ABSTRACT

How teachers think about and use texts is an important part of their instructional decision making. Although teachers’ choices about texts vary from classroom to classroom, three kinds of practice are evident in content area classrooms. The first involves the use of one type of text-the textbook-at the exclusion of other types of texts. Some teachers, for example, rely almost exclusively on the textbook as students’ primary source of information. The second type of practice involves text avoidance. For one reason or another, some teachers circumvent reading as a tool for learning by focusing instruction on lecturing and other forms of classroom activity. The third kind of practice is what this chapter is all about. Some teachers view the textbook as a source of learning, albeit not the only source. They recognize the powerful role that authentic texts, commonly found in the world outside of classrooms, play in extending and enriching students’ understanding of subject matter. These real-world texts include narrative and informational trade books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, reference resources, and any other type of print medium that has purpose and relevance in the real world.

In most content area classrooms, textbook reading is the rule rather than the exception. A textbook, which is designed to convey a body of knowledge, often comes to symbolize a graded and fragmented curriculum. For example, a U.S. history textbook is what most students might use to study American history in the 11th grade. Consequently, the textbook is the curriculum for some teachers. It serves as a compendium of facts and generalizations, which allows the learner-in principle at least-to have quick access to events, ideas, people, and processes to be covered in a subject.