Technological innovation is driving fundamental changes in all aspects of our lives. This is especially true of digital content, as our use of e-books, downloadable music, streaming television and movies, and online social networks has exploded. However, the explosive growth in our use of digital content seems so far to have eluded many of the 50…

Describes "A Guide to Selecting Basal Reading Programs," which was developed to help textbook adoption committees select basal reading texts in elementary schools. Topics discussed include development of booklets that describe various aspects of reading instruction and the role of the guidelines in improving the quality of basal reading…

This guide provides curriculum developers, education faculty, veteran teachers, and student teachers with basic information on the background of early childhood curriculum, as well as current information on publications, standards, and special materials for early childhood classrooms. Following an introduction, the material is presented in 14…

Contends that, because of rising textbook costs and related factors, many college psychology teachers are interested in paperback textbooks. Reports on a review of 11 psychology textbooks. Includes 4 tables of comparison data and a list of the 11 texts used in the study. (CFR)

Analyses of elementary and secondary social studies textbooks, supplementary materials, and teacher resource materials, all published in 1982 and 1983, are presented. The objective is to provide a review of curriculum materials which will allow K-12 teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators, and college methods teachers to select…

Provides guidelines for evaluation in textbook selection. (MD)

Using short-term pilot programs to evaluate textbooks can lead to unreliable results and interfere with effective education. Alternative methods for evaluating textbook-based programs include obtaining documented analyses of competitors' products from sales agents, visiting districts using programs being considered, and examining publishers' own…

When elementary school teachers serve on a committee to select a new basal reader program, they must represent their school's unique needs. To develop their awareness, the selection committee should address such questions as: What kind of program improvements are teachers hoping to get? What kind of articulation will be needed between this program…

Programs for California state-adopted social studies instructional materials are described to aid state school districts in matching instructional materials with curriculum goals and objectives. Information is provided in three sections. An annotated index gives pertinent information about each program, including title, year of copyright, and…

This report provides administrators and supervisors of reading programs with information to help them evaluate and select commercially developed reading materials. Part 1 opens with a description of the problems researchers studying the adoption of basal reading programs have observed and then offers suggestions (based on both research and…

The "skills trace" is a textbook evaluation process by which an evaluator isolates one skill and reads every reference listed in the index of the teacher's manual. The evaluator then observes how that skill is introduced, taught, practiced, and tested throughout the grades. (Author/DCS)

Two articles address issues in the development of French and Spanish language programs in elementary schools: instructional materials and time and money factors. The information presented is drawn from experience in developing the Radford, Virginia FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) program. The first article describes some aspects…

Textbook publishers are under attack for producing books that are superficial in content and oversimplified or confusing in language. They respond that their products are the inevitable result of applying the many textbook selection formulas to book production. Efforts by educators to improve textbooks are currently being organized. (PGD)

Explains how an Illinois school district was forced to develop a plan for writing an entire district curriculum in one day and how the plan was effectively carried out. The approach is not presented as a model for emulation but, rather, as an example of what can be done with limited resources. (MD)

Reports two surveys conducted in 1983 and 1986 to determine physical chemistry textbooks being used. The selection processes and results are discussed. Provides six tables showing the results. (YP)