Truth in Texas Textbooks Review
Publisher/Publication/Year: Pearson/Texas History/2015
Editor: Dr. Amy Jo Baker; Editor/Consultant: Dr. Sandra Alfonsi
Problem: Bias (B), Omission of Fact (OF), Half-Truth (HT), Factual Error (FE)
The publisher responded to 24 of the 33 items in this review.
Page #/Line #
Quote
“Jim Bowie, Hero of the Alamo”
At 1:55 in the video what looks like Bowie (or
Austin) in a dress is shown (cartoon), this seems
strange and out of place
Problem
1.
Topic 4:
Introduction:
Revolution and
Republic
Bias
2.
Topic 4: Lesson 4 <none>
and 5 “Flipped
Videos”
3.
Topic 5 Lesson 2
“Flipped Video”
Flipped video- closing question “Do you think
the belief in Manifest Destiny gave the United
States the right, even the duty to invade Mexico
and force it to sell land that became the
American Southwest?”
Bias
4.
Topic 5, Lesson
3, “Flipped
Video”
Interesting closing question “Can you think of
another deal, past or present, that compares to the
one Texas offered immigrants?”
Other
5.
Topic 5, Lesson
4, “Flipped
Video”
Other
Other
Fact & Source
This is an observation, more of a curiosity than
anything…but I am concerned of the subtle message this
imagery is conveying to impressionable 7th grade students.
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciates the reviewer’s
comment. This is an image of Sam Houston in Cherokee
garb from the time during which he lived with the Cherokee.
The video for Lesson 4 and Lesson 5 are one and the same
video.
The closing question seemed to have a pro-Mexican antiAmerican bias/subliminal message making the U.S. out to be
the “bad guy” and Mexico to be the “good guy”.
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciates the reviewer’s
comment. Pearson believes the content is unbiased when
considered in context of the entire flipped video and the
content in the course. The question is meant to spark
discussion of this issue and not to direct students to any
particular point of view.
Interesting closing question.
Had difficulty on October 14, and again on October 16, the
video plays to 1:18 then stops. I was later able to get it to
play (on a different computer) but the audio and video are
about one second out of synch.
1
6.
Topic 6, Lesson
6, Text 1
Other
Page not available, still the case even after clearing the
browser cache and reloading (10/20/2014)
7.
Topic 6, Lesson
6, biography
Lawrence Sullivan Ross – start of third
paragraph “Ross was elected to the Texas State
Senate in 1781 and then served as governor of
Texas from 1887 to 1891.”
FE
Topic 6, Lesson
7, “Flipped
Video”
“The Houston Ship Channel Opened in 1941…”
at the 3:01 mark of the video
FE
Topic 7: Texas in
the Great
Depression and
WW II
Document-Based Question: Depression and
Dust Bowl in Texas; Document E: Excerpt from
a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture, 1936
“Introduction .. In 1936, the Secretary of
Agriculture wrote a report on the “Western
Range,” an area comprised of the Great Plains
farmlands. This letter was written in response to
Senate Resolution 289, which requested the
report due to the Senate’s belief that the use of
the range without restriction since early
settlement had led to its deterioration” and the 2
paragraphs under “Primary Source”
OF
History textbooks should ensure that their years are written
correctly. It’s obvious that if Mr. Ross lived in the 1800’s, he
would not be serving in the senate in 1781.
Publisher’s response: Pearson agrees to fix the typo. We
will make the following change:
From: "Ross was elected to the Texas State Senate in
1781 and then served as governor of Texas from 1887 to
1891." To: "Ross was elected to the Texas State Senate in
1881 and then served as governor of Texas from 1887 to
1891."
Again, it is important for history texts to get their years
correct: elsewhere in the lesson correctly attributes the
opening of the Ship Channel in 1914. (e.g. Topic 6, Lesson 7,
Text 4, start of third paragraph: “In 1914, the Houston Ship
Channel opened. It connected Houston to the Gulf of Mexico.
Now ships could sail directly from local markets in Houston
to foreign markets overseas. More refineries opened as
developers found more ways of transporting Texas oil to the
marketplace.”
Publisher’s response: Pearson agrees to correct teacher's
misspeak in the flipped video and the resulting typo in the
closed captioning so that it will be “The Houston Ship
Channel opened in 1914 allowing ships to transport oil
across the globe.”
Document presents the idea that government intervention was
the only solution for the problem. Students are not given any
information that the farmers were addressing the crisis
without government intervention. New strategies evolved to
cope with the environment from the 1860s onward: Some
innovations included new types of farm implements and the
invention of barbed wire in the 1870s. In the 1930s farmers
began to implement a variety of techniques to control soil
erosion and Contour plowing was an early technique, along
with many other innovations. .
Plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia of the Great Plains
The Document-Based Question contains a number of sources
8.
9.
HTTP Status 404 /community/scorm/courses/95aa07180e36551fa7
0ac725c8e098af/index.html
2
10. Topic 7, Lesson
1, Text 1, 1st
para., , .
“During the 1800s and early 1900s, some people
in Texas and around the U.S. wanted economic,
political and social reforms. People working for
the reforms, the Progressives, wanted to improve
society. “
HT
11. Topic 7,
Lesson 1, Text 1,
2nd para, 2nd
sentence
“Liberals tried to solve problems as they came
up, and improve lives of minorities, women and
workers.”
HT
12. Topic 7, Lesson
1, Text 1, 2nd
para, 3rd sentence
“Conservatives tried to prevent problems by
holding onto a more traditional set of values.”
HT
that provide a variety of points of view. There are transcripts
of video and a Fireside Chat, graphs and photographs of the
dust storms in Texas. There is also a link to an additional
video in the student instructions that explains dust storms and
other sources.
Progressivism was an intellectual and political reform
movement that aimed to alter the American constitutional
system.”
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2007/07/TheProgressive-Movement-and-the-Transformation-ofAmerican-Politics
Publisher’s response: Pearson agrees to change the text as
follows:
From: “During the 1800s and early 1900s, some people in
Texas and around the U.S. wanted economic, political and
social reforms. People working for the reforms, the
Progressives, wanted to improve society.”
To: “During the 1800s and early 1900s, some people in
Texas and around the United States wanted economic,
political and social reforms. The people working for the
reforms, the progressives, wanted to balance tradition
and progress – preserve what they liked about the old,
adjust to new realities, and protect themselves from what
they considered the worst features of big business and
modern America.
Consequently, Progressives typically rejected the
foundational American principles of natural rights and
limited government for their own understanding of
“progress,” defined as governmental experts’ management of
social change toward an ever more just and essentially
socialist future.
Irving Babbitt, Democracy and Leadership (Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1924)
“…..individuals sometimes disagreed on particulars or
supported specific reforms as consistent with their principles.
The point to be emphasized here, however, is that
conservatives met Progressivism with principled arguments
rooted in the constitutional tradition.” “…America’s
foundational conceptions of natural rights, limited
government under the rule of law, and republicanism”
3
13. Topic 7,
Lesson 1,
Geography Core
Concepts:
Urbanization3rd
page, last
paragraph.
“As suburbs spread, they replace farmland and
other open spaces. Newer sewer lines, water
lines, and roads must be built and maintained by
the government. Because most suburbs use cars
for transportation, suburban sprawl can increase
pollution and energy use. Today, many towns
and cities are working to limit sprawl.”
OF
14. Topic 7, Lesson
2, text 2, 2nd
paragraph
“Origins of the Great Depression. The Great
Depression had many causes. One factor was the
uneven spread of wealth.”
“Though businesses made large profits, workers
did not see the same increase in their wages.
Instead, business owners often re-invested their
profits in their businesses and in the stock
market. Small increases in the amount of goods
that people bought did not keep up with the
amount of goods that businesses made. Too
many goods and not enough people to buy them
created economic instability.”
OF
David Jayne Hill, “The Crisis in Constitutionalism,” North
American Review, Vol. 198 (December 1913), pp. 769–778;
reprinted in David Jayne Hill, Americanism: What It Is
Outsmarting Smart Growth: Population Growth,
Immigration, and the Problem of Sprawl, A study by
Center for Immigration Studies
“ Part of the reason
most anti-sprawl organizations ignore population growth is
that they are unaware of its role.…our study makes clear that
those concerned about sprawl must at least understand that
dramatically increasing the size of the U.S. population
though immigration has enormous long-term implications for
the preservation of rural land. It is very difficult to see how it
could be otherwise.”
http://www.cis.org/sites/cis.org/files/articles/2003/sprawl.htm
l
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciated the reviewer’s
comments. The suggested additions are beyond the
context of this lesson on urbanization within the context
of a seventh grade survey of Texas History.
“During the first decades after the Depression most
economists looked to developments on the real side of the
economy for explanations, rather than to monetary factors.
….Another once-popular theory was that a chronic problem
of "under-consumption"--the inability of households to
purchase enough goods and services to utilize the economy's
productive capacity--had precipitated the slump……”
“However, in 1963, Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz
transformed the debate about the Great Depression. That year
saw the publication of their now-classic book, A Monetary
History of the United States, 1867-1960”
www.federalreserve.gov/boardDoc/speeches/2004
Publisher’s response: The text currently discusses a
number of factors that led to the Great Depression.
However, Pearson agrees to amend the text as follows:
“Origins of the Great Depression. The Great Depression
had many causes that historians and economists have
struggled to explain. For example, the economist Milton
Friedman held that the depression resulted from the
contraction in the money supply. The two events of the
stock market crash in 1929 and the run of bank failures
4
15. Topic 7, Lesson
2, text 2, chart
Chart – “Income Distribution, 1929” – “Analyze
Data: What does this data suggest about a
possible cause of the Great Depression”
OF
16. Topic 7, Lesson
2, text 2, Quiz
“Which of the following helped cause the Great
Depression?
Answer: B. The uneven spread of wealth in the
1920s.
OF
17. Topic 7,
Lesson 5, Text 1
Poor economic conditions in a nation sometimes
lead to the rise of a dictator. A dictator is a ruler
who has complete power over a country. In 1933,
Adolf Hitler of the Nazi (National Socialist)
party became chancellor of Germany. In time, he
would gain the powers of a dictator. Fascism
(FA-shizm) was on the rise, too. Fascism is a
system in which the government has complete
control over a country. In 1919, Benito Mussolini
OF
in 1930, led to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy
decisions that left too little money in circulation for the
nation’s economic needs. The Federal Reserve is the
central banking system of the United States.
“To support their view that monetary forces caused the Great
Depression, Friedman and Schwartz revisited the historical
record and identified a series of errors--errors of both
commission and omission--made by the Federal Reserve in
the late 1920s and early 1930s. According to Friedman and
Schwartz, each of these policy mistakes led to an undesirable
tightening of monetary policy, as reflected in sharp declines
in the money supply. Drawing on their historical evidence
about the effects of money on the economy, Friedman and
Schwartz argued that the declines in the money stock
generated by Fed actions--or inactions--could account for the
drops in prices and output that subsequently occurred.2
www.federalreserve.gov/boardDoc/speeches/2004
Publisher’s response: The source of the chart is the
Historical Statistics of the United States. The question is
an opportunity for students to analyze and interpret
based on data.
Finally, perhaps the most important lesson of all is that price
stability should be a key objective of monetary policy. By
allowing persistent declines in the money supply and in the
price level, the Federal Reserve of the late 1920s and 1930s
greatly destabilized the U.S. economy and, through the
workings of the gold standard, the economies of many other
nations as well.
www.federalreserve.gov/boardDoc/speeches/2004
Publisher’s response: Pearson will change Answer B to:
B. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions
Definitions for dictator and fascism are given, but none for
National Socialist.
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciates the reviewer’s
comments. This content sets the stage for the events in
World War II. We believe we have provided adequate
and appropriate coverage of this topic for a seventh grade
Texas History course.
5
created a Fascist party in Italy. In Japan, military
rulers took over the government.
18. Topic 8, Lesson
3, Text 2, last 2
sentences
“In 2004, President Bush announced that the
space shuttle program was no longer feasible to
fund. On July 21, 2011, with the landing of its
last shuttle, the space shuttle program officially
ended.”
HT
In 2004, President Bush announced: “Today I announce a
new plan to explore space…..Our first goal is to complete the
International Space Station by 2010. We will finish what we
have started,… Our second goal is to develop and test a new
spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle, by 2008, Our third
goal is to return to the moon by 2020”….”
History.nasa.gov/Bush
Publisher’s response: Pearson agrees to make the
following change for clarity:
From: “In 2004, President Bush announced that the space
shuttle program was no longer feasible to fund. On July
21, 2011, with the landing of its last shuttle, the space
shuttle program officially ended.”
19. Topic 8, Lesson
3, Text 2, last 2
sentences
On July 21, 2011, with the landing of its last
shuttle, the space shuttle program officially
ended.”
HT
20. Topic 8, Lesson
4, Text 2, 2nd
“The lack of environmental regulations in Texas
gave companies little incentive to spend money
FE
To: “In 2004, President Bush announced that the space
shuttle program was no longer feasible to fund. He also
announced ‘….a new plan to explore space… to complete
the International Space Station by 2010…. is to develop
and test a new spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle,
by 2008…. [and] to return to the moon by 2020.’” On
July 21, 2011, with the landing of its last shuttle, the space
shuttle program officially ended.
President Obama’s “ budget cancels the Bush
administration's Constellation moon program, but endorses
development of a manned spacecraft for deep space
exploration similar to the Orion capsule envisioned for the
scrapped moon missions. It also calls for development of new
technologies, continued robotic exploration and a major
upgrade to the launch infrastructure at the Kennedy Space
Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciated the reviewer’s
comments. The suggested additions are beyond the scope
of this seventh grade survey of Texas History.
“Beginning in the early 1970s, federal and state officials
began to enact laws and establish agencies designed to
6
para, 2nd sentence
21. Topic 8,
Lesson 4,
Text 2, p. 2
3rd Para.,
2nd sentence
to prevent or clean up pollution.”
“Political Challenges: The Tidelands
“….Texas had claimed ownership of its tideland
since the days of the Republic of Texas.”
HT
address problems of environmental pollution.”
http://www.tshaonline.org
Publisher’s response: Pearson agrees to make the
following change to the text:
From: “The lack of environmental regulations in Texas
gave companies little incentive to spend money to prevent
or clean up pollution.”
To: “Although some federal and state environmental
regulations were in place by the 1970s, the laws were not
comprehensive and there was little incentive for
companies to spend money to prevent or clean up
pollution.”
This controversy began in 1836, when Texas, at San Jacinto
Battle, gained independence from Mexico. On the battlefield,
Gen. Houston sketched the boundaries of the new nation and
the boundary in the Gulf was “beginning at the mouth of the
Sabine river, and running West along the Gulf of Mexico
three leagues from land", and were enacted into law by the
First Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 19,
1836. "In 1837 this boundary act was sent to President
Andrew Jackson”, was read to the United States Senate and
officially recognized. President Jackson said, "The title of
Texas to the territory she claims is identified with her
independence." Houston would not agree to annexation until
he obtained an assurance from President James K. Polk on
this subject. On June 15, 1845, Polk vowed to "maintain the
Texian title to the extent which she claims it to be."
http://www.tshaonline.org
Publisher’s response: Pearson agrees to make the following
change to the text: From: “Political Challenges: The
Tidelands “….Texas had claimed ownership of its tideland
since the days of the Republic of Texas.” To: “Political
Challenges: The Tidelands “….Texas had claimed ownership
of its tideland since 1836, when Texas, at the Battle of San
Jacinto, gained independence. General Sam Houston sketched
the boundaries of Texas. He included the tidelands and
insisted that the United States accept them as Texas’s
borders. Then in the 1940s, ....” Acceptable
7
22. Topic 8,
Lesson 4,
Text 2, p. 2
3rd Para.
last sentence
“Then, in the 1940s, the federal government
claimed ownership of the Texas tideland, as it
had the tideland of other states.”
OF
23. Topic 8,
Lesson 4,
Text 2, p. 3,
1st Para
2nd sentence
“Texans, however, believed that a fortune of oil
and gas lay hidden beneath the tideland. They
viewed the federal attempt to take over the
tideland as little more than stealing.”
HT
24. Topic 8,
Lesson 4,
Text 2, p. 3,
Last paragraph
“The dispute between Texas and the United
States was the greatest state versus federal power
conflict of the twentieth century. In the end,
Texas was victorious. Texas native and World
War II hero Dwight Eisenhower was elected
President in 1952. He soon signed a bill into law
that recognized that the tidelands belonged to
Texas.”
HT
Before Texas entered the Union, the Supreme Court of had
already written two decisions holding that lands beneath all
navigable waters within the boundaries of the original states
"were not granted by the Constitution to the United States,
but were reserved to the States respectively" and that "the
new States have the same rights, sovereignty and jurisdiction
over this subject as the original States."
http://www.tshaonline.org
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciated the reviewer’s
comments. We have addressed this content in an entry
above, but these additional edits are beyond the scope of a
seventh grade survey of Texas History.
“On many other occasions between 1845 and 1948 the
United States recognized this boundary and Texas ownership
of the submerged lands within such boundary.”
“Other coastal states, relying upon their general title under
the Constitution and the long line of Supreme Court opinions,
were receiving revenues from oil, kelp, shell, sand, marl, fish,
ports, docks, piers, and expensive building sites on filled land
along the coasts of Florida and New York.”
http://www.tshaonline.org
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciated the reviewer’s
comments. We have addressed this content in an entry
above, but these additional edits are beyond the scope of a
seventh grade survey of Texas History.
“In the presidential campaign of 1952 Gen. Dwight D.
Eisenhower made special recognition of the rights of Texas
under the Annexation Agreement as well as the
long recognized rights of the other states under earlier
Supreme Court decisions. He declared in favor of state
ownership legislation and said he would sign the bill if it
were enacted again by Congress”
“In 1953 Congress made the restoration of submerged lands
one of the first orders of business”….the legislation finally
won a substantial majority in both houses. President
Eisenhower signed the measure on May 22, 1953.
http://www.tshaonline.org
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciated the reviewer’s
comments. We have addressed this content in an entry
above, but these additional edits are beyond the scope of a
8
seventh grade survey of Texas History.
25. Topic 8,
Lesson 4,
Geography
Core Concepts:
People’s Impact
on The Environ.,
Page 3, 3rd Sent.
“Working together, people, governments, and
businesses can try to use resources wisely.”
OF
26. Topic 8,
Lesson 4,
Geography
Core Concepts,
Page 3, 3rd
Sentence.
“Working together, people, governments, and
businesses can try to use resources wisely.”
OF
27. Topic 8,
Lesson 6,
Text 1,
Page 6,
First 6 sentences
in 1st para.
“Protestant Christian churches have a long
history of using evangelism, or enthusiastic
preaching, as a way to motivate believers and
recruit converts. One of the most effective tools
of the evangelical movement was its use of
Christian television programs. Socially
conservative preachers gained enormous
OF
“Texas Conservation Alliance’s long history of involvement
with national forest management issues positions us to work
closely with U.S. Forest Service personnel to protect
sensitive wildlife habitats on federal land…..TCA is
nominating areas with high-quality habitat in national forests
… to protect native ecosystems and unique geologic
features.” www.tcatexas.org
In Texas, there are 4 state forests, 55 state parks, 5 state
Hatcherys, 2 national parks, 4 national forests, 1 national
historic park, 11 national wildlife refuges, 2 national
recreation areas, and 1 national seashore which require smart
collaborative conservation.
The Nature Conservancy has been working to protect land
and water in the Lone Star State for almost 50 years, and
during this time they have celebrated a number of major
conservation wins: 427 acres of never-plowed coastal prairie
with more than 300 species of grasses and wildflowers, and a
17,000 acre of dense live oak forests, coastal prairies, salt
marshes and wetlands, known as Powderhorn Ranch, one of
the largest remaining undisturbed tracts of native coastal
prairie habitat left in Texas, which are just a few of the major
conservation wins.” www.nature.org
Publisher’s response: Pearson agrees to change the text to
the following:
From: “Working together, people, governments, and
businesses can try to use resources wisely.”
To: “Working together, people, governments, and
businesses can try to use resources wisely. For example, in
Texas the Nature Conservancy has been working to
protect land and water in the state for almost 50 years.”
“During the late 1960s and the decade of the 1970s, the
conservative movement grew almost exponentially. Think
tanks, led by the Heritage Foundation, appeared and began
providing conservatives with a constant flow of new
ideas…...Whole new segments of the American electorate,
from blue-collar and hard-hat workers (the “Reagan
Democrats” to Jewish New York intellectuals (the
9
popularity and influence as “televangelists.”
28. Topic 8,
Lesson 6,
Text 1,
Page 6,
2nd paragraph,
3rd sentence
from the
bottom
“They became the party of traditional values and
unfettered free enterprise.”
OF
29. Topic 8, Lesson
6, Text 3, Page 1,
Para 1, Sent 2
“The population had grown to more than 26
million by 2012.
HT
30. Topic 8,
Lesson 6,
Text 3,
Page 2, 2nd
Paragraph, last 2
“Many believed taxes fell unfairly on the state’s
poorest residents. To ease the burden, the
government tried to lower its expenses and look
for new revenue sources.”
OF, HT
neoconservatives”) and fundamentalist Christians (the
“Religious Right”) joined the movement. Just 30 years later,
Ronald Reagan was nominated for president and elected in
November 1980 by a national landside”….and was reelected
in 1984, carrying every state but Minnesota…. Since then,
the conservative movement has continued and even
strengthened its domination of the Republican Party.
https://muse.jhu.edu
Not all Christians and not all Republicans are Conservatives;
and some Democrats are Conservatives.
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciated the reviewer’s
comments. The suggested additions are beyond the scope
of this seventh grade survey of Texas History.
They became the party of traditional values; belief in the
freedoms and liberties ingrained in our founding documents;
support the Constitution as it is written–to protect, among
other things, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the
right to petition the government, and the right to keep and
bear arms. American Conservatism stands for small, limited
government at every level. It stands strongly for individual
responsibility; providing for common defense, belief in free
enterprise and that every individual is judged on the content
of his character and merits of his action, among others.
Publisher’s response: Pearson agrees to change the text to
the following:
From: “They became the party of traditional values and
unfettered free enterprise.”
To: “They became the party of traditional values, free
enterprise, and small limited government.”
The population has grown to more than 27 million in 2014.
www.dshs.state.tx.us
Publisher’s response: The data from the Texas Department
of State Health Services are projections for 2014. It is not our
policy to include projections in the narrative. See the URL:
https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/chs/popdat/S T2014.shtm
In the 2012-13 school year alone, Texas schools educated
over 5 million students, paid salaries and benefits for over
327,000 teachers, provided 890 million free and reducedprice meals, and opened 192 new campuses. All of this is
paid for, ultimately, by Texas homeowners. The most recent
10
sentences
31. Topic 8,
Lesson 6,
Text 3, Page 2,
3rd Paragraph
“Ongoing Conflicts: Texas’s population growth
from 2000 to 2010 was more than that of any
other state, much of it from immigration.”
OF
data available for 2011-12 school year was receipts of $59
billion, which represented the school district property tax
levies totaling $21.6 billion (representing 54 percent of all
property taxes), and from the federal government 19 cents of
every dollar Texas receives to support public education.
http://fastexs.org/about/funding.php
Publisher’s response: The text acknowledges that Texas
homeowners contributed in a significant way to the school
budgets in the state through property taxes in Topic 8,
Lesson 6, Text 3
TEA general counsel David Anderson, in testifying before
the House Select Committee on July 29, 2014, regarding the
known number of immigrant minors entering Texas K-12
public education classrooms was 4,280 children, reflecting
those youngsters who the federal government has now placed
into a Texas foster home. More immigrant minors were
released into Texas than any other U.S. State.
www.breitbart.com/breitbart-texas
Publisher’s response: Pearson appreciated the reviewer’s
comments. The suggested additions are beyond the scope
of this seventh grade survey of Texas History.
11
Evaluation of Social Studies Skills and other important issues
Number
Questions
Yes
1.
Is the appropriate vocabulary relevant to the subject matter presented to
students?
For example, on comparative government are terms such as monarchy, oligarchy,
democracy, socialism, fascism, and communism presented?
2.
Are the captions under pictures factual?
3.
Are the charts and graphs relevant to the topic being presented?
Yes
4.
Are the maps accurate and relevant to the topic?
Yes
5.
Are questions thought provoking? Is adequate and accurate material provided so
that the students can formulate appropriate answers?
Yes
6.
Are primary and secondary sources presented for students to examine (for bias,
propaganda, point of view, and frame of reference)?*
7.
Does the text present a lesson on how to evaluate the validity of a source based on
language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author? *
8.
Does the textbook have a Glossary? Are key terms included and defined?
9.
Does the textbook have accurate timelines to help the student understand
chronological historical developments?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
12
Commendations: I appreciate the budgeting/personal finance tutorial near the end of Lesson 1, Topic 7. It is certainly not too
early to get 7th graders to think about personal finance.
Concerns: Only positive comments made about the Moors. No mention of the fact that Columbus was trying to find a safe
route to the orient because the land route, which was controlled by Muslims, had become too dangerous to use.
Evaluations based on template
Choices
Explanations
1.
This text has minor changes that need to be made
2.
This text has a moderate number of changes
3.
This text has substantial changes that need to be made
4.
This book is so flawed that it is not recommended for adoption.
Yes
No
Yes
13