The treatment of commercial reading materials in college reading methods textbooks

Using a method of analysis which pre-and in-service teachers developed, readers analyzed six randomly selected reading methods textbooks (from 30 currently in print) to determine the authors’ perspectives on commercial reading materials and their use in elementary classrooms. Four areas were identified for analysis: the physical characteristics of the presentation, the scope and emphasis in the description, the specific suggestions for appropriate use of commercial materials, and the language used to explain the contribution the materials make to classroom instruction. The readers developed highly similar characterizations which suggested that most textbook authors are relatively uncritical in their advocacy of commercial materials and their use.