Why Textbooks?

Textbooks.

I have many memories of textbooks as a student, from the dreaded math book that I used to fling into my parents’ car like a shot from a shot put, to the majestic AP Biology textbook that I “lost” the last day of school because I couldn’t stand parting with such a wealth of information.

Whether students love or hate their books, I’ve heard many teachers express doubts about the utility of textbooks. In conversation, sometimes history textbooks become a representation of outdated teaching methods, as if the mere mention of them will send us time traveling backward in a cloud of chalk dust. However, textbooks have evolved with teaching, and they support, rather than prevent, many best practices.

Here are six ways textbooks can support student learning and streamline planning for teachers:

1. Context: The internet provides opportunities to compare opinions and evaluate sources. Artifacts, historic places, and primary sources connect us directly with history. Student discussions about current events make history relevant. These are all true. With lecture (rightfully) being edged out by many teaching approaches that are more appealing and accessible to students, it’s important that pupils still have a baseline of shared information from which to venture. Textbooks provide a solid resource for a flipped classroom, when students encounter new information independently, and then apply that information as part of dynamic activities with teacher guidance. Having a shared, accurate understanding of basic concepts is key for an equitable classroom, so that everyone has an opportunity to engage with more complex sources, regardless of their previous knowledge.
2. Unbiased Information: A well-crafted textbook provides students with an inclusive, fact-based version of events to help them identify areas of interest for further research, evaluate biased or reductive narratives they may encounter, and to help situate primary sources or other secondary sources within a larger narrative. But what is the larger narrative? Lies My Teacher Told Me famously interrogated history textbooks for how they perpetuated myths about US history and culture. The creators of these books wanted to celebrate American history, which lead to various omissions, embellishments, and other tactics that might be appropriate in a wedding toast, but definitely not a history textbook. Our mission is to reveal the complexity of history to students so that they can make informed choices now and as they grow up. Complexity in history is many things: representing how history shaped and was shaped by people of various identities; acknowledging that progress and regression can occur at the same time; and discussing multiple perspectives within a time period, and the forces that shaped narratives about an event or era it once it became “history.”
3. Student Supports: To be fair, many writers have taken up the call to make sure accounts of a particular era or event are inclusive and based in fact. With other reliable accounts of history available, what do textbooks offer? Quite a bit. Textbooks are designed with state standards, national standards, and effective teaching in mind. We present information in a student-friendly format that is consistent for the duration of the course, taking advantage of opportunities to “spiral” back to skills and concepts to review and deepen understanding. With a particular age range in mind, editors tailor language to an accessible reading level, identify key vocabulary words, and explain why the editors chose to use specific terminology regarding places and identities to help students develop global competence. Textbooks are also designed knowing that the material will be assessed, so we present learning goals, comprehension questions, and review activities in student-facing materials. Since students are developing reading skills as well as social studies skills, students are provided with reading strategies to apply during each lesson. To prompt students to make connections between their experiences and new information, we insert “What Do YOU Think?” questions and “Connect It” features throughout each text. We recognize that many students are not yet reading at grade level, so many of our textbooks provide additional resources with even deeper scaffolding for students who need extra support, anticipating work that would otherwise fall to their teachers.
4. Engaging Visuals: Photos, maps, diagrams, and illustrations are key in a textbook. They provide engagement for visual learners, context for approaching readers and multilingual learners, and opportunities for creating interest and activating prior knowledge before lessons even begin. We communicate with museums, historical societies, artists, and even the descendants of activists to gain access to images that help students imagine a moment in history. Our graphic designers create a mood and style for books that are age-appropriate and accessible to students. Our K-2 books have some adorable visual helpers, reminiscent of storybook characters, while our high school series feel more like coffee-table books, elegantly combining narrative and visuals. I remember textbooks being utilitarian and even ugly. From the cover art to the colors that indicate each unit, our textbooks are designed to be immersive and beautiful. You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but as a student, I preferred a book that looked tempting, inviting me to flip it open in the hopes that what was inside would excite or inspire me.
5. Teacher Guide: A well-crafted student textbook is an amazing resource, with vetted information, engaging design, and scaffolded units that provide teachers with a solid foundation to launch into dynamic lessons. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg for educators, because we also create extensive teacher materials to accompany student textbooks. The Teacher Guide provides a variety of activities for each lesson, each rooted in evidence-based practices. From project-based learning, to structured activities for groups, to cross-curricular assignments, there are a variety of choices to meet the needs of unique students, goals, and schedules. As a company of mostly former teachers, we hope to provide inspiration to both the brand-new professional with an alarming number of preps and the veteran who is always looking for innovative ways to engage students and build on last year’s successes. We know that all teachers deserve the support of high-quality materials, which is why we also provide worksheets, blank graphic organizers, maps, templates, unit assessments, extra document-based questions, rubrics, and correlation guides to save time. Teacher have a bunch to do, and tracing dinner plates to create a Venn diagram or obscuring county names on a map of the state are no longer something you need to do. We’ve got it.
6. The Digital Side: So far, as I’ve been talking about textbooks, I’ve been imagining what I experienced as a student: thick, hard-covered books. But it’s the 21st century, and districts, students, and teachers have options. Our digital platform provides options that increase accessibility and support a variety of opportunities for teachers to monitor student progress. Students can have the text read aloud to them online and control the pace; they can highlight and annotate their digital text and then share a virtual sticky note with a teacher to ask a question or answer an exit-ticket question. Teachers can collect metrics about whether students visited a page in their digital text and how long they spent on each page. Some districts use a variety of digital and hardcopy books for students, opting for paper texts in class to maximize interpersonal interaction without screens, and having students use digital texts at home. (As someone who dreaded checking books in and out throughout the year, I would have found this to be a lovely option.)

It's healthy to critically evaluate textbooks to ensure they not only meet the needs of students and teachers but also provide something better than alternative options. We know choosing a textbook is a big decision, and that’s why we work closely with partner districts to make sure that they have the training and resources they need to meet their goals. (Amazingly, no one has asked me to fling a math book into the backseat of a sedan. So much untapped potential there.)