By Chantel Rhodes
A recent nationwide study revealed that elementary and secondary teachers may not have enough text-books, but that doesn”t mean they have to skimp on educating students, said Todd Billings of Provo School District.
Students in Provo elementary schools use texts for subjects like math, history and language arts, but Internet use is on the rise for subjects like science and social studies, Billings said.
“History doesn”t change,” he said, but social studies textbooks
cannot keep up with rapid changes in the world today. Teachers are relying
more on the Internet for updated material to use in class.
Because funding is limited, Billings said Provo teachers are selective
when they choose texts so money can be spent on other needed resources.
Traditionally, the state has a list of mandated texts elementary schools
must use. This year it is a list of suggested textbooks, Billings said.
He said most districts in Utah still select their textbooks from that list, even
though they are no longer required to.
“Some are mavericks, like us,” said Billings, who chose some texts
that do not appear on the list.
Don Dowdle, principal at Joaquin Elementary, said the Utah legislature has
allocated textbook funds, which schools have discretion to use as needed.
Some of that money is used to replace books that have been lost or damaged.
At Joaquin, about 60 percent of the students speak a language other than
English at home, according to Dowdle.
He said the textbook funds are sometimes used to purchase textbooks printed
in Spanish, Korean or other languages to help minority students learn
various subjects.
Funds can also be used to purchase books for accelerated students who may
need more advanced materials, Dowdle said.
Upper grades at Joaquin often use newspapers when studying current events.
Guided use of the Internet is also a resource, especially for research
reports on states or countries, Dowdle said.
Nonfiction reading texts are used to teach subjects beyond just reading.
For example, Dowdle said, the sixth graders may be reading “The Diary of
Anne Frank,” and the teachers would incorporate discussions on history or
social studies based on the book”s setting.
This is an example of what Billings calls integrated subjects, or what
Dowdle calls balanced literacy.
Provo School District uses this program not only to provide continuity
between subjects for students, giving them a “big picture” perspective, but
also to get more mileage out of each text.
