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With Our Compliments:
Making Textbooks Work for You
IMPROVE STUDENTS' RETENTION
OF WHAT THEY READ
To help students recall what they have read, create a context for them. Frame the material for them,
focus on essentials, allow them the opportunity to make meaning for themselves, and use visual cues for
reinforcement.
Creating advance organizers ("this is what to look for "), occasions for reflection, and
opportunities for reinforcement make for more effective learning, We all need to be reminded that reading is
not the same as learning. You are the teacher, not the textbook. Like a fine jeweler, you have to design an
esthetic setting for a precious stone. How will your lesson contextualize the information conveyed in the
text?
- Before making reading assignments, give a structured overview of the material. Who are
the key personalities discussed in the chapter? What are the important concepts? How does the material fit
with what has been learned in previous classes?
- Reinforce the material the students read with opportunities for reflection. What does the text say about
... ? What does the author mean by ... ? What does ... mean to me?
- True understanding occurs when students construct their own meaning from what they read and hear.
Allow time for journal writing or for exhibitions of mastery, such as displays and projects. A studentwritten
and student-produced puppet show on the story of Jonah and the great fish tells the teacher more about
students' comprehension than any test; the creation of a student-designed wall hanging inspired by the
twelve tribes tells more than any worksheet.
- Reinforce the textbook by transforming your classroom into a complete learning environment. If you
teach Hebrew, make Hebrew labels for objects in your room; keep a classroom collection of simple stories
in Hebrew for those who finish their work before the others; use Hebrew expressions for routine tasks, for
praise, or to begin and end each class. If you teach Jewish holidays, decorate your room with holiday
pictures and ritual items. Reinforce a history lesson with a bulletin board display that depicts the period
you are studying.