Running head: REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 1

Review of Holt Science & Technology 8th Grade Physical Science Textbook and its

Proposed Use in a Classroom

Dylan M. Boeckmann

James Madison University

REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 2

Review of Holt Science & Technology 8th Grade Physical Science Textbook and its

Proposed Use in a Classroom

Textbooks are one of the most common material used in classrooms. Regardless of the

grade level, subject, or teacher, nearly every class has and uses a textbook in some capacity. For

this reason, it is important to constantly review textbooks so that only those of the highest quality

are published and used (Kesidou & Roseman, 2001; Simmons et al, 2004). Numerous procedures

have been devised to review textbooks with varying criteria, and therefore varying usefulness,

depending on the subject of the textbook being reviewed. Some procedures are general so they

can be applied to a wide variety of textbooks, while some are tailored to specific subject areas

therefore making them only useful for reviewing textbooks on that subject (Alvermann, Phelps,

Gillis 2010; Kesidou & Roseman, 2001). This makes the selection of the review procedure of

paramount importance in the review process.

The students ability to read and comprehend the content that is being presented to them

is also important to consider. While not necessarily the most important quality of a textbook,

readability is something that needs to be considered. An 8th grade physical science textbook

published by Holt, Science & Technology was reviewed using a combination of review

procedures and readability scores in order to determine what is the best ways to implement the

text in a science classroom.

Methods

In order to give the most comprehensive review possible a combination of qualitative and

quantitative observations was made. Qualitative observations were made with the help review

tools. Quantitative observations were made using readability calculations.

REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 3

Review Tools

Due to limitations in any of the possible review procedures that could be used a

combination of procedures was used in order to provide the most accurate review of this

textbook. Each of the procedures used is described in detail below.

AAAS Method. The following qualitative method of review was used by Kesidou and

Roseman (2002) and is the method devised and used by the American Association for the

Advancement of Science (AAAS) for textbook review. This method uses a series of questions

from seven categories pertaining specifically to the content and utility of the textbook. While this

method allows for the content and utility of science textbooks to be reviewed less emphasis is

placed on the format and style of the text, which are still important aspects to be considered

when looking at a text. For this reason, this method is used in conjunction with the Alvermann

method in order to provide the most comprehensive review of the text.

Alvermann Method. The following qualitative method of review was given by

Alvermann et al. (2010). This method of review involves asking a series of questions listed in the

following categories: Content, Format, Utility, and Style. However, in the context of this paper,

only format and style are used in the reviewing process, for the reasons stated above.

Readability Score

Readability score is a way to compare different texts quantitatively and is meant to give

an idea of what grade level needs to be achieved in order to comprehend a given text (Kincaid,

Fishburne, Rogers, and Chissom, 1975). Though not the most important thing to consider when

reviewing a text, readability is something that should be considered since it could play a role in

the students ability to read and comprehend the text being used (Alvermann et al. 2010). For the
REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 4

calculations, three random passages were selected by a random number generator. From each

passage 100 words were typed into an online readability calculator and the last sentence was

finished, resulting in over 100 words per passage. The Flesch-Kincaid formula, which was used

for this review, is designed to give an idea of what grade level a certain text is appropriate for. It

uses the number of words/sentence and the number of syllables/word to determine the grade

level in the American education system a person should have completed to be able to

comprehend the text (Kincaid, 1975). There is some possibility for error due to the calculation

being done in a computer which can have problem calculating syllables, though the error would

be minimal

Review

Qualitative Observations

As stated in the above section, a combination of review tools was used in order to provide

the most comprehensive review. The AAAS method was used for content and utility, while the

Alvermann method was used for format and style.

Content. While the in general the AAAS method is the best method for content it

overlooks the most obvious content question: Is all of the content correct? (Kesidou & Roseman,

2002). It makes the assumption that all information provided in the text is correct; however, that

assumption was not made in this review process and no errors in information were found (Todd,

2001).

The first thing to be considered in the AAAS method of review of content is if the text

book takes into account student ideas, mostly importantly, does it work to reverse student

misconceptions (Kesidou & Roseman, 2002). The textbook, on several occasions, handles
REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 5

misconceptions well. It at one point encourages a student to drop a balled up piece of paper, and

a flat sheet after explaining that all objects accelerate at the same rate (Todd, 2001). This uses

student observations to help break down misconceptions which is an effective method. Not only

that, the textbook will be reminds teachers of these misconceptions which will allow them to be

on the lookout for them and follow up on them if the students still maintain them.

The AAAS method also considers how new ideas and terms are introduced (Kesidou &

Roseman, 2002). In general, the textbook should introduce the ideas first by connecting them to

prior knowledge a student would have. Only after the idea has been completely introduced

should the terms that go with it be used which is the same process encouraged by the 5-E

educational model (Bybee, 1997). This is an area where the textbook could improve. There many

occasions where definitions are given before all of the background information and sometimes

even before prior knowledge is activated (Todd, 2001). This hinders the students ability to relate

to the concepts, which can hinder understanding.

Figure 1. This passage gives the definition of the term before

provided any background information. An inverse of the 5-E model
proposed by Bybee.
REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 6

The last main content issue addressed is encouraging the students to think about what

they have learned and really apply it, again, aligning with the 5-E model (Kesidou & Roseman,

2002; Bybee, 1997). Surprisingly enough, despite not aligning above, the textbook does in this

sense. After introducing ideas, takes the knowledge given to students and applies it in a real

world scenario (Todd, 2001). This helps give a purpose to the student learning and makes the

content relevant and thus more relatable to students, which is important for keeping them

engaged.

Utility. While not specifically called utility by the AAAS, this section looks at the

usefulness of activities found in the textbook as well as the assessments found at the end of the

chapter (Alvermann et al. 2010; Kesidou & Roseman, 2002).

The first thing to consider according to the AAAS is if there are a variety of activities

provided (Kesidou & Roseman, 2002). In the text, a Quick Lab is found in each chapter so that

all of the chapters have a short lab that can be easily completed for every topic introduced, an

example of a quick lab is shown in Figure 1 (Todd, 2001). While this means that a variety of

topics are covered there is not a lot of variety with in a topic. For example, the entire chapter on

Figure 2. Example of quick

lab from the text. One of
these is found in every
chapter.
REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 7

chemical compounds, only has one lab give (Todd, 2001). So even though that is a very broad

chapter, the activities provided are limited.

While activities are limited, they are useful. They are easy to do activities that are

especially useful for visualizing difficult concepts or making concepts relevant to students lives.

This is the other aspect considered by the AAAS (Kesidou & Roseman, 2002). The text offers

activities for every topic, even those that are traditionally difficult to make activities for, like the

lab for chain reaction chemistry in figure 3 (Todd, 2002). This is a difficult concept to

understand and also difficult to create an activity, yet this text supplies one which could be very

helpful to students struggling to visualize or understand the topic.

Figure 3. A quick lab for a

chain reaction

Format. Using the method given by Alvermann et al. the format of a text mostly refers to

the visuals provided in the textbook and the general layout of the textbook (2010). In this

textbook, there are many visuals throughout with no page without a visual. This is helpful since

it breaks up the text and makes it so that the pages are not overwhelming with text; however,

there is an issues with the images used (Todd, 2001). Not all of the images are necessarily

relevant to the text as shown and explained in figures 4 and 5 (Todd, 2001). If images are being
REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 8

used, they should be in some way add to student learning by allowing them to visualize a concept

they may struggle with visualizing themselves, much like the image in figure 6 (Todd, 2001).

Figure 4. An example of an irrelevant Figure 5. An example of an irrelevant Figure 6. An example of a relevant

image. No real connection to the text is image. The only relation this has to image. This would help students
made. Its only use is to break up text. the text is that it mentions copper. grasps the difficult concepts of sizes
too small to comprehend.

As for layout, there was one important aspect of this text that stood out as exceptional. At

the beginning of each chapter, there is a group of questions that are designed to get students

thinking about the chapter before reading begins. At the end of the chapter, students are

encouraged to look back at those questions and see if their answers have changed (Todd 2001).

This clues students in to what they should be looking for in each chapter and assesses if they

found it.

Another aspect of format that Alvermann et al considered is the glossary and index

(2010). The glossary was more or less unhelpful. The only words defined in the glossary were

key terms that were already defined in the text itself (Todd, 2001). However, the glossary did list

the page number for those terms which would allow the students to revisit those terms for overall

explanations of concepts rather than just definitions. But again only if those words were key

terms. The index on the other hand was very helpful. General words such as energy are divided

into more specific words before listing page numbers (Todd, 2001). This is very helpful because
REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 9

it allows students to not only find what they were looking for, but also related words which could

help them build connections between concepts.

Style. The smallest section provided by Alvermann et al. style looks specifically at the

sentences and how they are structured (2010). The syntax used in the textbook is very simple.

This makes it the material very clear and easy to understand, but also creates a lack of flow

within the sections. It also has the negative effect of making each paragraph read as a list of facts

which can make it boring and hard to get into. While a textbook does not need to be entertaining

it also does not need to be choppy and boring.

Quantitative Observations

As stated above, readability score was used to quantitatively review this textbook. While

readability is not the most important part of the review, it does need to be considered.

Readability Score. Using the calculation derived by Kincaid et al. and the method given

above, the readability score for this textbook was determined to be 9.3 (1975). This means the

textbook is written at a level that should requires a 9th grade level of education to comprehend.

This textbook is written for 8th graders so that number at first glance seems high; however, due to

the specific vocabulary required in a science class an appropriate textbook should score higher

than the grade level it is actually intended for. Not only does it have a required vocabulary, the

words in that vocabulary tend to be larger than normal words which will result in a higher

readability score. For this reason, this textbook is appropriate for the grade level it was intended

for. Also, the simple syntax noted above, allows for the text to be understood even if the text

scores higher than expected.

Conclusion
REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 10

Strengths

This textbook had numerous strengths that make it a quality textbook. First, the textbook

is easy to read and use, the simple syntax and in-depth index allows for the text to be easily

navigated and understood. Second, the text book provides a variety of quality activities that if

used correctly would lead to greater student understanding. Lastly, the text is very effective in

uncovering and breaking down student misconceptions which is very important for a science

textbook.

Weaknesses

For all of the strengths there are also several weaknesses. The simple syntax that makes it

simple to understand, can lead to the text being boring and engagement is an important part of

the learning process. Also, the short sentences can read as choppy which can make it difficult to

make the necessary connections. While the activities are helpful, there are not many of them

especially for the broader chapters. Lastly, the delivery of the content is not always in the right

order for an inquiry based style of teaching used by most science educators.

Uses

This textbook has a place in science classrooms It has numerous strengths that make it

useful and effective in helping students understand difficult concepts. That being said, there are

definitely areas what could be improved upon. For this reason, the teacher must take great care in

deciding how it is used. The best method of integrating this text into the classroom is to use it as

needed for the concepts students are having most difficultly with as a supplement for whatever is

normally done to teach the material. This should not be the sole method, or even the primary

method of teaching, but can be used as supplemental material and for ideas for activities.
REVIEW OF 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEXTBOOK 11

References

Alverman, D. E., Phelps, S.F, & Gillis, V.R. (2010). Content are reading and literacy:
Succeeding in todayss diverse classrooms (6th ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Bybee, R. W. (1997). Achieving scientific literacy: from purposes to practices. Westport, CT:
Heinemann.

Kesidou, S., & Roseman, J. E. (2002). How Well Do Middle School Science Programs Measure
Up? Findings from Project 2061s Curriculum Review. Journal of Research in Science
Teaching, 39(6), 522549. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10035

Kincaid, J. P., Fishburne, R. P., Rogers, R. L., & Chissom, B. S. (1975). Derivation of New
Readability Formulas (Automated Readability Index, Fog Count and Flesch Reading Ease
Formula) for Navy Enlisted Personnel. Technical Training, Research B(February), 49.
https://doi.org/ERIC #:ED108134

Simmons, P. E., Brunkhorst, H., Lunetta, V., Penick, J., Peterson, J., Pietrucha, B., & Staver, J.
(2005). Developing a Research Agenda in Science Education. Journal of Science Education
and Technology, 14(2), 239252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-005-4424-4

Todd, R. W., Bowman, D. E., Engelking, A., Mazza, M. (2001). Physical Science. Austin, TX:
Holt Rinehart and Winston