ERIC Number: ED228113
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1982
Pages: 40
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Suggestions for Improving a Poorly Written Sixth Grade Social Studies Chapter.
Crismore, Avon
"The Later Middle Ages: Civilization Reborn" in Ginn's "Our World," a chapter from a sixth grade social studies textbook, was assessed by the author, who used specific evaluation criteria. Although four strengths were indicated, the author dealt primarily with weaknesses of the text and made many suggestions for improvement. Some of the author's criticisms were that (1) vocabulary was not consistent, i.e., some words were defined, others were not; (2) the grammatical construction of sentences was poor; (3) topic sentences were unclear and paragraphs sometimes contained several topics; and (4) headings, transitions, and connecting words were not used in paragraphs. In addition, students reading this chapter would be required to infer many ideas and to recall information from previous chapters. It was recommended that more summaries and explicit labeling of topics be used, as well as more examples. Overall, to improve the chapter, the author suggests that it be completely rewritten by a single author with a less authoritarian style, keeping the sixth grade reader in mind. Appended are the original version and the author's improved version of the chapter. (BY)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A