To Trade Books or Not To Trade books? That is the question!

“Please open your textbook to pg 333.” Were the much dreaded words to be spoken by so many of my elementary and middle school teachers.  As I began this chapter, I was eager to learn how textbooks measure up in the 21^st century classroom.  While this was not directly addressed, it is safe to assume that dependence on textbooks can hinder the complete understanding and perspective students assume on content.  The book highlights four concerns associated with textbooks that are alarming.  I question, how many teachers consider the textbook to be inconsiderate, inaccurate, inappropriate in reading level for students, and the negative student reactions.  Tapping into my own experiences with text books, I am often left with feelings of anxiety and stress.   The only excitement I had, when receiving a text book, was being able to cover it in a brown paper bag and decorate it, how sad!  While I do believe textbooks are appropriate when used correctly and in moderation, there are better ways to connect students to content.  After reading chapter 11 and the article "Transational Analysis in the Teaching of Literature" it is obvious how important that student experiences are intertwined with content being read.  I learned from this reading that it is important readers are encouraged to connect with the text through feelings and emotions.  This can be done by integrating trade books in student curriculum. 

Reflecting on my own experiences in the classroom, I have a vague memory of a teacher using The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck in my 7^th (it might have been 8^th) grade language arts class.  Looking back, her intentions of incorporating literature into the curriculum to help us understand cultural perspective is appreciated; however, this should have never been taught as a whole class novel.  As the book states, trade book use lends itself to differentiation.  This book was beyond many of our conceptual understanding and left us confused and frustrated.  However, I do commend her for incorporating literature, aside from the textbook, into our lives to help us understand culture.  Eventually, she redeemed herself when we she had us read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.  It was through her dedication of broadening our understanding of each people’s differences, we were able to empathize with Lenny  the challenges he faced as well as the challenges his brother faced.  By using trade books, we were able to develop a deeper connection and perspective on real life situation.

As I look back on my earlier educational experience, it is clear how convenient using text books were for my teachers.  Even though this was convenient for them, was it always in the best way for me and my classmates to learn?  As I advanced through high school and college, many of my teachers expected me to have developed a strong prior knowledge schema; however, with using only the textbooks my perspectives were narrow.  Although this must have been frustrating for those teachers, it did not stop them from helping us to experience literature and connect it to content in our lives.  I mentioned in an earlier blog about my change of heart with reading through a John Grisham novel.  In addition to this experience, I was also introduced to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in high school.  Our teacher had wanted to help us understand African American oppression and the turmoil faced when a white family wanted to reach out to help a black family.  WOW, what a profound book and experience.  An experience a textbook would struggle to create   I believe this profound memory comes from the teachers’ intentional purpose of choosing a book narrated by a child making it easy for us to relate to. 

Reading trade books have the ability to enhance student interaction with content in an efferent and aesthetic manner.  The book states that “trade books can also related experiences and perspectives that many have been excluded from text books.” (Vacca, Vacca, Mraz, 2010).  Since beginning this course, the underlying theme has been the development of student perspective as a means of building prior knowledge schema.  Therefore, one underlying benefit of using trade books is to help students develop understanding of content through perspective building.  Moreover, the differentiated component associated with using trade books can be beneficial to all learners.  By giving students books at their level, students can be successful.  Moreover, trade books can enhance student experience because they can be used at all levels with all genres and types of books.  Therefore, using a picture book to introduce a difficult concept should nor arouse feelings of shame, but should be embraced.