10/12/2017 Textbook

Assessment
READ 440

Kol Shuler
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Overview of Content

The textbook I decided to review for the textbook assessment was Our America: 1865 to

the Present, which was printed by the Five Ponds Press. This textbook was given to me by my

practicum host teacher from Skyline Middle School, which is used in the United States History

classes for seventh grade. I decided to review this

textbook because I noticed that its rarely

incorporated within classroom lessons or

activities. Also, as a future educator, it is

important that I observe and assess textbooks for

my future classes. The textbook instrument I

decided to assist me with my assessment was the

textbook evaluation form. This form was a

checklist that let me rate each part of the book,

such as the content, glossary, and much more.

Figure 1: Cover of textbook
While rating each section, I also made side notes on

why each section of the text was well suitable for students or not.

The textbook consist of two hundred twenty-four pages with ten chapters. If someone

was to buy this exact textbook brand new it would cost around two hundred ten dollars. With that

being said, why is an expensive textbook like this going to waste? Or is this textbook just not

helpful in general?
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Readability

When observing, I read some of the content presented in the textbook and believed that

the readability was below or at grade level for those in my seventh grade class. The students

didnt appear to struggle with the material at all in the textbook. To figure out the readability in

depth, I decided to check out readability-score.com. This tool allowed me to insert text from the

textbook to the website, and it determined the readability based off of the Flesch- Kincaid model.

The model determines readability considering number of words per sentence and the number of

syllables per word. If the words and sentences are longer than a passage will be more difficult to

read. The results caught me off guard, for the readability was determined to mostly be at ninth

grade level. Students were being challenged to read, but with many of them below reading level

maybe that could be a reason for not using the textbook in class.

Page # Total Words Total Sentences Total Syllables Flesch-Kincaid

Grade Level

79 109 9 190 11th

111 102 8 181 9th

93 104 8 184 9th

As stated before, I found the reading level of the texts on readability-score.com. Along

with the grade level, I believed there should be more quantitative data. It wasnt a quick process,

but I managed to count the total number of words, sentences, and syllables within each text I

examined. As one can see, the readability level can be different depending on the content being

read. Page seventy-nine resulted in an eleventh grade reading level, and it was because of some
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of the words within the text, which included Plessy v. Ferguson and Supreme Court Judge. If

students needed help to read, then the teacher could find a way to simplify some of the sentences

in the passage for students. Teachers can also use an active voice for the students to engage them

more in a difficult text (Chartrand). When a teacher reads to the students it allows them to ask

any questions regarding the material as it comes up. This will help the teacher fill in the gaps of

knowledge that they might have after reading a chapter above their reading level. With a text that

is two grades above their reading level, it will force there to be a lack in comprehension.

Content

This textbook begins in an unusual way, for it shows states of the United States grouped

into Northeast, Southeast, and other regions west based on the progression of how people

traveled and colonized. The chapters of this textbook go in chronological order, which begins

with Reconstruction of 1863 and ends with the combination of the Civil Rights Movement and

technology advancement. Both World Wars are historical topics incorporated within the

timeframe of this textbook. Other topics included in this

textbook are the Great Depression, Westward Expansion

and improvements in transportation. The textbook is aligned

with the curriculum for the seventh grade class Im

observing. When it comes to the depth and breadth of

content within the textbook, its unbalanced. This means

that certain areas of history are covered more than others.

One area that isnt covered as much is the Civil Rights

Movement, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa

Figure 2: Small and only section for
Parks. Most seventh grade students probably have an idea of MLK content. P.189
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who MLK is, but there is more to know than just his famous I Had a Dream speech. There is a

whole chapter dedicated to Jim Crow Laws and the mistreatment of African Americans, but only

a small section on the progress African Americans made in the future. With a curriculum in place

for teachers to follow, its possible that information like the Civil Rights Movement isnt as

important to learn in the seventh grade according to the publisher of this textbook. There are

important vocab terms throughout the textbook that indicate which words are important and

harder to understand. If the teacher finds the lack of content for some topics, then he or she can

ignore the curriculum to open up discussions that may grab the students attention more

(Alvermann, n.d.).

Some chapters and sections are denser than others, but this is because of the new

concepts presented within those texts. Chapters that include Jim Crow and segregation laws,

World Wars, and immigration from Europe tend to be more thorough because of all the events

that took place within those periods of history. I can understand these chapters being deeper,

because there is so much to learn and cover before moving forward to another period of history.

When it comes to students using prior knowledge to assist them in learning new concepts, I

believe this textbook doesnt do its job of connecting prior knowledge to new. The only content I

think students can use prior knowledge to understand more is the content that deals with Native

Americans.

Format

Despite disagreeing with some of aspects of the content, the textbook does an outstanding

job with the layout of the textbook. As stated before, the readability of this textbook is above
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grade level, which can make learning difficult for

students. This textbook includes multiple pictures

for each page to give students that connection of

what theyre learning about. Images are essential to

improving the understanding for those who have

difficulty reading the text. All of the images are

related to the content, for they are aligned with the correct Figure 3: A primary source showing
an example of segregation. p.82
chapter and section in which they belong. Most of the

pictures are primary sources, which includes numerous snapshots of historical figures. Although

there is lack of content on some topics in this textbook, there isnt a chapter or section that is

missing images when needed. Sections that were wrote about Native Americans and African

Americans include great detail when it comes to imagery.

The print of the text within the textbook is mostly in black font, which makes reading the

passages more efficient because if all the text was

in color it could be distracting. The headings and

subheadings though are constructed well with

color font. The different color headings help

students determine when a new section of content

begins, and it also gives them guidance when

finding content that could be found based off of

the heading itself. When it comes to the index of

the textbook, the alphabetical layout with page Figure 4: A representation of

headings within the chapter about
numbers beside each term is valuable. What I dont WWII. p.149
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like about the index is that there arent as many terms as there should be. A lot of important

terms are left out that students may need help finding within the text like Native Americans for

example.

Utility

At the end of each chapter in the textbook, there is a timeline and a review. The timeline

is an interesting thing to have and is set up very

well. It isnt in great detail of the events that

happened, but it gives a short sentence or two

that gives the reader a sense of what did happen.

As I observed each end of the chapter activity,

the activities seem challenging for seventh

graders. There are charts for students to fill out,

discussion questions, and questions that involve

more critical thinking. These questions involve

students to recall, evaluate, and apply. Page

numbers for each question are given in the

review, so this may lower the difficulty of the Figure 5: Review at the end of
Reconstruction. p. 43
questions. Again, a teacher has to remember that

some students struggle with these end of the review activities, so some of the questions could be

completed together as a class. The review sections of the textbook could be valuable to

incorporate in some lessons, but many teachers dont use these reviews and thats understandable

because they may have created their own review.

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Style

The writing within the textbook is interesting to read because it is a lot of new

information seventh grade students are learning. A lot of things students read will open them to

how the past has affected today. This textbook is for seventh grade students, so the publisher of

course created this for them. Its grade level of readability though affects the syntax. If sentences

were broken down more and werent as lengthy, then its possible the readability would be right

at seventh grade. Many would believe that students wouldnt be challenged to read at a higher

level, but its likely students arent even at the seventh grade reading level. One has to also think

about English Language Learners because they too would have a difficult time with this

textbook. According to Fisher and Frey, reading aloud and identifying vocab words can help

ELL students (p.42). When it comes to style, its a confusing aspect because some students will

be above reading level when it comes to a textbook and others wont be.

Strengths

One strength that this textbook has is its images. Yes, I stated that so many images could

be somewhat of a distraction to some student

learning, but for the most part I believe the

images are beneficial for the students I work

with at practicum. The images are great

qualitative data, meaning they serve a great

purpose to the knowledge of students.

Figure 6: Chart to determine short
Qualitative data clarifies the meaning of things, and the
facts about WWII leaders. p.150-151
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images do just that within the text. There are sections in the textbook where the images dont

clarify everything one hundred percent, but they still allow students to absorb and retain

information that they receive while observing (Kropp & Rog, n.d.). In todays society, there are

multiple languages spoken in schools. Some students who lack the English language will also

benefit from the images within the textbook.

Another strength the textbook has is the layout of all the content presented within the

textbook. I appreciate the content being in chronological order. Students may not learn in

chronological order, but having chapters in place by the historical period they took place is

reliable. Despite there being many words and longer sentences, at least students are reading more

information. Some textbooks could have less content than others, and learning more is better

than learning less. Pictures are where they should be, charts are representing content well, and

extra sources are included in some sidebars of the chapters. Sidebars within the chapters give

additional information of content in each chapter or give interesting summaries of historical

figures or events. These events or figures arent necessarily valuable to know, but its a great

way to incorporate fun facts.

Weaknesses

While I do believe this textbook has great quality, there are weaknesses within the textbook that

wouldnt fit into my pedagogy practice as a future teacher. One weakness is that some content

isnt as thorough as others. I expressed my concern with lack of information regarding Martin

Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, but there is more. My practicum teacher and I
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discussed other sections of content we believed werent as thorough as others either. Content

pertaining to Native Americans was slim, especially

past the Westward Expansion period. I understand the

publishers wanting to move on to other topics within

U.S. History, but they forgot that Natives were affected

by other events in history that didnt involve them. Like

what did they believe when Jim Crow laws were created

for segregation of whites and others of color? The

textbook doesnt give a great representation of the

cruelty Native Americans dealt with against white

Figure 7: Native American picture for
settlers. It seemed as if Natives just moved to other land
chapter five, but rarely mentioned in
the discussion for Jim Crow Laws. p.
when in reality they were forced to.
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Another major weakness of the textbook is the

readability. Yes, students are in seventh grade and should be challenged to read at a higher level,

but majority of students are below their reading level. To improve readability within the

classroom, a teacher can break down text within a chapter with simpler words that may be more

relevant to the students. Of course it is important to challenge students with complex words as

well because there are students whose readability level is much higher. Another strategy to use to

improve the readability of students is giving them books to read that meet their interests. When

students read books their interest, the more engaged they become. The more engaged they are,

their knowledge of content and vocab will advance (Cline, 2017).

References
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Alvermann, Donna (n.d.). Chapter 5 Textbook Assessment. Retrieved from READ 440 on

Canvas.

Chartrand, James (n.d.). 6 Easy Ways to Improve Readability in 5 Minutes or Less. Retrieved on

October 10, 2017, from https://menwithpens.ca/improve-readability/

Cline, Casey (2017). Flesch Reading Ease: Understanding It, Calculating It, Improving It.

Retrieved on October 12, 2017, from https://www.blogmutt.com/blog/flesch-reading-ease.

Kropp, Paul & Lori Rog (n.d.) Hooking Struggling Readers: Using Books They Can and Want to

Read. Retrieved October 10, 2017, from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/hooking-

struggling-readers-using-books-they-can-and-want-read.
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