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Worst public elementary school textbook?
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OiGirl



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:41 pm    Post subject: Worst public elementary school textbook? Reply with quote

Which grade of the public elementary school English textbook is the worst?
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LateBloomer



Joined: 06 May 2006

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Answering your question is like being asked whether you'd rather be thrown in a pot of boiling water or directly on the fire. I teach grades 3-6 and all the elementary school texts are awful.

There is no logic and no continuity to any of them. I can't see how anyone who is serious about teaching can happily teach from any of those books...even with supplementary activities thrown in.

Last year my co-teachers followed the texts because their lack of confidence (and ability) in English made them want to hold on to the books as a crutch. This year, two of my three co-teachers never even open them. We teach the aims of the lessons and go beyond that to make sure the lessons are logical.

The kids enjoy the lessons much more and I am happier, as well. I'm lucky that my co-teachers listened to my point of view about the books and were willing to try another way. However, I realize that many elementary teachers are stuck with the books because their co-teachers think they're the easiest option or regard them as The Bible.
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chachee99



Joined: 20 Oct 2004
Location: Seoul Korea

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

they are all garbage. However, I don't mind the computer cd's. The kids love the songs, and cd rom lets you how teach the kids the each song line by line.
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SeoulShakin



Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Haha I'm gonna say 4th grade cause some of the voices on that cd-rom...damn!

Did 4th grade lesson 6 role play last week. That magic scuba man who finds the bat..... holy pervy!
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Atavistic



Joined: 22 May 2006
Location: How totally stupid that Korean doesn't show in this area.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SeoulShakin wrote:
Haha I'm gonna say 4th grade cause some of the voices on that cd-rom...damn!

Did 4th grade lesson 6 role play last week. That magic scuba man who finds the bat..... holy pervy!


That story is based on a real Korean tale that the kids know. We skip the role plays because the voices are so creepy.

I'd say fourth grade cause of pissing dogs, ripped pants, rabbits coming out of toilets. The person or people making those cartoons was/were smoking something.
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nobbyken



Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Location: Yongin ^^

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sometimes the lessons are too slow paced for some kids, although they still can't get enough speaking practice (it seems?).

I do like some of the powerpoints the co-teacher gets. Anybody know the website address?
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Horangi Munshin



Joined: 06 Apr 2003
Location: Busan

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My co-teacher's use indischool. One of them lets me use his ID.

Or try esnips.
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OiGirl



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Awesome feedback, guys. Thanks! Got to get my hands on that 4th grade book and CD...
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TexasPete



Joined: 24 May 2006
Location: Koreatown

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LateBloomer wrote:
Answering your question is like being asked whether you'd rather be thrown in a pot of boiling water or directly on the fire. I teach grades 3-6 and all the elementary school texts are awful.

There is no logic and no continuity to any of them. I can't see how anyone who is serious about teaching can happily teach from any of those books...even with supplementary activities thrown in.

Last year my co-teachers followed the texts because their lack of confidence (and ability) in English made them want to hold on to the books as a crutch. This year, two of my three co-teachers never even open them. We teach the aims of the lessons and go beyond that to make sure the lessons are logical.

The kids enjoy the lessons much more and I am happier, as well. I'm lucky that my co-teachers listened to my point of view about the books and were willing to try another way. However, I realize that many elementary teachers are stuck with the books because their co-teachers think they're the easiest option or regard them as The Bible.

Damn. If only I could get my coteachers to agree to changing the books or deviating from them.

Instead, i get: "You must finish the book!"

"But the books are crap!"

"Yes, you must finish it! Parents will complain if we don't finish."

"Who's going to tell them?"

"Students."

"You mean a student will actually complain to their parents that they didn't finish the poorly dubbed, nonsensical crap that is the English books?"

"Yes"
Shocked

It's either beyond the abilities of most students in a class or too easy for them. Hopefully things will change next year when i get my original coteacher back from getting her Master's in ESL at NYU.
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TexasPete



Joined: 24 May 2006
Location: Koreatown

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also, what's with the racist BS black characters in the books? I'm embarrassed to even watch that crap.

And Tony? Poor kid. I can imagine the producers saying lets make the fat American kid the butt of all the jokes. Oh look, there's Tony's hand in the cookie jar. Oh look, what a flattering horizontally striped shirt Tony!
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Binch Lover



Joined: 25 Jul 2005

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Grade 4 is pretty terrible alright. I particularly like the "Who is she?" chapter, where the pervy old man asks the kid about his sister.

Like another poster, I have never actually used the book in class. I sometimes use the CD-Roms animations to introduce the material, but the lessons I pretty much do my own stuff. With 3rd and 4th grade especially, I expand on the material a lot, and try to link the various chapters as much as I can. With 5th and 6th, I don't really have time to do that.
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normalcyispasse



Joined: 27 Oct 2006
Location: Yeosu until the end of February WOOOOOOOO

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HA. I don't use the public school curriculum, but when I have to "observe" or "audit" other teachers at other schools this is invariably what they use and it is HILARIOUS.

"Your cap is cute!" "Oh, wow, thank you!"
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mike123_ca



Joined: 12 Mar 2003
Location: wandering between Chonan and Asan

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I teach 3 public schools out in the country. No English hagwons for many miles. All the kids were at the same level. I asked if we could buy English Time workbooks and student books. They agreed and the 3 schools are using it. Most of the students are able to use these books.

I don't know what books they were using last year, none of the teachers have suggested that I use the old books. Seeing all these complaint's, I think I will ask my co-teacher if I could look at the previous textbook.
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vox



Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Location: Jeollabukdo

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

chachee99 wrote:
they are all garbage. However, I don't mind the computer cd's. The kids love the songs, and cd rom lets you how teach the kids the each song line by line.


Agreed. But the textbook with the song,

do dudu dudu dudu She is tall!

That song is the best of the bunch. I wouldn't be surprised if they sold the series on that one song. So that grade text (I think it's grade 5?) is less crappy than the rest.

I wish I could find the person who farms out that kind of work. I'm certain I could do a better job.

The song,

Ali bali ali bali bee, stand up sit down, hee hee hee,
Open and close, open and close

and the song,

I'm faster than you (oh yes!)

are my least favorite songs. Too much silliness to remember in the former, and the latter has too many words squished in for the rhythm. They'd have been better off wth jazz chant or something else. Seems like a few of them were written at 11:59pm on the night before it was due to the publisher.
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some waygug-in



Joined: 25 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think gr 3 and 4 are equally bad, but the role play sections in book 4 are totally awful.

One problem is that there is not enough material to fill a 40 minute class, especially the first lesson of each unit. So I am using kr.kids.yahoo to bring in extra songs and things to fill out the class.

What really sucks for me is that the school is too cheap to buy any of the supplimentary materials. I just have the book and CD for each grade. In grade 3, they gave me an old used textbook to use with all the cards missing. I don't have a clue what some of the games are supposed to be and even if I did, it's next to hopeless because without the cards I can't explain it to the class. Rolling Eyes

I don't know what they were thinking, but it's almost as bad as a crapwon.

Almost.
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