Silver Burdett Ginn Social Studies- Eastern Hemisphere (Teaching Guide).  1997.  Sheila Allen, Susan Colford, Edward Graivier, Lisa Hohnson.  Silver Burdett Ginn. New Jersey.

Harcourt Brace and Company Social Studies- Our World’s Story (Teacher’s Edition Vol. One).  1997.  Dr. Richard G. Boehm, Claudia Hoone, Dr. Thomas M. McGowan, Dr. Mabel C. McKinney-Browning, Dr. Ofelia B.  Miramontes.  Harcourt Brace and Company.  Orlando, Florida.

I.  Interdisciplinary Organization and Conceptual Approach:
 Both the Silver Burdett Ginn (SBG) and the Harcourt Brace and Company (HB) integrate many different disciplines.  Each text devotes a specific area within the unit that gives examples of how  the content can be integrated into multiple disciplines such as Language Arts, Reading,  Science, Art, Math, Music,  Health, Physical Education, Foreign Languages, and Technology.  The HB text is a literature-based series that integrates various literary works of each culture heavily throughout the text.  It also includes a section labeled “Ongoing Unit Activities: Linking Social Studies Across the Curriculum” includes an outline of the many integrated activities and page numbers on which they can be found throughout the unit.  An example of this outline can be found at the beginning of each unit.  A sample activity for Unit Two integrates Language Arts and Social Studies by way of creative writing.  The students are to create their own version of a myth or legend about  an ancient deity or legendary person important to the Egyptians, Chinese, or Mayas.  This is just one of the many activities that the HB text features.  The SBG text has a similar feature called “Multidisciplinary Activity” which is found at the end of each unit but not in an outline form as in HB.  This section is in addition to the activities found throughout the chapters.  One sample activity can found in Unit Four, and it integrates Mathematics and Social Studies.  It challenges the students to research Arabic contributions  and influences on modern mathematics, in particular geometry and trigonometry.   It is apparent in both texts that integration is an integral part of teaching Social Studies.

II.  Learning Aids and Motivational Devices
 Though both HB and SBG have numerous and meaningful maps, charts, graphs, photos, and pictures on almost every page throughout the text, the SBG text incorporates an overall more appealing Reference Section.  Both include physical and political atlases, but the SBG text has more specific and detailed samples.  For instance, the HB text shows 16 pages of physical and political atlas highlighting each hemisphere, whereas the SBG text offers 20 pages of both types of atlases focusing more specifically on each continent.  More specifically, the SBG uses bright and distinct colors to illuminate the borders and boundaries between countries and clearly labels major cities and geographic regions.  Though the SBG text excels in the use of world atlases, the HB text includes a clear and understandable atlas of geographic landforms with a glossary of terms.   Also included in both texts are sections called “How To…” which involve skills needed to enhance their learning experience such as problem solving, research, group work, and many more.  These skills are helpful across the curriculum.  The HB and SBG texts each include sections in the Teacher’s Edition with formal assessments of content knowledge and skill applications.  These include chapter tests, unit tests, and worksheets.  Both texts also have summary questions at the end of each lesson, but unique to the HB text is a “Story Cloth” which is a pictorial representation of the main ideas of the unit.  This aspect of the HB text is appealing to those students who are visual learners.

III.  Readability and Ease in Comprehending
 According to the Fry Readability Chart, both texts are written above a sixth grade reading level.  The SBG and HB texts are written on an seventh and eighth grade reading level, respectively.  This is determined by the average number of syllables in three, hundred-word passages, as well as the average number of sentences in those passages.  The vocabulary used is more advanced and the sentence structure is complex and elaborated.  For example, on page 211 in Chapter 7, Lesson 1, the following passage can be found:  “Present-day Greece occupies a large peninsula on the southern edge of Eastern Europe.  This peninsula, the Balkan Peninsula, curves south and east into the Mediterranean Sea toward a part of the Asian continent called Asia Minor, or “Little Asia.”  The SBG text is not as difficult as the HB text, however it is still above the readability level of an average sixth grader.  For instance, on page 234 in Chapter 7 the following passage can be found:  “Hitler acted quickly against all who opposed him.  The Nazis outlawed all other political parties, and so Germany became a one party state.”   As one can see, the vocabulary used is less challenging because the words are more familiar to the reader, but overall the text is filled with long sentences and long, multiple syllable words.  Though the content is consistent with the Standard Course of Study, the challenging nature of the text makes it difficult to comprehend.
 At the beginning of each lesson, in both the HB and SBG, new vocabulary is listed.  Throughout the lessons, they are highlighted in yellow and in bold print, and the meaning is defined directly in the sentence.  This allows for easy recognition of new terms, and the accessibility of the definitions lends to more efficient comprehension.  Also the main ideas are divided into sections easily recognized by larger font and bright colors.  The HB text divides the sections by one or two -word titles which stand out in large, bright red font, whereas the SBG text uses an outline form, and the font is not as easily sighted because it is smaller and the color is less noticeable.

IV.  Analytical Mode and Question Levels
 In general, the content in both texts is straightforward and clear-cut revealing every significant detail about what the reader should know.  At the end of each lesson, there are summary questions to guide the reader in thinking about the main ideas of the chapter.  In HB and SBG texts, the questions focus on  recall and recognition.  Even in the “Thinking Critically” section, the reader is not challenged to use higher order thinking skills above the comprehension level.  For example, in the SBG text in Chapter Eight, one of the “Thinking Critically” questions is as follows:  “What similarities are there in the ways that Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler came to power?”  The answer to this question can be deduced from the text even though it does not clearly state it.  In the HB text, for instance, on page 258, one of the “Thinking Critically” questions is as follows:  “What do you think caused the Roan Empire to split apart?”  The reader can easily find this answer in the text because it directly states it.  These questions, though labeled “Thinking Critically” do not challenge the reader to think critically.
 

V.  Social Issues and Minorities
 Considering the subject area, the HB and SBG texts concentrate on cultures of the Eastern Hemisphere, which in the United States would be considered minorities.  Both spotlight the cultures of the world and equally represent different ethnic groups and their traditions.  Many pictures are of original artwork, prominent historical and cultural places, and other important aspects of a culture, not just the outward appearance or American stereotypes of the people.  When present-day students are pictured taking part in an activity, different ethnicities are shown of equal socioeconomic statuses and collaborating in an academic manner.  Also, both texts equally elaborate on the main religions of each culture in an unbiased manner.  The Teacher’s Editions are careful to remind teachers of the sensitive nature of the subject.  It is evident that the authors of these texts strive to relay factual information about the various religions of the world, and did not let personal biases influence the content.

VI.  Skill Development
 As mentioned in the “Learning Aids” section above, both texts encourage development of mapping, creative writing, research, reading comprehension, and problem solving skills.  Most evident is the authors’ attempts to connect Social Studies throughout the entire curriculum.  As stated in the “Analytical Mode and Questioning Levels” section, both texts lack in facilitating higher order thinking skills.

VII.  Relationship to the Learner
 In the HB text, there is a section in the summary questions at the end of each lesson entitled “Past to Present,” where the reader is asked to apply what they know about a specific subject to present-day life.  For example, in Chapter Four of Unit 2, the following question is found:  “Why might large groups of people today leave their homelands and move elsewhere?”  This question encourages the learner to use his/her knowledge of possible reasons for emigrating in both past and present times.  In the SBG text, there is also a section at the beginning entitled “Think About What You Know.”  One example would be, “Tourism is important in East Africa.  What are some sites that tourists to your state visit?”  These types of questions give the learner a chance to relate what they are learning to their lives and to respond in a personal manner to the content.

VII.  Concluding Summary
 Even though both texts lack in critical thinking questions, the activities in the HB text seem to relate more personally to the learner than the SBG text.  The authors of the HB text were creative when developing ways to summarize the main ideas of a lesson by using the “Story Cloth” at the end of each unit.  The SBG text was more old-fashioned than the HB text, which seemed to have more up-to-date activities.  Though both texts covered the curriculum well, the HB text is more appealing to the reader and the educator.