Learning Objectives

• Identify four approaches useful when supplementing eBooks in curricula.
• Understand the importance of using digital text, print, and other media in curricula.

Supplementing Instructional Materials with INFOhio

Instructional materials matter. Coherent curriculum and professional development for teachers are the first steps in ensuring equity in Ohio’s classrooms. Identifying high-quality materials for all grade levels goes further, increasing student engagement, meeting diverse needs, and filling instructional gaps.

When paired with a high-quality curriculum, INFOhio's quality eBooks can provide engaging, innovative supplements to scaffold student growth and learning.

Education doctoral candidate Waneta Hebert recently teamed with INFOhio's vendor and partner Infobase. In her blog post Leveraging Supplemental Resources for K-12 Schools & Districts, Hebert identifies four outcomes when using supplemental materials in teaching and learning:

• Engage students with the power of choice.
• Empower students to explore their interests.
• Elevate student learning with additional support.
• Extend student learning to new heights.

What does this look like in the classroom? Explore the Four Es in action.

Engage

Create opportunities for student choice and autonomy by using eBooks in the classroom. When introducing a new topic, help students explore eBooks that clarify concepts, pique their interest, and encourage them to develop questions.

For example, Ohio's Learning Standards for Science for third grade ask students to explore the concept "Heat, electrical energy, light, sound and magnetic energy are forms of energy." Science textbooks are a starting place for introducing this concept. However other texts that use different approaches to explain the concept will engage students as well. Capstone's Alien Energy is a graphic novel eBook that uses a playful approach to explain energy. A search in Educator Tools produces more than 50 titles about energy that are appropriate for third grade readers. With a read-aloud function and note-taking and highlighting features, INFOhio's eBooks support learners of all types. 

To build classroom engagement, create a choice board for students featuring additional eBooks on a topic. Using a grid, educators can offer students eBooks options that support a topic or standard. Students choose three boxes horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, reading the supplemental texts. The high-quality text found in INFOhio's eBooks engages readers and keeps them reading with no ads or other distractions. 

Empower

When students feel as if their interests are important and part of learning, they feel empowered to explore these topics even further. Giving students time to dive into a topic they are curious about helps them develop inquiry skills and promotes lifelong learning. Use curriculum materials to introduce a concept, but take advantage of INFOhio's eBook collections to help students find out more about topics. 

Let students browse titles in the eBook collections to find one on a topic they want to learn more about. Then, give a simple guided reading activity such as the 3-2-1 strategy for students to record what they learned and what they still want to know. 

Elevate

When students struggle to grasp a concept and need additional support, supplemental resources like INFOhio's eBooks are a great tool. Students may need more practice or interaction with a text before mastering the standard. Use read-aloud features to help students who need information presented in alternative ways. 

Text sets are one way to elevate students who are struggling and students who are learning about a brand new concept. A text set is a collection of media curated to provide key background information and vocabulary to help students master complex text.

INFOhio's Text Set: Teacher Guide features helpful resources for creating your own text sets. You also can learn more about text sets in the Quality, Grade-Level Text from INFOhio class.

Extend

Text sets are a great way to challenge learners as well. Students who master text at their level can extend their efforts when presented with a text at a slightly higher reading level. Use INFOhio eBooks as a supplement to the curriculum, preparing students for text that can be a jumping board to difficult, but engaging content.

Extend students' grasp of a concept by asking them to choose a complex text eBook. Once they have read it and completed the 3-2-1 strategy, ask them to teach other students about the topic. For example, ask high-achieving readers to help introduce social studies or science concepts using what they learned from eBooks on the topic. 

Explore the Four Es in Application

Learn more about how to use INFOhio's eBooks in the classroom by applying the four Es in these Teach With INFOhio Blog posts:

• Simple Strategies to Supplement Instruction with BookFlix
• Simple Strategies to Supplement Instruction with Capstone Interactive eBooks
• Simple Strategies to Supplement Instruction with Financial Literacy eBooks (Gale)

Reflecting on Your Learning

How have you used technology or supplemental materials to engage, empower, extend, and elevate students in the past? Share your experience in the Open Space group High-Quality Instructional Materials for Each Child. Look for the Using the Four Es post in the discussion tab.