9.4 Selecting Print & Nonprint Instructional Media

Selecting Print and Nonprint Instructional Media

Quick Answer: Print media (textbooks, leveled readers, graphic organizers, task cards, braille or large-print texts) and nonprint media (audio, video, digital/multimedia software, assistive technology, manipulatives) should be chosen using the same four criteria every time: alignment to the student's specific IEP goals and current instructional target, match to the student's individual learning characteristics and functional level, accessibility for the student's sensory/physical/processing needs, and evidence that the material actually works — never convenience, habit, or what happens to already be on the shelf.

Media selection sounds like a minor logistical decision, but the FTCE ESE exam treats it as an instructional-practice competency, because the wrong material can quietly undermine an otherwise well-designed lesson — a student can't engage with content he can't perceive, read, or relate to, no matter how well the lesson itself is planned.

Print Media: More Than Just the Textbook

Print media includes the general education textbook and grade-level novels, but also leveled readers matched to functional reading level, graphic organizers and task cards that break content into smaller visual chunks, braille and large-print versions of text for students with visual impairments, and high-interest, low-readability trade books written specifically for older students who read well below grade level.

Nonprint Media: Audio, Video, Digital, and Assistive Technology

Nonprint media includes audiobooks and podcasts, captioned or described video, digital/multimedia software and apps that adapt to a student's response, assistive technology devices (text-to-speech tools, alternative keyboards, communication devices), and manipulatives (base-ten blocks, fraction tiles, letter tiles) that let students interact with content physically rather than only visually or in text.

Four Criteria That Should Drive Every Selection Decision

1. Alignment to IEP goals and the current instructional target. Media should be chosen because it directly supports the specific skill being taught this week, not because it's a general-purpose resource the teacher likes.
2. Match to the student's learning characteristics and functional level. This means the student's actual, assessed functional reading or processing level — not the grade the student is enrolled in and not the grade level of the adopted textbook.
3. Accessibility and assistive technology compatibility. Any documented sensory, physical, or processing need (vision, hearing, motor access, attention/processing) is a non-negotiable selection filter, not an afterthought applied once the "real" material is already chosen.
4. Evidence of effectiveness. Preference should go to materials with research or data support behind them over materials chosen purely because they are novel, entertaining, or convenient to prepare.

Motivation and interest belong alongside these four: a technically well-matched resource that a student finds irrelevant or babyish will not get the engagement needed for the intervention to work, so interest inventories and culturally relevant content selection are a legitimate, evidence-supported part of the decision — not a "nice to have" layered on top of the real criteria.

The High-Interest, Low-Readability Trap for Older Struggling Readers

A common error is assigning an older student who reads well below grade level a book written for much younger readers because it "matches" the assessed reading level on a formula alone. A 15-year-old reading at a third-grade level given an actual third-grade picture book faces a second barrier that has nothing to do with decoding: content, characters, and themes that feel babyish and disengaging. The better practice is selecting high-interest, low-readability materials — books and articles specifically written or adapted with mature, age-appropriate themes at an accessible readability level. This preserves both criteria at once: functional-level match and motivational fit.

Matching Media to Sensory and Access Needs

Common Selection Mistakes

The exam frequently presents scenario items where the wrong answer is the material that's simply easiest to grab: using the same grade-level textbook for every student regardless of functional reading level, selecting a video with no captions for a student with a documented hearing need, or picking a resource because "that's what we used last year" without checking it against the student's current goals. The right answer is consistently the option that ties the material back to an assessed need, a specific goal, or a documented accessibility requirement.

A Worked Scenario

A ninth grader with a specific learning disability in reading is working on an American history unit about the civil rights movement. His functional reading level, based on recent assessment, is roughly fourth grade, but the class textbook is written at a ninth-grade level, and a fourth-grade picture book on the same topic would not hold his interest or fit his age. The teacher instead selects a high-interest, low-readability nonfiction text on the civil rights movement written for struggling teen readers, paired with a captioned documentary clip on the same content and a digital text-to-speech tool the student already uses in other subjects. Every choice ties back to a documented need: functional reading level, motivational fit for a teenager, and existing assistive technology — not simply what was available in the department's supply closet.