Co-taught a lesson for a 7th-grade ELAR project in which students would become an expert on a topic they are passionate about. Students were to use resources to support their personal claims about the topic, keep information factual, and avoid opinions or personal bias. The librarian instructed students on how to find resources in the library databases. Student understanding of how the evidence supports main ideas showed an increase from 61% to 73% of students meeting that standard.
Co-taught a lesson for an 8th grade ELAR project in which students would become an expert on a topic they are passionate about and have some prior knowledge of. The object of the lesson was to teach students the use of appropriate text evidence. The librarian instructed students on how to find resources in the library databases and through advanced Google searches. Student understanding of the use of appropriate text evidence showed an increase from 46% to 61% of students meeting that standard.
Co-taught a lesson on the best resources for a 6th-grade ELAR project about how humans and animals interact. Students researched an animal of their choice and wrote an informational paper about their chosen subject. The librarian instructed students on how to find resources in the library databases and through advanced Google searches. Students were better able to understand how the evidence supports a thesis, and their understanding of text features increased.
Co-taught a lesson on finding the best resources for Genius Hour projects in the GT ELAR classes. Students in 7th grade GT classes were asked to solve a problem at the state, local, country, or global level, often a third world issue. Students had to come up with an idea to solve their problem and then explain why their solution would not work. In the pre-assessment, students scored in the 60-70 range, and after the research lesson, they scored 85-100 in the post-assessment.
Taught a lesson on proper library etiquette to newcomers, refugees, and some regular ELAR classes. Students were instructed on the proper way to check out books, how to keep library shelves tidy, and how to care for library books after they have been checked out. After a few weeks, students showed marked improvement in caring for their library books and reshelving books correctly.
This year’s library orientation was extremely popular with both students and teachers. Using sets of Jenga blocks, students discovered the answers to questions about library procedures and policies and participated in physical challenges. Classes were divided into groups of 3 to 4 students and given two iPads. One iPad was used for a Google Form that asked each group questions about the library, and another iPad was used to access the library catalog using a QR code. Students would take turns
pulling blocks and entering the numbers into the Google Form. Students used prior knowledge and a procedures and policies handout to answer questions about the library. If their tower tumbled, they had to quickly rebuild it, and continue with the questions. Students were engaged and excited about this lesson and left with a better understanding of library expectations, how the library works, and how to access and successfully utilize the library catalog.