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Although the
Student's Friend may be used in place of regular textbooks,
teachers sometimes ask if there are ways to use their big old
hardbound textbooks in a class based on the Student's Friend.
The answer is yes. 7/27/02 studentsfriend.com
reply -When students are doing research reports, I suggest they build their knowledge slowly. I advise reading the relevant sections of Student's Friend first. Then I suggest they check the textbook to see if there is any additional information there. These two sources should give students an understandable overview that will help them comprehend more complex text. Then, I suggest they go to the encyclopedia and try the easiest encyclopedia first. If they don't find enough information here, they should move up to a more inclusive and sophisticated encyclopedia such as Britannica. Then they should be in a good position to comprehend articles and books about their subject. -I also use the textbooks as a good source of images for Illustrated Timeline Projects. -I use the textbook to provide source material for the Roman Trade Routes activity. Most textbooks I have seen have a map of Roman Trade Routes and the goods being traded. -Occasionally I use textbooks as punishment - no, let me rephrase that, as a method to refocus attention. My approach to teaching relies heavily on discussion of the material we are covering. This method only works when students are cooperating. If I am having a hard time keeping a group of students focused on discussion, I give them an opportunity to learn the material from textbooks. After the first textbook-based test (usually before) students are begging to return to the Students Friend and the discussion approach. Deportment improves. Peer pressure helps. -I don't normally use textbooks for direct instruction. They are too inclusive to provide a coherent overview of history and too superficial to provide an in-depth understanding of a given historical episode. I supplement the Students Friend with a number of video clips from various quality sources and activities which hone-in on particular historical/geographic issues that I believe are especially enlightening. 2. I hand out the Student's Friend all at one time. Students are required to have a loose leaf binder in which to keep their copies. I assign some activities that require that all information be available to the student, such a selecting a topic for a research report or the "historical scramble" in which teams compete in finding the proper sequence of historical events, and also to provide illustration ideas for the Illustrated Timeline Projects. 3. I add the bonus points to the student's total points for the semester. I'm not sure how one would do it another way. 2/1/02 Brian Knapp,
former teacher and textbook author I don't think all text books need to be boring, but they do have the advantage of providing a structure which is helpful for those who are not confident that they can provide a comprehensive structure for themselves... If you have time, have a look for yourself. The materials are for elementary schools rather than high schools, but as I notice your wife is an elementary school teacher they might be of interest to her. Each of the books in Curriculum Visions has a downloadable sample as a pdf file, so the books can be judged for themselves. CurriculumVisions.com The books started from a geography base, but have spread to science and are just about to tackle history. response from studentsfriend.com 9/1/01 Keith, teacher,
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