TEXTBOOK UNIT/CHAPTER REVIEW

Badders, W., Bethel, L., Fu, V., Peck, D., Summers, C., & Valentino, C. (1999). Earth in time.
DiscoveryWorks. Grade 2 (pp. C1–C43). Parsippany, NJ: Houghton Mifflin Company.

K-12 Textbook Content Area: Science

Dimensions of Language
Vocabulary

The dimensions of the vocabulary are relatively simple, whereas the vocabulary is very general.

However, some of the terms may be technical terms due to it being a science textbook. An

example from the book is “Fossil imprints form in mud or other matter that later hardens”

(p.C16). This example is technical, because of the terms imprints and matter. Students who do

not have prior knowledge on the science-based terms and vocabulary may have difficulties in

understanding what the sentence is saying. However, it does not mean that the students will not

always know what the terms mean. From usage of context clues, the vocabulary learning will be

critical and help understand the general area (Gottlieb & Ernst-Slavit, 2014, p.46). Students will

be able to assume what the terms mean from the visual representatives on the book and from

sentences before or after the sentence that needs to be comprehended.

Sentence

The dimensions of sentence in the textbook are constantly simple, with some complex

vocabularies. The book narrates “the birds shown in the picture are endangered” (C41). The

definitions of the term are relatively simple, for individuals who do not know as much prior

knowledge in the area can easily understand. At times, the book does not directly define the

terms but provide real-life examples. An example from the book is “Which will eat the lizard? It

needs sharp. Pointed teeth to tear the food” (p. C28). Even the terms that associated with the

definition are well-put and written with words that are not entirely in academic language.
Discourse

The dimensions of discourse in the textbook are simple with some technical terms. As it is a

science textbook, the genre of the textbook is filled with factual and real-life examples. In

addition, the textbook is balance between informational and literacy text, where the text tells the

story and explains the story (Gottlieb & Ernst-Slavit, 2014, p. 30). There is numerous example

throughout the whole textbook. An example from the K-12 textbook is how it gives an example

of scientists who learned and found fossils that brought living stories of dinosaurs who were

extinct.

Strategies for Teaching Academic Language to ELLs

Strategies in activities can help teach academic language to English Language Learners (ELLs).

When using strategies, it can help ELLs as extra support or guidance in the original curriculum.

The book shows an example where the students will be able to make connection to the text and

the video about the starfish using video technology (Gottlieb & Ernst-Slavit, 2014, p. 103). An

activity I suggest for my textbook will be showing a video that shows the different types of teeth

for dinosaurs based on their diet. “Dinosaurs became extinct long ago” (p. C40). The activity can

be used for ELLs to learn and understand are comparing and contrasting the prefixes and suffixes

in the language. One teacher gives an example where he gives both English and Spanish

textbooks and create an activity to see the similarities and differences in prefixes in both of the

language (Gottleib & Ernst-Slavit, 2014, p. 98). Using from the word “extinct”, we can show the

prefix of “ex-” with other words that uses this prefix. For example, using exit (leaving) or

expired (cannot be consumed or used anymore). From these prefix, the students will be able to

understand the concept and the meaning of those specific terms; knowing it means it’s not

present anymore.
 Suggestion on Supplementing in Textbook

I personally liked this textbook, since it was well-written and supported for its specific younger

audience, 2nd grade. However, there are some suggestions that I may add for the improvement in

the book. One suggestion is adding pronunciation after the scientific terms written in the book.

The reasons to this is because it led for them to unable to try to figure out how it is actually

pronounced and rely more to his or her peers to say it to them. With pronunciation written in the

book, it will help students independence in some criteria before asking other peers or their

teacher. The textbook will be more effective if there were questions. Based on the table shown, it

expresses that questions are needed to obtain information from the context (Gottlieb & Ernst-

Slavit, 2014, p. 66). I think it would be effective if the book had checkpoint questions throughout

the chapter, so it can help students to know what they do know and what they need more help

with.