Selection of Supplementary English Instructional Materials Rockingham County School Board February 10, 2009

Teachers must carefully review materials prior to use and exercise a high degree of professional judgment in their selection and use of supplementary materials, to ensure that the use of such materials serves both to support and complement the basic educational objectives within the specific subject areas and the classroom.

Instructional Considerations Literary Quality Appropriateness Usefulness Uniqueness Relevance to Student Needs

Other Considerations “Windows vs. Mirrors” Available or Assigned Negative Portrayals – Positive Learning? Judging books holistically Amount of realistic detail

Advice to Teachers Think carefully about how the book will be used. Solicit assistance from school media specialists. See advice from other teachers. Check book lists from organizations such as the American Library Association or the International Reading Association. Read the book in its entirety and carefully plan activities that support the curriculum objectives. Provide a listing of books from which students and parents can choose. Provide parents with a list of required readings, invite them to check the books out, and read them with their children or discuss them the teacher. Offer alternative reading assignments if there are parent concerns.

School Board Policies RCPS School Board Policy IIAA- Textbook Selection, Adoption, and Purchase RCPS School Board Policy IIAB – Supplementary Materials Selection and Adoption

Bookfinders Process The Bookfinders Process requires that three (3) readers approve a selected material. Each person who reviews the book will fill in a critique form. This process is required for any books that the teacher chooses to use for direct instruction or read-aloud. The process does not apply to self-selected books for independent or extended reading. If the tradebook has been listed as approved for another county school, the new school seeking approval will only need to fill in one (1) critique form for the book. Forms are kept in schools for documentation.

Lexile Framework Lexiles measure reading level and text difficulty of books, magazine articles, etc. Tool to help teachers and parents match reading levels to students More than 115,00 books are currently leveled with Lexile measures Lexile measures will be reported with SOL reading test scores in grades 3-8 starting this spring Reading scores and lexile levels can be correlated to help match books with reading levels of students

Challenge Procedure The RCPS School Board has established a step-by-step procedure for handling challenged materials. RCPS School Board Policy IIAC – Public Complaint About Curriculum or Instructional Materials/Challenged Materials

Filmfinders Supplementary materials such as videos may be viewed by students to extend and supplement basal materials. RCPS School Board Policy IIAD deals with video viewing and ratings. The Filmfinders process is much like the Bookfinders process for film approvals. The process has begun during this school year.