How to Use Textbooks in Teaching

Textbooks can be a wonderful addition to any lesson plan. There are many great textbooks available to choose from that can really emphasize what your students are learning. Textbooks don't have to be boring; in fact, there are many ways you can creatively use textbooks in your daily instruction.

• Choose sections of the textbook, which best emphasize what you are teaching. If you are working on a reading lesson about fables, search the textbook for fables. If you are teaching a math lesson on integers, look for related problems in the book.


• Group students together with their own copy of the textbook. Have them "buddy read" to each other to make the lesson fun. To involve the whole class concurrently, have students "popcorn read." This can be done by beginning with one student and having him or her say "popcorn" followed by another student's name. If you are looking for a homework assignment, you could have students take the textbook home and read selected pages. For math assignments, students could work together on selected problems. Even or odd problems could become assigned as homework.


• Look at the questions that occur directly after the lesson in the textbook. Often these are overlooked, but can be helpful at directing students to think about what they just worked on. Sometimes they are referred to as critical thinking questions or challenge problems. Students can discuss their answers with a partner or write them with markers on paper to make it fun.


• Remember to assign a reasonable amount of work for the age of your students. Don't overwhelm younger readers with lengthy passages or seemingly endless pages of math problems. Keep your expectations reasonable and working out of textbooks will be much more enjoyable.