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
Listen to stories and recall facts from the listening activity
Make predictions about what will happen next in the story
Ask questions related to the listening activity
Show respect for the ideas of others while participating in group discussions
Understand that library materials are organized in a consistent and predictable way
Make personal connections to literature
Distinguish between fiction and nonfiction books
Grade 1 students are developing the following skills:
Respect for library and library materials
Understand that the online catalog is used to locate materials within the library
Explore and choose materials based on personal interests
Select and use fiction and nonfiction sources
Make connections to prior knowledge
Extract information from illustrations and captions
Identify facts which can answer specific questions
Identify characters, setting problem and resolution in a story
Discuss characteristics of the work of favorite authors and illustrators
Participate in discussions and listen actively
Grade 2 students are developing the following skills:
Identify "just right" books on the student’s reading level
Choose a variety of fiction and nonfiction
Compare characters and main ideas from different stories
Show respect for the ideas of others when participating in group discussions
Generate questions during reading and research
Follow steps in the inquiry process modeled by teacher and librarian
Use a variety of online and print resources with guidance
Compare new information with prior knowledge
Recognize the purpose of nonfiction text features
Grade 3 students are developing the following skills:
Use both fiction and nonfiction material at an appropriate reading level
Identify and discuss the problems and solutions in stories
Reflect on text during reading or listening
Generate questions during reading and research
Understand the concept of 'keywords’ as a research tool
Recognize the structure and purpose of the Dewey Decimal System
Use author, title, subject or keywords to search the online catalog
Use a variety of sources for research projects
Employ simple note-taking techniques
Understand the need to cite resources
Retrieve pertinent information in charts, captions, and sidebars
Use online and print resources with guidance
Grade 4 students are developing the following skills:
Identify the elements of various literary genres
Support interpretation of story (characters, setting, plot) with specific evidence
Choose a variety of fiction and nonfiction at an appropriate reading level
Create lists of keywords based on prior knowledge when beginning research
Formulate questions to advance research
Begin research by using the school library home page to access the online catalog, online encyclopedias, periodical and image databases
Skim and scan text to determine if material is relevant
Use a variety of note-taking strategies as modeled by teacher and/or librarian (i.e. bullet points, keywords, facts, phrases)
Paraphrase to record information
Recognize that information on the same topic from two different sources can have discrepancies
Cite both print and online sources used during research
Participate in discussions, listening well, and respecting others' ideas
Understand the basic structure of a website
The information-fluent student in Grade 5 is developing the following skills:
Recognize features of different literary genres
Read a variety of fiction and nonfiction
Distinguish 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
Research using the school library homepage to access the online catalog, online encyclopedias, periodical and image databases
Skim and scan to evaluate information for relevance
Evaluate facts for accuracy and recognizing that different sources can provide conflicting information
Identify relevant details
Use various note-taking strategies, including highlighting, underlining, lists, or graphic organizers
Use evidence from text to support opinions
Reformulate ideas as new information is gathered
Cite all sources properly, using model supplied by teacher and/or librarian
Participate in discussions, listening well, and respecting others' ideas
Understand the structure and navigation tools of a website