Synthesis Blog 3

Subject Matters Chapter 6 was full of useful exercises to shake the notion that textbooks are the worst thing ever. This chapter provides meaningful ways to mix it up, and best of all, clear things up to students. At the beginning of the chapter, I appreciated the tips on how to best use a textbook before even assigning it in class--emphasizing that it isn't always necessary to assign the whole book, and sometimes teachers need to address how a textbook is written before letting students read it. As someone who has yet to teach so far, I thought that the part pleading for teachers to review the material covered on the state exams was a useful nugget that I will make sure to carry into my classroom. It would be a shame and a waste to make my students read even more than they need to if it isn't important nor tested.

There were several activities that were listed that also caught my eye. First off, teaching is hectic and schedules can get scrambled due to unforeseen circumstances. If anything were to happen where I needed to cover a lot of material in a short amount of time, I think that Jigsawing would be the perfect solution. Covering a whole chapter or more of material by dividing it between multiple groups not only speeds things up, but it also provides thoughtful discussion between groups and group members. Guide-O-Ramas seem fun and interesting, partially because I used to annotate my books in high school with as much humor as I could in order to make reading less boring. By guiding my students this way, it keeps them invested in the reading as well as provides some much-needed entertainment and comic release when reading a boring textbook.

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