textbooks; textbook use; lower secondary school

The paper describes the first findings of the research on textbook use in the 8th grade of lower secondary schools in the Ostrava region of the Czech Republic. The research was aimed at the identification of (the) textbook-based activities in four school subjects: history, civics, English and mathematics. The main research question was "Are there any patterns of textbook use (in the classrooms)?" The investigation was conducted in 10 schools, in two 8th grade classes. The methods applied were class observation and dialogue with teachers. A total of 160 lessons were observed by 6 trained observers. The results suggest that some patterns can be identified in the use of textbooks and other text materials. The correlation between the activity type on one hand and the teaching strategy and the lesson phase on the other was verified.