Book Review Mary Ellen Cash Florida Teacher Certified ESOL, Spanish, Counseling April 2017 Florida Social Studies, Networks, McGraw Hill Education, New York, New York, 2018 Summary This series is designed as a consumable. This means that students will be able to write in them, cut out vocabulary foldables and take home the text for homework. For this reason choosing these texts is expensive and involves reordering books every academic year. If administrators do not want to have the books used as consumables it would be better to find another text suitable to that plan. I am concerned that the reason the committee chose the texts is that it is ELA formatted content K-5 with support for students and teachers in ELA standards. I think this format will reduce rigor and is not appropriate for mainstream students. It is also not appropriate for the gifted students. Kindergarten Are texts consumables? Can the students write in them? Written in a manner that student is supposed to write in them. Cost factor. P. X Text requires use of computer Problem: not all students have access to computers P. 3 Assumes student can write name Problem: many children do not attend Pre-K, do not have prior knowledge P. 6 Ex. My birthday is in month of Problem: assumes prior knowledge and ability to print answer *** The text also assumes knowledge of Colors, Days of Week, Numbers P. 1, 21,
35, 57, 75 Foldables words are written in light green, cannot be seen by people who are color blind. I am color blind and did not see them, fortunately had someone else look at page & they saw it Problem: foldable is provided in order that students may study the vocabulary words and their meanings, must be able to see. -------- Text does not include Pledge of Allegiance. Problem: This is requirement of SB 1003.42.2d Visual learners need to see words in order to process information The requirement of prior knowledge can be a problem for teachers and administrators. Students will have to be evaluated prior to class assignment in order to make sure correct placement is made. Many school systems do not have the resources assess students prior to assigning them in classrooms. K-5 Social Studies, McGraw Hill (Networks) First Grade P. 26 Author assumes student will understand what honoring Martin Luther King means. P. 27 Is first grade too soon to introduce concept of Slavery? Curriculum standard in this section is to identify celebrations and national holidays. P. 30 Author states A long time ago, America belonged to another country. Why does author say another country instead of the country of Great Britain or England? P. 31 Author does not state why the Pilgrims came to America. Religious freedom should be mentioned. P. 69 Statement Sailors have always known the earth is round is NOT true.
P. 133 states that the United States of America is a democracy. The United States is a Constitutional Republic that is run under the framework of democracy. P. 138 Grammar is incorrect. How do our president today..should be does in final sentence. I found the text lacking in rigor, could be appropriate for ESL but it will not challenge high functioning students. K-5 Social Studies, McGraw Hill (Networks) Second Grade P. 54-60 Author fails to identify non indigenous people that came to the Americas before a constitution was established as colonists, settlers, and explorers, not immigrants. The CONCEPT of immigration is not historically correct until the 1800 s. The original settlers were in the Americas seeking religious freedom. The definition of immigrant is too broad (P. 31). An immigrant is a person who comes from one country to live in another. This could be the definition of a tourist or visitor, for example. No mention is made about laws governing when a person travels to another country. P.117 When discussing our system of government, no mention is made of the United States as a Constitutional Republic. Third Grade
P. 4 Bottom right additional misspelled P. 66 Immigrant not defined. Could term settlers be more appropriate? Explorers? Migration as a concept is not defined. No clear explanation of how things happened. Suggest a time line. Original states are not referred to as colonies. P. 70 Immigration was not real until the 1800 s. The term is misused, should be settlers. There is no explanation as to why people came to the Americas (Freedom of Religion, exploration, economic opportunity, etc). P. 72 The word immigrant is used instead of settlers, inaccurate. Immigration is not synonymous with settlers. For example, Germans (Hessians) came to work as soldiers, they were paid by the British to defeat the settlers in the colonies, instead of going back to Germany, many stayed. They were not immigrants. No timeline is given to give perspective to when events occurred. All curricular standards address issues of Settlement, why does the author use the word immigration? See p. 72 to 75 and p. 81. Is immigration being defined in the context of settlement, no. Unit 2 Wrap Up. This section is too general. Students would have to have prior or experiential knowledge in order to answer. P. 99 Question: Tell what country you are from and explain its culture, assumes that student was not born in the United States or is first generation American. This is divisive and does not lend itself to team building in a class. Totally inappropriate. This question assumes the student has knowledge of country where parents are from. Even if student is foreign born the author is assuming the student has not assimilated to American culture. As educators we need to create content of inclusion and treat all children the same vs. pointing out differences. P. 109 Secondary sources are not explained as potentially factually incorrect. Picture given as example is not factually correct. It is an interpretation of the artist s idea of what could have happened.
Grade 4 Is the text to be used as a consumable? Are students allowed to take the text home? The concept of immigration should be introduced in Grade 5 text, p. 265. P. 182 Impact of Immigration is too simplistic and does not define the legalities of immigration. The Cuban migration as a result of Fidel Castro taking over the country in 1959 is over simplified and inaccurate. Cubans did not leave Cuba because of disagreements. My family would have been killed if we had stayed. My grandfather was a supporter of Battista, Fidel Castro s predecessor and therefore our lands were confiscated and we were forced to leave. Battista and Fidel were both dictators. Russia s influence on Fidel Castro brought Communism to Central America. NGSS Standard SS.4.A.8.2 Describe how and why immigration impacts Florida today is not fully explained. Social Services and the costs are not explained. The author does not discuss Sub-Cultures. Immigration law should be addressed. This text is oversimplified and lacking in information. It is lacking in rigor. Grade 5 United States History Supplemental Readings in connected.mcgraw-hill.com require Engrade and a computer. Secondary resources are required by the Curricular Standards. This text is a consumable and offers the most rigor of all texts. Acronym GIS on p. 13 should be written out with GIS in parenthesis. Geographic Information System (GIS). More explicit examples should be introduced to make sure concepts are fully understood.