Evaluation of health textbooks for seventh and eighth grades

The problem was to determine whether health textbooks include content and material that make them valuable and important tools for a functional health instruction course. The area of this investigation was limited to sixteen health texts designed for use in the seventh and eighth grades. The problem was to determine whether these sixteen selected books have range and adequate coverage for the needs and interests of this age level. Whether they include: teaching aids that enrich the learning experiences, suggested activities of interest to the pupils, up-to-date information, adequate, stimulating, understandable illustrations, supplementary references; and whether the general makeup of the texts were appropriate for seventh and eighth grade pupils. It was the purpose of this study (1) to develop criteria by which health textbooks would be evaluated on content, teaching aids, and format; (2) to evaluate sixteen health textbooks to determine whether content, suggested activities, teaching aids, and the physical features were suitable for health instruction in the seventh and eighth grades; (3) to make a comparative analysis as to which texts were most valuable as tools to learning in the seventh and eighth grades; and (4) to indicate the areas of shortages in the California State Health Series for seventh and eighth grades