1. Gretchen Boore
Fall 2010
Dr. Merrill
EDTE 384
Textbook Review
For my textbook review, I looked at a textbook that I was introduced to as a coach in 2004 and
then was re-introduced to in 2008 when I took a course on volleyball here at Sacramento State. This
book is called Volleyball Fundamentals and it is written by Joel Dearing. The book was published in
2003, so in 2004 this was a new book to me.
The book itself is geared more toward high school aged students, but I believe that the average
8th
grade student would be able to read and follow along with the book with little problems. The book
has a table of contents and at the beginning of each section is a brief summary of what is going to be
discussed. The book doesn’t have an index or a glossary, but personally, for this book I do not think that
it is needed. The book has large letters and is an easy to read and follow since the diagrams and photos
that are displayed are for the majority on the same page as the content that is being talked about.
This book showcases all aspects of the game of volleyball in mostly basic English terms and
when new vocabulary is introduced, the book builds on already known knowledge to help introduce the
new term to the reader.
I wanted to review this book because my topic for my unit plan is for volleyball and my question
is “Why should I play volleyball as a team sport and not as an individual sport?” This book addresses
that issue by showing formations for different variances of volleyball, all of which are team sport related
because the court is so large that it would be nearly impossible to play by yourself and have a functional
game.