Using Textbooks Effectively
By: Marvin Eicher and Michael McHugh

It may be difficult for educators today to realize that from the time that European settlers first set foot upon North America in the early 1600s until around the mid-19th century, school children were provided with very few textbooks. The first textbook to receive wide distribution throughout the American colonies was entitled The New England Primer , which, along with a copy of the Bible, was virtually all of the curriculum materials that were available to schools during this period. It was not until the late 1700s before a few more texts were added to the curriculum.

Needless to say, a great deal has changed over the years. Now there are textbooks for teaching everything from arithmetic to geography, as well as from art to zoology. The question for most teachers or administrators is no longer so much what to teach, but rather how to teach a particular course of study effectively.

Here are a few suggestions of how to derive the greatest benefit from the textbooks you issue or utilize with your students.

Take the time to become well-acquainted with the material at the beginning of the school term. A textbook is a learning tool, and we cannot expect to use any tool effectively if we are not familiar with it.

Become familiar with the basic philosophy underlying the textbooks that you use. Seek to grasp the author's primary objectives and the means by which he intends that they be achieved. As much as possible, make his goals your goals unless you are convinced that they are ill-conceived or unbiblical. Obviously, using a textbook that is written from a Christian perspective will lessen the number of times that you will need to deviate from the author's goals. Nevertheless, it is wise for teachers to know if and when they do not agree with a particular section of a text so that they can develop a plan to counter this material with something else.

Get to know the overall content and layout of the textbook. Obtain a clear idea of the progression of the concepts from cover to cover. If the text has any special inserts, supplements or visual aids, then be sure to familiarize yourself with these features. It is also important to know how and when the author planned to have students evaluated in terms of questions, quizzes or tests.

In addition to the text itself, teachers should develop a plan for their particular students. Determine how much material should be covered each day, each week and each month, and devise a schedule with checkpoints along the way to measure your progress. Be sure

to factor in enough time for needed reviews or tests. Although there will undoubtedly be times when you will modify your schedule, it will still help you to keep on track by having a basic plan or schedule. As the school year develops, you may want to make further adjustments with your schedule, but it is at this point when you must have a clear idea of which sections of the book are critical and which are expendable. Familiarity with the textbook plan will permit you to sort out and prioritize your schedule if you find that it is simply not possible to achieve all of your original goals.

No teacher should be a slave to a textbook. A great deal of learning can and should take place outside of the confines of your students' textbooks. Always remember that you are the teacher, and, at the end of the day, you know the specific needs of your students better than the author of the book you are using. Make it your constant purpose, therefore, to teach your students what you are confident they need to know. If certain course material has a teacher's guide, do not feel obligated to carry out every suggestion it provides. Rather, use the teacher's guide as a means to help you chart a path toward your goals in the most effective manner for your particular students.

A wise teacher will get into the good habit of having his students read portions of the text material aloud during class, while also asking specific questions to the students regarding what they have read to ensure that they have gained genuine comprehension. Christian educators should also encourage their students to commit certain key concepts set forth in their texts to memory. A student who knows text material "by heart" is much more likely to retain a lasting knowledge of that subject matter.

Textbooks are an important aid in teaching the various subjects, but, in the end, it is teachers who will be the one who will determine how best to meet the particular needs of each child with the text material at hand. Christian school administrators should also be prepared to guide and encourage their faculty to make good use of the textbooks that have been provided to them.

Marvin Eicher has authored several books and articles on the subject of Christian education for Rod and Staff publishers. Michael McHugh is on staff with the Christian Liberty Academy of Arlington Heights, Illinois . During his time with the academy, he has worked as a curriculum director, administrator and textbook author.