The goal of the Scarsdale librarians is to encourage every student to develop a life-long love of literature and research. A collaborative approach between the librarian and the classroom teacher allows for authentic teaching of literature and information fluency skills and strategies. Students need to use the skills of inquiry to learn essential content and to construct new meaning. Instruction, designed around an inquiry framework, generates active learning and the formation of new understandings.
The information fluency skills required for independent and lifelong learning follow a coherent developmentally appropriate continuum of instruction and practice throughout grades K-12. This enables all of our children to succeed in our ever-expanding information rich world.
Kindergarten students are developing the following skills:
Respect for library and library materials
Requesting or choosing materials related to personal interests
Listening to stories and recalling facts from the listening activity
Making predictions about what will happen next in the story
Asking questions related to the listening activity
Showing respect for the ideas of others while participating in group discussions
Understanding that library materials are organized in a consistent and predictable way
Personally connecting to literature
Distinguishing between fiction and non-fiction books
Grade 1 students are developing the following skills:
Respect for library and library materials
Knowing that the online catalog is used to locate materials within the library
Exploring and choosing materials based on personal interests
Selecting and using fiction and non-fiction sources
Making connections to prior knowledge
Extracting information from illustrations
Identifying facts which can answer specific questions
Identifying characters, setting, and problem/resolution in a story
Discussing characteristics of the work of favorite authors and illustrators
Participating in discussions and actively listening
Grade 2 students are developing the following skills:
Identifying books at his/her reading level ("just right" books)
Choosing a variety of fiction and non-fiction
Comparing characters and main ideas from different stories
Showing respect for the ideas of others while participating in group discussions
Generating questions during reading and research
Following steps of the inquiry process modeled by teacher and/or librarian
Using a variety of online and print resources with guidance
Comparing new information with prior knowledge
Recognizing the purpose of non-fiction text features
Grade 3 students are developing the following skills:
Using both fiction and non-fiction material at an appropriate reading level
Identifying and discussing the problems and solutions in stories
Reflecting on text during reading or listening
Generating questions during reading and research
Understanding the concept of 'keywords’ as a research tool
Recognizing the structure and purpose of the Dewey Decimal System
Using author, title, subject or keywords to search the online catalog
Using a variety of sources for research projects
Employing simple note-taking techniques
Understanding the need to cite resources
Retrieving pertinent information in charts, captions, and sidebars
Using online and print resources with guidance
Grade 4 students are developing the following skills:
Identifying the elements of various literary genres
Supporting interpretation of story (characters, setting, plot) with specific evidence
Choosing a variety of fiction and non-fiction at an appropriate reading level
Creating list of keywords based on prior knowledge when beginning research
Formulating questions to advance research
Beginning research by using the school library home page to access the online catalog, online encyclopedias, periodical and image databases
Skimming and scanning text to determine if material is relevant
Using a variety of note-taking strategies as modeled by teacher and/or librarian (i.e. bullet points, keywords, facts, phrases)
Paraphrasing to record information
Recognizing that information on the same topic from two different sources can have discrepancies
Citing both print and online sources used during research
Participating in discussions, listening well, and respecting others' ideas
Understanding the basic structure of a website
The information-fluent student in Grade 5 is developing the following skills:
Recognizing features of different literary genres
Reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction
Distinguishing between questions which can be answered by simple fact finding, those which cannot be answered, and those which lend themselves to an interesting inquiry topic
Researching using the school library homepage to access the online catalog, online encyclopedias, periodical and image databases
Skimming and scanning to evaluate information for relevance
Evaluating facts for accuracy and recognizing that different sources can provide conflicting information
Identifying relevant details
Using various note-taking strategies, including highlighting, underlining, lists, or graphic organizers
Using evidence from text to support opinions
Reformulating ideas as new information is gathered
Citing all sources properly, using model supplied by teacher and/or librarian
Participating in discussions, listening well, and respecting others' ideas
Understanding the structure and navigation tools of a website