Percival Byron S.

Bueser

CTP

EVALUATING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN READING Material: An illustrated childrens book, The Gingerbread Man I. Content The Gingerbread Man teaches a moral lesson, which can be put roughly as: Learn as times change and dont be arrogant. This book, therefore, promotes learning, which is a desirable local, national, and international goal, and the consequences of arrogance, which is often the cause of the downfall of individuals, families, communities, or even nations. The book also promotes learning, which resonates so much with the vision and mission of PNU. The book is relatively free from cultural biases; characters are not stereotypes but generic animals and common people (and a fictional Gingerbread Man, of course). II. Reader-friendliness The format is that of a conventional childrens book with illustrations. The closest Microsoft Word font I have found that matches the font type of the book is Bookman Old Style, with font size about 16. Here is an illustration:

Run, run as fast as you can. You cant catch me. Im the gingerbread man.
The illustrations match the lines mentioned in the pages. For example, when a wolf was mentioned, the wolf was there in the page. When three farmers are mentioned resting, then the three farmers, indeed, are in the page and are seen sitting down. III. Language The vocabulary contained in the book The Gingerbread Man is suitable for elementary school pupils; the words can easily be understood at any elementary school level. Many of the words used are action verbs (such as run, come, and hear), and all of the sentences that involve action are in the active voice, thus making the story proceed fast. There is also periodicity in some passages which make them sound pleasant when recited, just like this one: I have run away from

a little boy and an old man and an old woman and three farmers. and I can run away from you too, said the gingerbread man. There are also rhyming words throughout the book, like some words in this passage: Run, run as fast as you can. You cant catch me. Im the gingerbread man. Finally, there is also the surprise ending element. IV. Length The book is a short one; it is a 30-page illustrated book, with the most number of lines in a page being 12, and with many pages containing about 5-10 lines. V. Appeal to target users Elementary school students are the target users of the book. As mentioned, the book is fun to recite because of the swift action, the rhymes, the periodicity, and the surprise ending. The book is read mainly for pleasure than for challenge, probably because of the simplicity of the vocabulary. With guidance from a teacher, students will feel like theyll grow morally when they plow through the lessons involved. (Even high school students and, Id daresay, college students and professionals can learn from this book. The core lesson for them is that what works for old situations often doesnt work for new situations, so they better take innovation seriously.) The book is not mainly an information-filled book, but students can try to relate prior knowledge which is information to the lessons theyve learned in the book. VI. Scope Whether to teach a moral lesson about arrogance and learning, to make students learn about verbs, or to make students become pleased in reading periodic passages and rhyming words aloud, the book is adequate for its intended purposes. Various guide questions can be asked, from Why did the gingerbread man manage to get out of the oven? to Why did all the characters except for the fox fail in catching the gingerbread man? to What

can you learn from the Fox? The book is basically a short story, and perceptive students can learn a great deal about plot, character, setting, and other elements of stories.