Too many students have difficulty comprehending information presented in the textbooks intended for their use. One reason for this is that textbooks are often organized so that the task of reading and thinking about them is made unduly difficult. Further, teacher editions offer little in the way of helping teachers improve the textbook's usability for students who struggle with reading. This article summarizes the existing literature on effective textbook instruction. The author then proposes how special educators and content instructors can combine their talents to compensate for poorly written books and maximize good books when teaching all their students, but particularly those students who do not learn in the expected ways.
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