Can't get through the texts?

In addition to all of the units, teachers are usually provided with several texts. The unstated understanding is that the texts must be completed as well as the units.

I remember my shock when I transferred from sixth grade to fourth grade. The math books were virtually identical! Yet few if any of my sixth graders came in with proficiency in even basic math. I spent a lot of time with sixth graders reviewing what they should have known to start with, while feeling guilty about not making more progress through the text.

As I previewed the fourth grade text, I realized that there was absolutely no point in trying to "cover" the whole book. If students left my fourth grade classroom having mastered addition, subtraction, multiplication, simple division and basic measurement, they would be far ahead of most sixth graders I'd ever taught. This would save some thunder for the fifth and sixth grade teachers as well. By focusing on these priorities, I was relieved and time was freed for doing some of the extra things in math kids enjoy.

My suspicion is that texts include more than anyone can realistically be expected to teach in a year was validated when I went to work as a consultant for a major textbook publisher. I learned that publishers feel pressure to include concepts at lower and lower levels because an entire textbook series might be rejected if fractions are included in a local third grade curriculum but are not in the text. Publishers expect teachers to use texts as resources, using their professional judgment to decide what suggestions to use and how much to teach. Texts are not the last word.

I wish I could recommend relying on texts as a time saving strategy, especially for new teachers. They should be. After all, they're developed at great expense by experts who have a lot more time available than a classroom teacher does. Unfortunately, most textbook authors are far removed from the realities of teaching children. Texts often move through concepts far too quickly, have too many confusing directions, and provide far more ideas and materials than anyone could possibly use. Scan through teacher's manuals with a highlighter. Pick and choose carefully. The job of prioritizing falls to teachers by default, but it must be done or you'll be overwhelmed.