How to Use a Textbook
The focus on getting through the material assigned can
consume a teacher and the way the teach. Time can be an educators’ biggest
enemy but at the end of the day, it is more important for your students to
understand the material rather than plowing through it. This chapter was very
insightful on the use of textbooks. Early in the chapter it states, “Students don’t
need more time with their noses in the textbook- they need tons and tons of
practice time reading, talking, and writing about important subject-matter
content.” This stood out to me because when I was growing up majority of my
teachers would just assign chapter after chapter with quizzes and or test to
follow and as a student I never enjoyed any of the reading because all I worried
about was making sure I finished it fast enough. What is the point of reading a
book with your students if you are not going to spend the time taking in all
the book has to offer? This chapter presents some great ideas on how to change
that. One activity I enjoyed learning about was the jigsawing. As much as I rather
every student gets to enjoy the chapters and follow the book in order,
jigsawing offers a way that allows the class to work together and spend more
time on certain parts of the book. This activity not only focuses on reading
but it teachers the students how to work in groups, be able to pick out the
main points of the chapter, and connect to the chapter. Every subject matter
has different skills required in order to comprehend the material but every
subject require the student to be able to write about what they just read and
as a teacher it is important to take the time and educate them on how to do so.
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Hi Meghan! So glad you brought up jigsawing, which is a strategy I've always referred to as "chunking." (Jigsawing, for me, was a more general strategy for group work logistics.) I agree that jigsawing/chunking can be an effective way of exposing students to course content, but teachers need to be super careful about the texts they choose for the jigsaw strategy. This is a conversation we should have in class, actually, and I'm planning on having us jigsaw/chunk a text this semester. -BR
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