We derive our theoretical framework and characteristics of the textbook from the theoretical ideas of Bakhtin and Vygotsky. The specific features of the textbook, it’s significance as a cultural resource; it’s role in the process of learning through the construction of knowledge and the developmental formative function of the textbook, has been derived from the these theories. From Bakhtin’s theory of speech genres follows that the textbook is a specific type of book with a series of specific functional and structural features. The textbook is one of the most elementary means of didactic communication. The content of this communication is the content of the school curriculum, that is, what the student is supposed to learn. All of the textbook characteristics originate from its particular function and the addressee to whom it is directed - the student. If this addressee is not fully embedded in the structure of the textbook, the book does not belong in the textbook genre.Vygotsky’s theory on cultural-psychological tools and their role in the development of the mind supplements Bakhtin’s theory on speech genres. According to Vygotsky, mental development is closely linked and dependent on the underlying cultural systems. The textbook is a very powerful cultural-psychological tool for the stimulation of intellectual development; it is a cultural tool for pedagogical communication. The pedagogical interaction between the textbook and the student has to be embedded in the structure of the textbook. In the construction of textbook the focus has to be on choosing the most effective means of organizing a meaningful interaction between the selected body of knowledge of a given subject and the student, in such a way that it engages their intellectual and other abilities.

So, the textbook has to be learner-centered. With its content and pedagogical apparatus it has to create the conditions that enable the student's construction of knowledge. The important part of textbook’s structure is different structural components (SCs), which must facilitate the student's learning and contribute to students’ better understanding by linking the subject to the student’s previous knowledge and experience as well as forming a meaningful connection with other contents. Some of most often SCs are: the core text of lessons; boxes of additional information to the text; referencing and linking the new with previously learned material; boxes containing definitions of less known words; iconic means: graphs, schemes, maps, photographs, images or illustrations; a boxes with interesting facts or information, or biographies; content from original documents, materials and sources; the lesson summary; concept maps; meta-cognitive units; etc. All these components are the result of the practical implementation of the developmental and formative role of the textbook. To be easily recognized and used, every SC is consistently marked throughout the textbook in a specific way, either with a particular color, sign or distinctive graphic design.

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