Textbooks - The Richest Resource

We’ve all been there. Last lesson Friday afternoon, the class is fractious, not to say downright obnoxious, and there’s no way you’re going to get them really listening so you reach for the textbook like a life raft. ‘Turn to page 51 and make notes.’ It works and it’s not bad practice...but is it best practice? Textbooks are so well-designed and so rich these days, lavishly illustrated with masterly organisation, that it’s worth thinking about the best ways to exploit this rich resource, the unsung hero of the classroom, the potential skyrocket in the corner.

Begin with the under-pinning skills we are trying to teach, such as analysis, thinking skills, communication, research skills. Put the textbook in the hands of the students. Literally. Make this student-led, not teacher-set. Set them a challenge with that power in mind. Make it competitive. In teams/pairs, ‘Five minutes to find examples of... facts about...team with the most finds wins...’

Think about new ways to introduce a new topic. Instead of ‘Turn to page...’ try ‘Today you’re going to be detectives, find out five things about...’ Which are the most important? Why? Which are debateable? Why? What do they think? Who agrees with...? Who disagrees? Move them on to producing poster or a class display board of their facts and opinions.

Turn to the illustrations. Many of our students are visual learners. The images are crucial to their learning, so help them develop their thinking there too. Which is the most interesting image in this chapter? Why? Who thinks differently? Why? Could the captions have been different? Ask them to write their own captions or pick a line in the text that needs an image. What would they suggest? Take one illustration and get them to discuss all the things it connects to, in and beyond the subject. Get them to push the boundaries and their thinking.

Don’t be confined by chapter divisions, helpful though they are. Classes enjoying combing the books for terms to put into a glossary of their own, or for questions to challenge opposing teams in a quiz. It’s also worth teaching them about the layout of text books, the use of headings, sub-headings and most importantly, the scholar’s margin at the side, which has key terms, extra facts etc. Using a scholar’s margin, key term boxes, colour and images can really help their own notes. Have a lesson where they design a text book-style page in their books, using their notes from a previous session.

Your textbooks are your richest resource. Exploit.