How To: Toss the Text

  This article is about teaching without textbooks. It may sound like a strange thought because normally when people think of school they think of kids reading and learning from textbooks. But that may not be the best way for kids to learn anymore. This article is about steps to help teachers move away from the textbooks and create their own new curriculum to help the students learn more. Some of these steps include:

1. Read Widely, this way teachers can find a variety of approaches to use.
2. Plan and Prioritize, figure out what exactly you want the students to learn, you can still use the book but this is a stepping stone in the right direction.
3. Borrow and Adapt Others' Curriculum, no one expects you to come up with all your own ideas in the beginning, it's okay to ask other teachers and use outside sources.
4. Stay Organized, always plan ahead, maybe even use a computer to keep all the information in one place.
5. Keep your Students Organized, kids always need help staying organized, you can explain to them easy ways like organizing their binders and notebooks, it will help them later down the road if they learn to stick with it.
6. Customize Homework, sometimes the best way for a student to learn is to use real life examples and scenarios, they may understand it better because it relates to them.
7. Consider the Barriers to Doing Without a Textbook, not using a textbook does not make life any easier, actually it's quite the opposite, there are costs for handouts, parents that worry their children are not learning without a textbook and administrators to convince this is better for the students.
8. Remember to Teach Textbook Skills, even though you may not use a textbook that does not mean children do not have to read anymore, you can have them read articles from a magazine or web page.
9. Anticipate Failure, no one gets eveything right all the time, people fail, it is just a part of life, learn from lessons that do not seem to work and brainstorm new ideas.

Textbooks have been used for many many years and will continue to be used for years to come. Just remember students today may need more than just words to help them understand a concept. Stepping away from the textbook every now and then may be a good idea, who knows, you may even begin to prefer it.

Introducing Me

      I was born and raised in Martinsburg, WV. This is the city in which I decided I wanted to become a teacher. After graduating from college I plan to become an elementary school teacher. I would love to teacher fourth or fifth grade math.

      I believe that children need to experience early on that learning new things does not have to be a chore. Learning can, and should be fun!! Children do not need to read out of a textbook. They need hands on experience to fully understand what is being taught. If you make the lesson into a game or at least relate it to kids then they will learn and remember more. Make the kids laugh, kids will always remember a lesson they laughed in. In my classroom I plan on having activities that the students will be up out of their seats moving around the classroom. I will do my best to have plenty of games for students to learn with and make class as enjoyable as possible.