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LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS
The students will:
-locate and use materials and equipment.
-learn and apply study, research, reference, and critical thinking skills to organize information.
-comprehend content in different types of media.
-retrieve and manage information.
-create print and nonprint media
CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES
The students will:
-understand the historical development and current status of the fundamental concepts and processes of authority, power, and influence, with particular emphasis on the founding documents of the United States and the Democratic skills and attitudes necessary to become responsible citizens.
-write to inform by developing and organizing facts to convey information.
-read for information by examining, constructing, and extending meaning from articles, editiorials, content texts, and other expository materials related to the content areas
LESSON 2 OBJECTIVES
The students will:
-read expository text
-compare two expository text by using a graphic organizer -navigate to an appropriate webpage found on the school website -draw a conclusion concerning the importance of American symbols
MOTIVIATIONAL OBJECTIVES
The students will:
-Encourage ongoing confidence in research ability
-Promote satisfaction in research accomplishments
-Motivate continuing information exploration
| Credits: |
| Martha Barwick adapted by Kori Gerbig, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University |
| Sources: |
| School Library Media Activities Monthly June 2002; 18 (10); 17-19 |
INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES
-This unit is a collaborative effort between the library media specialist and the teacher.
LESSON 1
ACTIVITY AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION
-As the students enter the library media center, they are instructed to sketch for three minutes on the topic "What does it mean to be an American?" Collect the original drawings.
-The library media specialist enters the room dressed as Uncle Sam while "Yankee Doodle" is playing in the background. The students are prompted to discuss who the library media specialist is portraying.
-The library media specialist introduces the book "Uncle Sam and Old Glory: Symbols of America," by Delno C West and Jean M West, and reads the introduction aloud to the students. The library media specialist then takes a "picture walk" throught the book by sharing each illustration of a symbol, and asking the students to identify what symbol each picture represents.
-The library media specialist explains to the students that they will research one on these symbols and create a webpage that will be used to share the infomration with the community. Explain that students will need to identify the meaning of the symbol, from where the symbol came, and how this symbol helps to identify America. Share page two from "Uncle Same and Old Glory" to model the writing that the students will complete for a webpage.
-Students are placed into groups of three and identify the symbol that they will research.
-For the remainder of the class period, students use the card catalog to identify and find books, Web resources, and other materials that will enable them to find the needed information. They will list these sources on a large index card.
-The students collect information and take notes to answer three questions:
*What is the meaning of this symbol?
*How did it become a symbol?
*Why is this symbol American? How is it used to represent America?
-These questions are written at the top of large index cards. The library media specialist and teacher monitor and assist the students, as needed, in the continued note taking in either the library media center or the classroom.
-The teacher conducts the writing of the informative piece in the classroom as part of writing instruction. The library media specialist and teacher conclude this series of lessons with the production of a webpage in "Netscape Composer." If skills are not in place to produce a simple webpage, the teacher and library media specialist demonstrate to the students the process by which the webpage is created. The students are expected to have a background color, a title, a horizontal line, a graphic, and text.
-The students are provided with work time, with the teacher and library media specialist monitoring and assisting as necessary with the creation of the webpages.
-After the webpages are complete, each student will take a gallery walk to examine the webpages created by their classmates.
FOLLOW-UP
-Students are given their original sketches and share in groups how their ideas have changed.
LESSON 2
ACTIVITY AND PROCEDURES
-Refer students to the webpage that they completed the previous week. Ask them to share some observations that they made while taking a gallery walk.
-Explain to the students that they will be using a piece of text from "Uncle Sam and Old Glory: Symbols of America," reading it, and comparing it to the piece of text the authors in the classroom wrote and posted on their webpage.
-Model for the students how to navigate to the appropriate website. Explain that after they read the web article, they will read the page form the book and compare the ideas presented in each piece of text. Model the completion of the graphic organizer (see page 20). Depending on the teacher's preference, the students could complete this activity individually, as pairs, or in groups.
-After the organizers are complete, ask the students to share their observations concerning the presentation of information and the quality fo information that was presented. The discussion should focus on the positive and negatives of each type of source (Internet vs Book) used to gather information.
FOLLOW-UP
The students will answer the question, independently, "Why is this symbol important to America?" Use examples from both texts to support your answer.
