Examines the effectiveness of the basal reader selection process in one midwestern school district. Concludes that an effective basal reader selection process is one which results in teachers identifying materials that help bring about the type of reading instruction they seek for their classrooms. (MG)

Integrates strategies and suggestions from professional books and articles to provide educators with an overview of components of the textbook selection process. Organizes the smorgasbord into three sections: the salad bar (initial screening), the main course (examination of textbooks), and the dessert bar (plans for implementation of the textbook…

Professors have long assigned to their students works of which they were the author. The practice ranges from assigning commercially published textbooks they have written to having students buy a volume they have written and published or course packs made up of their own materials they have photocopied. Not only individual professors, but also…

A series of nine booklets was developed to help members of textbook adoption committees, teacher educators, inservice leaders, and policymakers gather information, develop evaluation guidelines, and organize their findings as they select new reading programs and evaluate existing ones. Each booklet focuses on a specific aspect of instruction.…

To assist California school district personnel in their selection of state-adopted instructional materials, this catalog of literature materials consists of four parts. The first, an annotated index of instructional materials identified as basic materials, gives pertinent information about each literature program, including program title, year of…

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.…

Shows that a wide variety of textbook characteristics play a role in influencing teachers' selection process, and that some of these interact with teacher characteristics. (FL)

This case study of three content area teachers in one middle school and two high schools examined their use of multiple texts in the classroom. The teachers represented three content areas: physics, history, and English. Data were collected via surveys, e-mail exchanges, participant observations, field notes, and semistructured interviews. Data…

Two readability formulas were applied to two math and two reading series textbooks at the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade levels to see whether the publishers' suggested reading levels were accurate. Five samples were taken from each text and compared to the publishers' suggested usage according to grade level. Results showed that although formulas…

Although printed instructional material is the most basic tool for classroom instruction, in the school year 1966-67 a national survey showed per pupil expenditure for textbooks to be only $4.96. Lack of guidelines for expenditures on textbooks, failure to use sound budgetary practices, inadequate teacher involvement in decisions affecting texts,…

A guide for teachers selecting reading textbooks, this report brings together information about basal programs on the market and clarification of important issues in reading instruction. A general analysis of 20 basal programs includes a prose explication and a table comparing contents (skills), reading selections, methodology, assessment tests,…

Studies curriculum challenges by religious conservatives to the "Impressions" reading series in California. Many parents thought the series promoted satanism, witchcraft, and disrespect toward parents. Data from 22 school districts, 4 of which dropped the series, illustrate the complex nature of such challenges and highlight school…

This publication contains an annotated list of teaching materials for use in English-as-a-second language (ESL) classes at the secondary school level. The items are classified under the following categories: (1) basic texts; (2) audiovisual aids; (3) supplementary skills development--general, oral, writing, and grammar practice; and (4) reading…