Update the already outdated textbooks.

The textbook was already outdated when it was published. Most of the articles are from before 2017. We're living in a digital age. You can absolutely update the nonfiction articles as necessary. The soda restriction in New York was repealed in 2014, and that isn't mentioned in the text book at all during the THREE different articles 8th graders have to read. Maybe trade those articles out for a newer issue or something timeless like the debate about whether or not students should be paid for school or the debate about dress code. In the 7th grade text, all of the nonfiction selections for space unit are grossly outdated and uncredible. Some are so bad that I have to use them to teach kids what not to do when writing because that's the only reason I can see someone choosing the article for a 7th grade classroom. Some of the independent studies shouldn't even be in the curriculum especially the one about adoption in unit one. That one is just a slap in the face to all of my students who are foster kids, adopted, or borderline homeless.