Bean zigmond Hartman-1994-Adapted Use of Social Studies Textbooks

Adapted Use of Social Studies Textbooks in
Elementary Classrooms
Views of Classroom Teachers

RITA M. B E A N , N A O M I Z I G M O N D , A N D D O U G L A S K. H A R T M A N

A B S T R A C T however, from teachers themselves on how they view the
textbooks that are used in their classrooms and on how they
T use these books, especially when they have students in their
1 WENTY-TWO CLASSROOM TEACHERS (GRADES 1 classes who experience difficulty in understanding textbook
THROUGH 7 ) WERE INTERVIEWED TO OBTAIN INFORMATION material. And, as more and more students with learning
ABOUT HOW THEY USE THEIR SOCIAL STUDIES TEXTBOOKS, difficulties are being placed in general education classrooms
THE PROBLEMS THEY EXPERIENCE, AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS as part of the full inclusion movement (National Association
OF T H E STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF T H E TEXTS. of State Boards of Education, 1992; Will, 1986), the issue of
TEACHERS WERE ALSO ASKED TO DESCRIBE THE MODIFI- textbook use in social studies instruction becomes even
C A T I O N S OR A D A P T A T I O N S THEY M A D E TO H E L P STUDENTS more crucial.
WHO MIGHT HAVE DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING T H E TEXT- The work reported in this paper is part of a larger
BOOK. RESULTS INDICATED THAT ALTHOUGH TEACHERS study commissioned by the Office of Special Education
LIKED HAVING T H E TEXTBOOK AS A R E S O U R C E , THEY WERE Programs to investigate and influence social studies curricu-
CONCERNED ABOUT CONTENT AND COMPREHENSIBILITY. lum and instruction for mainstreamed special education
TEACHERS TENDED TO SOLVE T H E PROBLEM OF TEXTBOOK students. This paper describes the perceptions of a group of
DIFFICULTY IN THREE WAYS: HELPING STUDENTS TO COPE elementary/middle school social studies teachers about
WITH T H E TEXTBOOK, DEEMPHASIZING T H E TEXTBOOK, OR several textbook-related issues. In addition to analyzing
REINFORCING AND EXTENDING TEXTBOOK INFORMATION. teachers' views about the use of textbooks, problems they
experience, and strengths and weaknesses of textbooks, we
describe the modifications or adaptations teachers say they

A make for students experiencing difficulties with social
studies, especially as related to understanding text.
JL J L l T H O U G H TEXTBOOKS ARE A PRIMARY Researchers who have focused their attention on the
instructional tool for teaching social studies in elementary study of textbooks have found them lacking in several
and middle school classrooms (Shaver, Davis, & Helburn, dimensions. Beck, McKeown, and Gromoll's (1989) com-
1980; Woodward, Elliot, & Nagel, 1986), there is a great prehensive examination of four widely used commercial
deal of criticism of these books, their content, instruc- social studies texts identified four problem areas: unclear
tional design or presentation, and level of difficulty (Beck, content goals, assumed background knowledge, inadequate
McKeown, & Gromoll, 1989; Gagnon, 1987; Hoge, 1986; explanations, and poor presentations of content. Larkins,
Sewall, 1987). This criticism tends to be based on analyses Hawkins, and Gilmore (1987) were highly critical of the
of texts by researchers in the field of social studies or in content in primary social studies textbooks, calling it su-
related fields such as reading. Little information is available, perficial, vacuous, and redundant. Tyson-Bernstein and

R E M E D I A L A N D S P E C I A L E D U C A T I O N

Volume 15, Number 4, July 1994, Pages 216-226

Downloaded from rse.sagepub.com at MICHIGAN STATE UNIV LIBRARIES on January 17, 2012

Woodward (1986) found that elementary social studies (1985) have indicated that the success of mainstreaming is
textbooks gave bland, homogeneous, and insufficient treat- highly dependent on teachers' ability and willingness to
ment to most topics. Elliot, Nagel, and Woodward (1985) make adaptations.
found that the layouts and graphics in 10 published basal There is little information available, however, about
social studies series textbooks were of high quality, but how teachers try to reconcile the textbook they use with the
content, presentation, scope, and sequence were laden with varied abilities and experiences of their students, and about
problems. In fact, Elliot et al. observed that a social studies their views on the strengths or problems with the text-
series was not really a series at all, but a collection of loosely books they use. Chall and Conard (1991), in their observa-
related volumes. tions of 27 elementary classrooms, characterized teachers'
When Armbruster and Ostertag (1987) analyzed the use of social studies textbooks in three ways: directed-lesson
instructional and assessment questions found in contempo- approach, study-skills approach, and multiple resource ap-
rary fourth- and fifth-grade social studies series of three proach, with lower grade teachers using directed lessons
publishers, they found a preponderance of lower cognitive- more frequently. Chall and Conard also reported that to
level questions, implying that what really counted in social compensate for students' experiencing difficulty with text-
studies were names, definitions, and other facts, rather than books, teachers tended to eliminate the textbook altogether,
meaningful learning of big ideas. Chall and Conard (1991) and "instead, they lecture, use pictures to demonstrate, or
reported that the difficulty levels of social studies textbooks direct discussions" (p. 110). Chall and Conard believed this
were substantially higher than those of basal reading texts for to be an unsatisfactory accommodation because students
the same grade, and in fact, the lower the grade, the more would not develop reading skills even though they might
difficult the text relative to students' reading ability. These learn some content. Stodolsky (1989), who also looked at
criticisms are broad, ranging from concerns about content ways that teachers used social studies texts, suggested that
(too little, too much, or wrong choice) to comments about the nature of the texts as well as the nature of the subject
instructional design or presentation within both the stu- matter may be related to variations in use.
dents' textbooks and teachers' guides. Given the Regular Education Initiative (Will, 1986) and
Yet, despite indictments from scholars, elementary/ the current emphasis on full-inclusion models that place
middle school teachers of social studies tend to rely heavily students with learning disabilities into general education
on their textbooks as the primary source of instruction (Chall classrooms (Jenkins et al., 1994; Zigmond & Baker, 1990),
& Conard, 1991; Shaver, 1989; Shaver et al., 1980). More- social studies teachers in elementary and middle school
over, teachers seem to consider the textbook infallible, a grades find themselves working with students who present a
source of knowledge provided by experts (McCutcheon, wide range of reading and cognitive abilities. In the present
1981). Gagnon (1987) noted that textbooks are "likely to study, we attempted to obtain more information about
determine what teachers will seek to accomplish in their teachers' views of social studies textbooks (their strengths as
courses . . . , tell the student what is important [and] what is well as their weaknesses), and how teachers say they adapt
not important. . . , and [are] taken as the final authority on textbook use for children who experience difficulty in the
most matters" (p. 33). social studies classroom.
Educators in the field of reading (e.g., Armbruster &
Gudbrandsen, 1986; Conley, 1992; Vacca & Vacca, 1989)
METHOD
and special education (Bos & Vaughan, 1988; Ciborowski,
1992; Schumm & Strickler, 1991) have suggested many
Sample
different ways in which teachers might modify textbook use
so that these books can serve as effective tools for learning. To obtain information about teachers' perceived use of
These instructional suggestions range from techniques for textbooks, 22 teachers (Grades 1 through 7) from four
helping students use the textbook more efficiently to ideas school districts were interviewed. The districts included one
for supplementing textbook use. Social studies educators suburban, one rural, and two urban districts (a large city
also speak to the importance of using a variety of content- district and a smaller, middle-sized urban district). The
appropriate teaching methods, especially those that would suburban district is a predominantly white, middle class
engage students actively in the learning process (Chapin & district located 10 miles north of a large northeastern metro-
Messick, 1989; History-Social Science Framework, 1987). politan area. The district has a school population of 4,751
Thus, in their view, the textbook, used alone, might result students with 6% identified as eligible for special education.
in narrow, restricted programs. Social studies educators call The rural district is a predominantly white, low to middle
for instruction that includes such techniques as coopera- class district of 2,687 students located approximately 4 0
tive learning, inquiry learning, role playing, and simula- miles from a large northeastern metropolitan city. Approxi-
tions (Chapin & Messick, 1989). mately 8% of the student body has been identified as eligible
Regardless of discipline, experts stress the importance for special education.
of teacher adaptations to accommodate individual differ- The large city district has a student population of
ences. Indeed, Stainback, Stainback, Courtnage, and Jaben 40,000, of whom 50% are African American. Current rec-


Volume 15, Number 4, July 1994


ords indicate that 6% of the students are classified as eligi- techniques. Before data were collected, these interviewers
ble for special education. The middle-sized urban district practiced a mock interview and conducted interviews with
has a student population of just over 5,000 students, ap- nonparticipating teachers. The results of these pilot ses-
proximately 40% of whom are minority, primarily African sions were examined for numbers of probes asked and for
American. Eight percent of the school population is classi- the richness of data elicited. Protocols were revised to
fied as eligible for special education. enhance clarity or provide additional probes. Once a final
Although each of the four districts used a single, re- protocol was developed, teachers were contacted and inter-
cently published textbook series, each used a series from a viewed at their schools. They were asked to be prepared to
different major publishing company. The series was supple- share materials and discuss their instructional procedures
mented in three of the districts at either the third- or fourth- and beliefs. All interviews were audiotaped and notes were
grade level with a textbook on the state of Pennsylvania. taken by the interviewer. Interviews varied in length from 1
Also, the urban district teachers used the district's own to I V 2 hours.
curriculum materials about the city in Grade 3.
In each of the four districts, we made a brief presenta-
Analyzing the Data
tion to all of the elementary teachers in one school, discuss-
ing the purpose of our project and requesting participation Full transcriptions of the interviews, along with field logs
in several interviews and classroom observations from any prepared by the graduate student researchers, allowed for
teacher who had at least 1 student with learning disabilities contextualization of the interviews. Transcriptions ranged
mainstreamed into his or her social studies class. The 22 in length from 916 to 1,750 lines of text. Files were con-
teachers who were interviewed were all those who agreed to verted for use with the software program Ethnograph (Seidel,
participate in the study. They included 22 teachers in Grades 1988).
1 through 7, with 7 teachers representing primary grades (1 Based on reading of a sample of the interviews, a code
through 3), 8 teachers representing intermediate grades (4 book was developed and each of the codes was defined.
or 5), and 7 teachers representing Grades 6 or 7. There were Interview texts were then coded into segments. For this
4 males (all teaching at Grades 6 or 7) and 18 females; the study the following codes were relevant: Text, Instruction,
mean number of years teaching was 18.1 years, with a range Special Education, and Adaptation. The code Text was used
from 3 to 33 years (see Table 1). when the teacher being interviewed made references to any
text materials used by students or teachers, including text-
books, trade books, periodicals, and reference books (e.g.,
Procedure
teacher would discuss the difficulty of the textbook or the
INTERVIEWS. The interview protocol was developed to comprehensiveness of the teachers' manual). The code In-
elicit information on how elementary and middle school struction was defined as any discussion of approaches, strat-
social studies teachers plan their curriculum, instruct their egies, or activities that teachers used to help students learn
students, use their textbooks, and accommodate main- (e.g., project work, discussion, cooperative grouping, etc.).
streamed students with learning disabilities or students with Special Education was used when the teacher made reference
reading difficulties. (See Appendix for a list of the interview to students labeled as having learning disabilities or social-
questions relevant to this study.) emotional disturbance. Adaptation was assigned to reflect
Three graduate students were selected to administer any accommodations the teacher made to meet the needs of
the interview. They included an experienced teacher, a individual students (e.g., adapting reading procedures, modi-
student trained in psychological testing and interviewing fying assignments, etc.). We used a sorting procedure to
techniques, and a student with experience in interviewing retrieve decontextualized segments of the 22 interviews by

T A B L E 1. Distribution o f Teachers Interviewed

Grade Suburban Rural Large urban Middle-size urban Total

1 1 1
2 1 1. 2
3 1 2 1 4
4 2 2 1 5
5 1 2 3
6 1 2 3
7 2 1 1 4

Total 9 5 4 5 22




the four codes described above. These decontextualized the section on government in November when elections are
segments were then searched for further refinement and held; Ms. Madison, a fourth-grade teacher, skipped to the
identification of key patterns. chapter on the Middle East during the Gulf War.
We first addressed teachers' use of textbooks, looking We found variation in the amount of material covered
for what teachers said about the frequency and style of use. and the degree to which teachers added information to the
Second, we analyzed the data to identify teachers' comments textbook. At least half of the teachers said they omitted
about the value of the textbooks and the problems that they sections of the text. Among the reasons given was the need
experienced in using them. Finally, we analyzed the tran- for curricular alignment; omitted chapters were often on
scripts to determine how teachers adapted textbooks to topics not listed in the district curriculum guide or scheduled
accommodate individual differences and difficulties. to be taught again at a different grade level. Some teachers
To assist in the analysis of data as to teacher accommo- indicated that they omitted topics that were covered in other
dation, we developed a framework of strategies or tech- subjects, like science or health.
niques that could be used by teachers. The framework was Other teachers omitted or added topics because of
generated from current literature (Kameenui & Simmons, student interest, or because of their own interests or experi-
1990; Schumm & Strickler, 1991) and from the data with ences:
which we were working. It includes four major categories by
which teachers modify or adapt textbook use: teacher me- I use what kids are interested in . . . kids have
diation (before, during, or after reading); substituting or been to the mountains; the plains are boring
supplementing the primary textbook; simplifying textbook (Ms. Gray, Grade 4).
use for students; and reteaching or reviewing. These are
I can take something and go with it the way I
described more fully in the Results section.
want to, some subjects I do not cover as much
To determine reliability of our coding, a graduate stu-
. . . because I can see that it is not that interest-
dent who was trained in using the code recoded a random
ing for the children and I am losing [their]
sample of 3 1 % of the complete interviews that had been
interest (Ms. Balent, Grade 2 ) .
previously coded. The percentage of agreement between the
original coder and the graduate student on segments re- I add information on Famous Americans; it's not
trieved for use in this paper was 88.8%. really in our curriculum but I think it's impor-
tant. The children need to have a sense of how
we were founded (Ms. Patrick, Grade 4 ) .
RESULTS
I have a lot of information on Mt. St. Helens . . .
In our analyses, we focused on how teachers indicated that and I'm going to throw that in, even though it's
they used textbooks, why they valued textbooks, and the not in my book . . . it was really fascinating . . .
problems they experienced with their textbooks. Further, we I was there . . . brought back the dust. . . slides
analyzed the transcripts to determine if there were patterns . . . and I want them to know about it (Ms. Gray,
in the ways in which teachers modified or adapted instruc- Grade 4).
tion or text use when students experienced difficulties un-
derstanding the textbook. We provide exact comments from Our findings indicated that teachers were comfortable mov-
teachers to illustrate findings; all names are pseudonyms to ing component parts of text around, but they did not change
maintain confidentiality. content within the components. In other words, teachers
were willing to omit a specific chapter or to teach a chapter
Teachers' Use of Texts that was placed later in the textbook earlier in the school
year, but they never mentioned modifying content within a
The textbook was a major resource tool for our teachers. chapter. They tended to see the text as immutable and
Ninety-one percent of the teachers reported using a single deferred to text as a closed entity, one not open to revision
basal social studies text as the primary resource for planning or adaptation.
instruction; only two of the four seventh-grade teachers
indicated that they used multiple resources. As one of
these teachers stated, "In that subject, it is not possible to Why Teachers Value Texts
find anything on the reading level for seventh graders" Teachers appeared to value textbooks because these mate-
(Mr. Koffee, Grade 7). rials provide a guide for making decisions about curriculum
Most of the teachers stated explicitly that they used the and instruction. Overwhelmingly, teachers saw organization
textbook a great deal and that they tended to follow it as as the greatest strength of the textbook. Specifically,
written because they saw no reason to change it. However, teachers commented that texts were organized with a
three teachers changed the order of the presentation of "proper sequence of ideas," that is, chapters presented in
topics or chapters to coincide with current events or holi- chronological order. Ms. Lee, a fifth-grade teacher, believed
days. For example, Ms. James, a third-grade teacher, covers the text gave her students "experience organizing infor-




mation." Many of the teachers also valued the skills that The text is very d u l l . . . it is not enough people-
were presented in the texts and stressed the advantage of oriented . , . you can read so much about a
the text as a reference. Ms. Miles, Grade 4, admitted to pineapple plantation . . . it's good from the
skipping several chapters but assured us that she did not viewpoint of factual clear material, but let's put
skip any skills. some more life into it (Ms. Madison, Grade 4).
In talking about the strengths of texts, teachers identi-
fied one or two chapters that they liked, or they mentioned Eight teachers wanted more content, but there was
that the textbook provided a great deal of information about little consistency in their suggestions: Some wanted addi-
certain topics. Individual teachers also commented on in- tional information on culture, others on their particular
structional features such as pictures, review questions, and state, still others on geography.
maps. Finally, teachers discussed the advantages of the In contrast, seven teachers, all in intermediate or mid-
worksheets and practice sheets that were provided with the dle grades, were concerned that there was far too much
text series. Our findings indicated that teachers viewed content covered in one grade level. Closely related was the
textbooks and their accompanying material as important concern raised by Ms. Harris, a sixth-grade teacher, about
resources that they would not want to do without. The the lack of development of ideas presented: "WWI and
textbook provided the organization for the content of the
WWII are covered in one chapter!"
curriculum materials and ideas for instruction.

Problems Teachers Have with Texts Adaptation of Text-Based Instruction

Problems with their textbook were mentioned by 9 1 % of the As summarized in Table 2, teachers reported using a wide
teachers. Nine teachers (from third- through seventh- range of techniques to adapt text-based instruction, which
grade levels) complained about what they called "readabil- we have summarized under four general approaches. In this
ity," particularly for children with reading problems. They section, we describe each of these four general approaches;
meant that vocabulary words were too difficult, or that too further, we provide specific comments from the teachers
many new words were presented: that explain or elaborate on why and how they used certain
approaches.
Reading the textbook is difficult. It's overwhelm-
ing, it's difficult. The vocabulary is difficult, TEACHER MEDIATION. We found that teachers used
interesting but difficult (Ms. Toney, Grade 6). mediation techniques before, during, and after reading of
the textbook. The most frequent focus before reading was to
. . . overwhelmed because of the amount. . . the
work with the vocabulary necessary to understand the text-
size of the chapter . . . they'd rather close their
book material. Most of the activities described were those
eyes or put their heads down. It's too much
that were suggested in teacher guides. Teachers said they
(Mr. Sams, Grade 4).
had students look up words in the glossary, write definitions,
and talk about the words; a few teachers asked students to
Three teachers specifically criticized the presentation
keep vocabulary notebooks in which they wrote each word in
of vocabulary. As Ms. Sanford, a fourth-grade teacher ex-
a sentence. These procedures seemed consistent with teacher
pressed it, "There are not sufficient ideas for the teacher [in
views that the textbook chapters had too many difficult
the teacher's manual] on how to teach or introduce words in
words for students.
the textbooks, given the difficulty of the concepts presented."
However, most of the problems mentioned revolved All teachers described ways they had students read the
around content. Comments tended to be general rather than textbook. The most frequent technique was oral read-
specific; that is, teachers did not criticize a specific unit or ing, which teachers believed provided assistance to stu-
topic but addressed the textbook as a whole. Comments dents who were experiencing difficulty. Eight teachers used
ranged widely, from several teachers expressing the view oral reading alone; eight teachers asked students to read
that their book covered too much, to those who wanted silently and then followed this with oral reading. For ex-
"more meat." Five teachers felt that the text was "boring" ample, one fourth-grade teacher had students read silently
for children: for homework, and the next day asked the students to
read the text orally in class. Other teachers had students
silently read the chapter or section from beginning to
Chapter 2 is something that is very dull and
boring (Mr. Sams, Grade 4). end, then reread important sections orally in response to
teacher questions.
The children just don't care, they don't have any Each teacher appeared to have a rationale for using oral
interest. . . it's definitely not their favorite and reading, or oral reading in combination with silent reading.
because it's not their favorite, it ends up not For example, Ms. Sanford, Grade 4, emphasized students'
being my favorite (Ms. Miles, Grade 4). need to hear the vocabulary:




. . . We do reading silently first and then we Several teachers used oral reading because of the diffi-
always read it orally . . . we have to read orally culty of the text, especially for students with reading prob-
just to hear the words and discuss (Ms. Sanford, lems:
Grade 4).
Oh, yes. We read the text orally together
Ms. Toney, on the other hand, related reading orally to because the slower children don't understand
the abilities of her group. the words and can't read them . . . I usually say,
"Read the page quickly" . . . and then we'll all
My period 1 class is mostly an average to an read it together or maybe a couple volunteers
above average class, so we spend more time on will read (Ms. Patrick, Grade 4 ) .
silent reading. The second period . . . I have
many LD students in that group. Now that If a paragraph is difficult. . . then I make sure
reading is all done in class . . . read word for that we read it [orally] in the class. We don't just
word . . . I can't assign any silent reading with start from the top of the page (Ms. Madison,
that group (Ms. Toney, Grade 6). Grade 4).

In all cases, teachers who used oral reading, either alone
or in combination with silent reading, did so to "get the words
out."
Another strategy—used by nine teachers, some of
TABLE 2. Teacher Use of Textbook
Adaptation Approaches
whom also used oral reading—was to have the students lis-
ten to the teacher read the text:
Teachers
(N = 2 2 ) I usually do read out loud, everything. I found
n % that if I don't my people who are not up to the
reading level of the book, will not comprehend
A. Teacher mediation of textbook
i t . . . and we read everything again in class
Before reading
(Ms, Lakes, Grade 3).
Prior knowledge 4 (18)
They don't read the text at all. . . there is very
Vocabulary 12 (55)
little reading . . . if there is any reading to be
During reading
done, I read it to the class because of having
Guided reading 7 (32)
children such as the resource children or special
Oral reading 8 (36)
Oral/silent 8 (36)
children who cannot read as well (Ms. Balent,
Silent 2 (9) Grade 2).
Taped text 2 (9)
Reading, per se, out loud, no. Reading by me,
Teacher reading 9 (41)
yes. Not the students orally (Ms. Marks,
After reading
Grade 6).
Discussion 9 (41)
Grouping strategies 12 (55)
Modifying assignment 4 (18) As the examples indicate, teachers read the text material to
facilitate understanding when they believed students would
B. Substitute/supplement text have difficulty reading the textbooks themselves.
Additional texts 6 (27) One teacher explained that she spent a great deal of
Games 10 (46) class time discussing a topic with students prior to any
Nonprint materials/speakers 12 (55)
textbook work.
(maps, graphics)
Notebooks 6 (27)
Project experiences 19 (86) We read it after, after we were done [discussing
Workbooks 22 (100) the topic], and then it made more sense . . . two
years ago, I came up with this idea and decided
C. Simplifying text to see what happens. It was a shot in the dark,
Rewrite 0 (0) but it was worth it because it paid off (Ms.
Study guides/outlines 12 (55) Johns, Grade 3).
Teach reading skills 7 (32)

This teacher seemed to sense, intuitively and experientially,
D. Reteaching/review 9 (41)
the value of providing students with the prior knowledge and




vocabulary understanding that would aid them in reading mented their use of the prescribed textbook. All the teachers
and understanding their textbook. indicated that they used the workbook and study sheets that
Only two teachers, both of them at upper levels, used were provided as part of their textbook series as a means of
silent reading in their classes without any oral reading. One increasing student understanding. In addition, nonprint
of them, a seventh-grade teacher, described a guided reading materials such as filmstrips, videos, pictures, and maps were
procedure in which she asked a question and then had discussed as important supplements to the textbook.
students read and locate the answer. Projects or hands-on experiences were mentioned as
important techniques for adapting to student differences.
I found that it works better if I make each Teachers believed that students benefited from having art,
question and tell them what paragraph it's in . . . drama, or language arts activities (including research papers)
most of the questions at this point are bottom incorporated into social studies instruction. Ms. Miles, a
level cognitive only . . . later on in the year, I try fourth-grade teacher, discussed a journal kept by her students
to get them into some of the higher level in which they described the 5 days they spent in the land
thinking skills (Ms. Rakes, Grade 7). of the Navajos. Other teachers described various art projects.
The most comprehensive project-oriented approach
Seven of the teachers discussed the use of a guided was described by Ms. Lakes, a Grade 3 teacher, for a unit on
reading procedure similar to the one described by Ms. women. Each student read a biography of a famous woman,
Rakes, in which they would ask students to read a small presented his or her woman to the class, and made a
section of text and then highlight key concepts or facts that commercial to convince others that this woman was im-
students should remember. portant. Students also drew pictures of women at work,
These teachers, like those in other studies (Chall & developed a timeline to show how women dressed in various
Conard, 1991; Stodolsky, 1989), reported using various time periods, and wrote invitations to a "special woman" to
strategies that required students to read the textbook. Many come to school to receive a gift. Ms. Lakes developed this
used oral reading in their instruction because they believed unit on her own; it was not in the textbook:
that students would have difficulty with reading the textbook
silently. However, there were variations in how teachers I do have extra things that I'll do like t h a t . . . I
used oral reading, some more instructionally sound than too get tired of the book . . . and I try to think of
others (e.g., silent before oral reading or teacher reading to some different things to do or some activities
class vs. round robin oral reading). that the children would really like (Ms. Lakes,
Another approach mentioned by teachers as an adapta- Grade 3).
tion strategy was grouping of students. Twelve teachers Several other teachers discussed projects similar to this one,
discussed ways in which they used peer or cooperative but generally, the projects revolved around the units covered
grouping: in the textbook.
Another technique for increasing students' understand-
Cooperative grouping . . . put various ability ing of social studies text, mentioned by 10 teachers, was
levels within a group . . . when we put one the use of games, especially games developed to increase
youngster who is really very good with someone vocabulary understanding and acquisition. Teachers dis-
who is not that good . . . so everyone . . . has cussed ways in which they presented definitions and had
something valuable to contribute (Ms. Nichols, students identify the words (or vice versa); they also de-
Grade 5). scribed the value of games as a motivational device:
. . . Sit and listen to another student read a We play round robin where I call out a word and
passage (Ms. Sams, Grade 4). they have to give a definition or we play Jeop-
I'll usually pair them up with one of the brighter ardy. . . . Children have come up with other
children and then as we are working I'll say to things; word finds, simple crossword puzzles
the child . . . make sure that the other child is in (Ms. King, Grade 3).
the right place or can do it, whatever (Ms.
Two of the 10 teachers mentioned computer games as an
Patrick, Grade 4).
adaptation technique.

A large percentage of teachers (41%) also stressed the value
SIMPLIFYING TEXTBOOKS. Although no teachers
of discussion as a means of promoting students' understand-
talked of rewriting materials for students, a number of
ing, although their description of discussion tended to reflect
teachers discussed ways in which they used study guides or
a teacher-directed recitation model.
outlines that would make textbook reading easier:

SUBSTITUTE/SUPPLEMENT T E X T B O O K U S E . Ele- I make up a study guide that the students do, we
mentary teachers frequently used approaches that supple- check and then we can use these to study for the




test (Ms. Sanford, Grade 4). I'll have them Ms. Swan discussed her use of mnemonic devices:
outline that section. And just use that as a study
guide with them (Mr. Joseph, Grade 5). I'll use a lot of mnemonic devices . . . like
archaeology, I'll circle the a and the c, and I'll say
If I have a particularly slow group, I have pages that archaeology is the study of ancient civiliza-
where words were left out of the text, and tion . . . things like that (Ms. Swan, Grade 7).
they're always key ideas in the chapter. So [we]
look at that chapter . . . those concepts are in Still others indicated that they reviewed information fre-
darker print, and . . . more or less it is reinforced quently as a means of ensuring understanding. As one
(Ms. Lakes, Grade 3). teacher commented, "I begin each lesson with a review
using, 'You know, that lady from California's idea.'"
Several teachers highlighted textbook information prior These teachers seemed to be trying to make social
to its use. As stated by Ms. King, a third-grade teacher, "We studies meaningful and coherent by going over topics again
take it slowly, we have highlighted our books... we read both and again while at the same time creating student interest
orally and silently . . . that way we focus on the important and connecting events or information to the everyday lives
material." of the students. In summary, teachers were cognizant of
A smaller number of teachers specifically discussed the need for providing reinforcement of concepts and
teaching reading skills using their social studies textbook. motivation for learning and for supplementing the textbook
Several teachers described using the SQ3R strategy: with different activities as a means of enhancing under-
standing. At the same time, a smaller number of teachers
We use SQ3R . . . we turn every boldface emphasized the importance of teaching students how to
sentence or phrase into a question . . . that is learn from the textbook.
done routinely with the introduction of every
new chapter (Ms. Marks, Grade 6).
DISCUSSION
Several others talked about teaching their students how to
do research reports, including how to use the library: Consistent with the findings of other researchers that social
studies textbooks are a primary resource, the teachers in our
We took them to the library and developed a study, as a group, reported that they relied a great deal upon
step-by-step method on how to use the library their texts. However, unlike the scholars who study text-
. . . what it is you're going to look up, how you're books and find them lacking, our teachers reported that,
going to read through the information, how overall, they liked their textbooks. They considered the
you're going to analyze the information (Mr. textbook to be a valuable information resource. Most used
Koffee, Grade 7). the organization provided by the textbook to guide their
curriculum and instructional activities.
RETEACHING/REVIEW. Nine teachers commented on Our teachers, however, when pressed, did identify
the fact that they adjusted their rate of instruction (pacing) problems with the textbook, and those identified were simi-
and retaught lessons to accommodate students who were lar to ones identified by scholars. The two most prevalent
experiencing difficulties with concepts that were presented problems highlighted by our teachers were related to content
in the text. To help us understand what teachers meant by and readability.
"reteaching," we searched the transcripts for explanations. Teacher comments about content were as far-ranging
Most teachers seemed to mean that they took more time to as those discussed by researchers: too much, too little, or the
cover a topic. But others meant that they used repetition or wrong choice. Primary teachers had much less to say about
explanation to help students transcend the lack of coherence content than the intermediate and middle grade teachers,
or poor presentation in textbooks. For example, Ms. Gray who tended to be more concerned about the amount of
helped students by pointing out rationales that would help information that was included in their textbooks. Although
them remember information: this lack of concern about content among primary teachers
may reflect the nature of the content in primary textbooks,
We repeat over and over and over. . . . If there it may also reflect the fact that these teachers are less
are ideas that are real logical, I try to make them dependent on the textbook or that social studies is of less
seem so logical that they are silly . . . Why the importance at that level.
Delaware Indians were given the name the Although teachers were critical of textbook readability,
Delaware Indians . . . they lived along the their meaning for the term readability was much broader
Delaware River . . . we'll talk about how logical than the operational definition generally used in readability
that is . . . helps them remember why something formulas. These teachers were not overly concerned about
is called the way it's called (Ms. Gray, Grade 4). the reading level of a book as determined by some formula




(e.g., sentence length or numbers of syllables per word). ing textbook instruction. These teachers still relied on the
Rather, they felt that poor readers could not read or under- text as the basis for their selection of content, however.
stand the text easily because texts contained a tremendous Finally, a small number of teachers discussed how they
amount of difficult content and too many technical vocabu- reinforced and extended textbook information using various
lary words. review and reteaching modifications. Most of these ideas
So, what we find is that on the one hand, teachers valued involved repetition and additional exposures to ideas rather
having a textbook for social studies instruction: They could than more complex notions like providing more elaborate
identify what it provided for them in the way of information explanations or organizational strategies.
and activities—and they said that they used it. On the other Only a few teachers discussed, in-depth, ways in which
hand, teachers also identified problems with textbooks, and they explained or elaborated upon difficult concepts as a
some of their concerns were similar to the issues raised by means of helping students or how they adjusted the content
researchers such as Beck et al. (1989) and Tyson-Bernstein of their instruction when topics or concepts were difficult for
and Woodward (1986). Specifically, teachers concurred that students. Teachers talked about their reliance on textbooks,
when textbooks lack coherence or present material in a bland and they talked about ways to get "around" the problems of
or homogeneous fashion, students may experience difficul- textbooks, but not many talked much about what they did to
ties in reading and understanding; further, bland and inco- make the textbook content more "user-friendly."
herent texts may be considered boring by students and In summary, these 22 elementary and middle school
teachers alike. teachers shared with us some very exciting ways in which
Strategies teachers gave for adapting textbooks were they deemphasized textbook use and enriched the social
consistent with the problems they identified in the texts. studies curriculum through the use of various projects,
Teachers tended to solve the problem of textbook difficulty activities, and cooperative grouping strategies. On the other
or readability in three ways: helping students to cope with hand, their description of how they might help students cope
the textbook, deemphasizing the textbook, or reinforcing with the textbook itself was more limited, as was their
and extending textbook information. description of how they could mediate and provide scaffolded
One of the primary approaches for helping students instruction. This raises a question about whether students,
cope with text was oral reading, used as an adaptive strategy especially students with reading difficulties, should be af-
by almost every teacher. This strategy appears to be one that forded experiences that will enable them to learn to use the
has survived over time (Adams & Biddle, 1970). Stodolsky textbook as a tool for learning. In other words, although our
(1988), in fact, found in her observations of social studies teachers may have provided opportunities that enabled
that the "most frequently occurring pattern was answering students to learn the social studies content, there was
and asking questions in the context of oral reading" (p. 48). less emphasis on helping students to become independent
Although the use of oral reading as an adaptive strategy may learners.
be helpful for enhancing student understanding of text, if it The fact that most of our teachers did not discuss ways
is used consistently or as a single strategy it could also limit in which they explained or elaborated upon the information
opportunities for discussion and promote recitation-type in textbooks brings us to a discussion of limitations of
classes, Further, some specific approaches to oral reading as our data collection procedure. Teachers may be doing more
described by the teachers were more instructionally sound than they said in these interviews. Further, some teach-
than others, indicating a need to provide teachers with a ers who actually make adaptations may do so "on the fly"
better understanding of how to use oral reading effectively. rather than in a preplanned manner and may not even
Teachers who taught reading or study skills or used be conscious of the modifications they make that are related
study guides as part of their social studies classes were also to understanding content. Also, although some teachers did
helping students to deal with difficult text material and describe adaptations, we cannot determine through this
seemed to be cognizant of the need to provide instruction research the frequency or extent to which they actually used
in social studies about how to read and understand a text- any of the accommodation strategies. Finally, we recognize
book. A large number of teachers also provided experiences that given our small sample of teachers, we cannot gen-
with the difficult vocabulary of the textbook, and, in fact, eralize beyond our group.
besides the oral reading and the direct teaching of study
skills, vocabulary work was one of the most frequently
cited approaches for assisting students with difficult IMPLICATIONS
material. However, the techniques described tended to be
memorization-type activities. Our research indicates that teachers are using the textbook
A number of teachers also deemphasized textbook use in teaching social studies to all students, including those who
by developing units that included various hands-on projects have special needs. Some teachers make adjustments in their
designed to create enthusiasm and to enhance learning of use of textbooks to help students learn more effectively;
social studies content. They also used nonprint materials, others do very little. Not all of the adjustments made are
such as filmstrips or videotapes, as a means of supplement- based on sound theories of learning.




The findings from this study have implications for Armbruster, B. B., & Ostertag, J . (1987, April). Questions in elementary
special educators, who should be aware of what students science and social studies textbooks. Paper presented at the
American Educational Research Association, Washington, D C .
mainstreamed into general education classrooms might be
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M., & Gromoll, E. W. ( 1 9 8 9 ) . Learning from
experiencing, and for general education teachers who wish social studies texts. Cognition and Instruction, 6 ( 2 ) , 9 9 - 1 5 3 .
to consider more systematically just how they are providing Bos, C . S., & Vaughan, S. ( 1 9 8 8 ) . Strategies for teaching students with
for the needs of students who have difficulty reading texts. learning and behavior problems. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Further, the study provides important information for Chapin, J . R., & Messick, R. G . ( 1 9 8 9 ) . Elementary social studies: A
practical guide. New York: Longman.
teacher educators, especially those involved with courses
Chall, J . S., & Conard, S. S. ( 1 9 9 1 ) . Should textbooks challenge
related to teaching reading in the content areas. The results students? New York: Teachers College Press.
suggest the need to present effective and appropriate ideas Ciborowski, J . ( 1 9 9 2 ) . Textbooks and the students who can't read them:
and techniques for using informational textbooks in content A guide to teaching content. Boston: Brookline.
subjects. The framework that we developed to analyze our Conley, M . W. ( 1 9 9 2 ) . Content reading instruction: A communication
approach. New York: McGraw-Hill.
data might also be helpful to both classroom teachers and
Elliott, D. L., Nagel, K., & Woodward, A. ( 1 9 8 5 ) . D o textbooks
teacher educators as a means of thinking about various belong in elementary social studies? Educational Leadership, 42(7),
adaptation strategies. 21-28.
Finally, our findings have heuristic value, thus helping Gagnon, P. ( 1 9 8 7 ) . Democracy's untold story: What world history
us chart a course for further research. Foremost, it is essen- textbooks neglect. Washington, D C : American Federation of
Teachers.
tial that actual observations be made of teachers to deter-
History-social science framework for California public schools. ( 1 9 8 7 ) .
mine whether they are in fact using texts as they report they Sacramento: California State Board of Education.
are. Further, we need to get a more accurate picture of how Hoge, J . D . ( 1 9 8 6 ) . Improving the use of elementary social studies
teachers make the various accommodations they describe textbooks. Bloomington, I N : E R I C Clearinghouse for Social
and to what degree, and whether teachers who do not talk Studies/Social Science Education. ( E R I C D o c u m e n t Repro-
duction Service, E D 2 7 4 5 8 2 )
about modifications actually implement modifications in
Jenkins, J . R., Jewell, M., Leicester, N., O'Connor, R., Jenkins,
the course of their teaching. Such research will expand our L. M., & Troutner, N. M . ( 1 9 9 4 ) . Accommodations for individual
understanding of how teachers use social studies texts and differences without classroom ability groups: An experiment in
the strategies and techniques that they engage to accommo- school restructuring. Exceptional Children, 60, 3 4 4 - 3 5 8 .
Kameenui, E. J . , & Simmons, D . C . ( 1 9 9 0 ) . Designing instructional
date the diversity in their classrooms. •
strategies: The prevention of academic learning problems. Columbus,
O H : Merrill.
Larkins, A., Hawkins, M . , & G i l m o r e , A. ( 1 9 8 7 ) . Trivial and
RITA M. BEAN, PhD, is currently professor in the Department of
noninformative content of elementary social studies: A review of
Instruction and Learning and associate dean at the University of
primary texts in four series. Theory and Research in Social
Pittsburgh. She also directs the Reading Center and teaches courses
Education, 15, 2 9 9 - 3 1 1 .
in reading assessment and instruction. Her research interests include
M c C u t c h e o n , G . ( 1 9 8 1 ) . Elementary school teachers' planning for
the study of effective classroom and compensatory programs for
social studies and other subjects. Theory and Research in Social
students with reading difficulties, t e x t b o o k use, and reading
Education, 9, 4 5 - 6 6 .
assessment. NAOMI ZIGMOND, P h D , is currently chair of the
National Association of State Boards of Education. ( 1 9 9 2 ) . Winners
Department of Instruction and Learning at t h e University o f
all: A call for inclusive schools. Alexandria, VA: Author.
Pittsburgh and teaches doctoral level courses in research in special
Schumm, J . S., & Strickler, K. ( 1 9 9 1 ) . Guidelines for adapting
education and in issues related to educational assessment. Her major
content area textbooks: Keeping teachers and students content.
research interest is in the development and evaluation of appropriate
Intervention in School and Clinic, 27, 7 9 - 8 4 .
and effective public school programs for elementary and secondary
Seidel, J . ( 1 9 8 8 ) . The ethnograph: A user's guide version 3 [Computer
students with learning disabilities. DOUGLAS K. HARTMAN is an
program]. Corvallis, O R : Qualis Research Associates.
assistant professor in the Department of Instruction and Learning
Sewall, G . T. ( 1 9 8 7 ) . American history textbooks: An assessment of
at the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests focus on
quality. New York: Educational Excellence Network.
teaching, learning, and textual materials from an intertextual
Shaver, J . P. ( 1 9 8 9 , M a r c h ) . What is known about elementary school
perspective. Address: Rita M . Bean, University of Pittsburgh, 5 T 2 3
social studies? Paper presented at the meeting o f the American
Forbes Quadrangle, Pittsburgh, PA 1 5 2 6 0 .
Educational Research Association, San Francisco.
Shaver, J . P., Davis, O . L., Jr., & Helburn, S. W . ( 1 9 8 0 ) . An
AUTHORS' NOTE interpretive report on the status of precollege social studies
education based on three NSF-funded studies. In What are the
Research for this article was supported by Grant No. H 0 2 3 D 0 0 0 0 3 needs in precollege science, mathematics, and social science education?
from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Views from the field (pp. 3 - 1 8 ) (Publication S E - 9 0 ) . Washington,
Programs. D C : National Science Foundation.
Stainback, W., Stainback, S., Courtnage, L., & Jaben, T. ( 1 9 8 5 ) .
F a c i l i t a t i n g m a i n s t r e a m i n g by modifying t h e m a i n s t r e a m .
REFERENCES
Exceptional Children, 52, 1 4 4 - 1 5 2 .
Adams, R. S., & Biddle, B. J . ( 1 9 7 0 ) . Realities of teaching: Explorations Stodolsky, S. ( 1 9 8 8 ) . The subject matters: Classroom activities in math
with video tape. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. and social studies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Armbruster, B. B., & Gudbrandsen, B . ( 1 9 8 6 ) . Reading c o m - Stodolsky, S. ( 1 9 8 9 ) . Is teaching really by the book? In P. Jackson
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APPENDIX

SELECTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
What is taught?
Tell me about your social studies curriculum.
Look at the "Table of Contents" in your social studies textbook/curriculum guide.
What chapter/topics do you cover?
In what order do you cover the chapters/topics?
Why do you follow that particular order?

Do you omit any chapters/topics/skills?
If so, which?
Why do you omit those chapters/topics/skills?

Do you add any topics? Skills?
If so, which?
Why do you add those topics? Skills?

What do you see as the strength(s) of the textbook you now use?
Why do you see those as strengths?

What do you see as the weakness(es) of the textbook you now use?
Why do you see those as weaknesses?

Are there different expectations or requirements for different students?
If so, pick a couple of students and tell me how your instructional/assessment expectations vary for each student.

How is it taught?

What types of assignments do you give students?
How do you individualize instruction?

Who is taught?

What kinds of problems do your students have in social studies?
How do you deal with this problem?




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