Examines the reading level and potential comprehension level of 10 fourth-grade science textbooks. Reports that there is a great deal of variability between and within the science texts. (YP)

Discusses some misleading statements found in elementary and secondary science materials concerning electricity and magnetism. (MLH)

To explore the issue of educational content in basal readers, a study analyzed 34 basal reading textbooks, representing eight of the most commonly used series in American elementary education. Educational content was defined and categorized along three dimensions: subject matter, function, and ethos. The subject matter component covered theories,…

The process of evaluating and selecting basal readers has long been a primary concern for educators. Educators directly involved with textbook adoptions have expressed several concerns, including: time pressures on evaluators; lack of training for evaluators; concerns related to publishers; and correlations with state or district curriculum.…

This article discusses three major reasons why children who can decode the stories in their basal readers may still have problems reading content area textbooks. The reasons include: (1) lack of prerequisite knowledge (including content, discourse, and strategic knowledge); (2) poorly written textbooks; and (3) negative classroom experiences in…

Argues that many new books for schools are simply more colorful versions of earlier texts which inculcate racist and imperialist ideas in children. (Editor)

A model of social studies textbook analysis and evaluation is developed in this paper and is applied to the analysis and evaluation of the content on Hawaii in selected elementary school social studies textbooks. Innovative methods of content analysis and evaluation of textbook presentations were developed and applied to the subject of Hawaii to…

This study focuses on two tasks: (1) the development of a general procedure for evaluation of social studies textbooks which could be adapted to any locale, which could be used at any grade level, and which might be applied to other subject areas, and (2) to illustrate the suggested procedure at the fifth-grade level. The procedure involves the…

Publishers are compelled by public policies and practices to produce textbooks that confuse students with non sequiturs, mislead them with misinformation, and bore them with pointlessly arid writing. Recommendations for textbook policy are proposed. (BJV)

Examines selected first-grade mathematics textbooks used in Japanese and American schools. Focus points of analysis include size and volume, repetition, length of explanations, mathematics content, gender issues, and the relevance of the pictures to the mathematics content. Contains 16 references. (DDR)

Many feel that textbooks dominate what students learn. They set the curriculum and often the facts learned in most subjects. For many students, textbooks are their first and sometimes only early exposure to books and to reading. The public regards textbooks as authoritative, accurate and necessary and many teachers rely on them to organize lessons…

This report is the second part of a continuing effort to evaluate the economic content and related teaching strategies of new social studies textbook series used in the elementary grades. The following five textbook series are examined: (1) The World of Mankind (Follett); (2) The Ginn Social Science Series; (3) Our Family of Man (Harper and Row);…

The report is an evaluation of the economic content and teaching strategies of social studies textbooks that are used in grades one through six. The study, supported by the Sears-Roebuck Foundation, was part of a kindergarten through grade twelve assessment of the treatment of economics in social studies textual materials made under the direction…

The intent of the learning module described here is to increase users' skills in selecting effective instructional products for their classrooms. The module familiarizes users with product selection criteria and involves the user in practical demonstration of product selection. This descriptive report provides information on the purposes and…

This research report focuses on the latent content of textbooks, the information attempting to instruct the child in ethical and moral values. Textbooks being used in the average classrooms in the United States today in grades one through six were examined and analyzed to discover the way the two sexes are portrayed and the types of behavior…