety of organizational patterns…

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)

Believes that graduate students can gain skills that will help them in the future by participating in the textbook writing process. Describes six activities for graduate students including preparing a text-reader for a course, writing a panel essay for a textbooks, and acting as a textbook intern. (CMK)

This article describes problems with content area textbooks, outlines difficulties for mainstreamed students with learning disabilities, and reviews ways to improve the content organization and instructional strategies of content area texts using examples from a U.S. history text. Strategies include a problem-solution-effect text structure,…

A new third-year French textbook, in its introduction, describes its rationale and construction. The book's main objective is to provide authentic material for developing students' linguistic skills, focusing on language learning rather than civilization but including a cultural component. The textbook's organization is based on 20 recorded…

Reviews criticism of elementary social studies textbooks, focusing on how the written text, the pictures, and graphics often seem unrelated. Asserts that the inclusion and use of literature selections in K-3 social studies textbooks is a newly emerging strategy. (CFR)

Examines some traditional instructional strategies used to improve textual materials for learning at a distance, including advance organizers, overviews, pretests, objectives, and inserted questions, together with devices in typography and graphics. Research in each area is reviewed and guidelines are given for using each strategy. An extensive…

Asserts that, since the civil rights movement of the 1960s, social studies textbooks have changed to reflect a multicultural perspective. Encourages primary-level teachers to supplement instruction with visual aids that represent ethnic groups in positive ways. (CFR)

Development and use of an English for Special Purposes (ESP) textbook for Turkish police dealing with tourists are described. The textbook and accompanying videotape (not available from ERIC) were designed for use in a course to improve job-specific communicative competence of police officers with a lower-intermediate to intermediate level of…

This paper is an overview of topics covered at two sessions of the Fourth Annual Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium, from the perspective of a native speaker of an indigenous language and member of a university academic community. The first section describes a Master's thesis on White Mountain Apache (WMA) language shift. Interviews with…

The enhancement of the European dimension in the national curriculum is a large scale educational innovation that affects many European countries. This report puts forward the proposition that broad scale educational innovation has more success if the aims and objectives find their way into textbooks. The reasons why a European dimension in…

New textbooks for teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP) are reviewed, including texts for science and technology, computing, engineering, and electronics as well as a guide to general classroom techniques and activities for ESP teachers. Criteria for evaluating and selecting instructional materials are also addressed briefly. (MSE)