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Library Media

Library Media

Course Description

Library skills at the middle school build upon information literacy skills from the elementary level but begin to go beyond locating and noticing to seeking and creating.  Library skills are not taught in isolation but rather integrated throughout all of the subject areas and courses students take throughout middle school. Beginning in 6th grade, students will learn what resources can help them develop a personal reading plan as well as find, cite and evaluate the credibility of sources. While emphasis is placed on personal responsibility for text and research resources, collaborative  reading, research and consideration of diverse audiences and perspectives is an equally important part of the middle school library curriculum.  Students learn to determine appropriate and ethical ways to give feedback (ie.. peer reviews, online forums, etc) as well as share their learning and information (collections, videos, etc). While many skills and strategies are introduced in 6th grade, students build upon, maintain, apply and master these skills during 7th and 8th grade.

Grade Level(s): 6th-8th

Related Priority Standards (State &/or National): 

K-12 Library Media Curricula have common Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas.   These are organized across four common K-12 strands - Navigating Library Resources, Text Appreciation, Research, and Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy.  Learning within a given grade level is meant to build upon previous work.

Essential Questions

  • Strand: Navigating Library Resources
    • How do I find what I need?
    • What is the purpose of the library?
    • How can I use my library skills to be more effective in finding what I seek?
    • Who is included in the library community?   
  • Strand: Text Appreciation
    • How does literacy help us to better understand ourselves and our world?
    • How can I understand, utilize, and appreciate all types of text?
    • How do I select the right book for me?
    • How do I select books that are windows and mirrors for me?
  • Strand: Research
    • How do I find what I need to know?
    • How can others help me grow my thinking?
    • How do I evaluate and use sources ethically, appropriately, and critically?
    • How do I share my learning?
  • Strand: Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy
    • How can I manage my identity in a global, digital world?
    • How can I be safe and ethical with technology? 
    • How can I share my ideas and knowledge with the world?
    • How do I efficiently and responsibly navigate through a digital world?

Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas

  • Strand: Navigating Library Resources
    • Patrons bring curiosity to the library.
    • Patrons seek answers to their questions.
    • Patrons are part of a larger community and are responsible for care of the resources and the space.
    • Patrons can seek and find materials that offer a diversity of perspectives.
    • Patrons can navigate the library using skills such as searching, locating, and evaluating.
    • Patrons provide recommendations and feedback within the library community.
    • Patrons collaboratively build the library’s collection.
  • Strand: Text Appreciation
    • Readers will explore a variety of materials for lifelong learning and recreational reading.
    • Readers will share and reflect on what they read.
    • Readers select books that represent diverse ideas, cultures, and genres of literacy.
    • Reading for pleasure or information has lifelong application. 
  • Strand: Research
    • Researchers display curiosity through inquiry by defining a topic and generating questions.
    • Researchers work together to broaden and deepen understandings and solve problems with information.
    • Researchers engage with information ethically, appropriately, and critically, both online and in print
    • Researchers read widely and critically to ask and answer questions.
  • Strand: Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy
    • Digital citizens take active roles by asking questions about their digital world.
    • Digital citizens seek and share in ethical and responsible ways when they are online.
    • Digital citizens use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts, and community members, to examine issues and problems through multiple perspectives.
    • Digital citizens select and organize information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods.
    • Digital citizens create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
    • Digital citizens consider the impact of what they share with the online community.

Course-Level Scope & Sequence (Units &/or Skills)

Skills are organized into four strands - Navigating Library Resources, Text Appreciation, Research, and Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy.  In addition, skills within these strands fall into one of several domains, noted below in parentheses.  These include Inquire (I), Include & Collaborate (I/C), Curate & Explore (C/E), and Engage (E).

Navigating Library Resources (6-8)

  • Develop a plan to find what is needed in the library (I)
  • Seek and compare varied materials that offer diverse perspectives (I/C)
  • Select the most appropriate resource to address one’s needs (E/C)
  • Create lists of one’s reading interests and promote books to others (E)

Text Appreciation (6-8)

  • Use various resources to make decisions about what to read in the future (I)
    • Plan to be a part of a reading community (I/C)
  • Have an open mind when selecting reading material (E/C)
  • Make a plan to expand one’s reading repertoire (E/C)
  • Create a reading plan that balances personal and academic needs (E)

Research (6-8)

  • Share research and receive feedback to grow (I)
  • Give feedback to help others grow (I)
  • Collaborate with others to gain a deeper understanding of research (I/C
  • Gather information from different types of texts to answer questions and to learn different perspectives (I/C)
  • Compare and contrast information across texts, especially in collaboratively created sites (I/C)
  • Thoughtfully consider which sources to use, questioning if sources are valid and accurate, especially on collaboratively created sites (E/C)
  • Contribute to collaboratively created sites in an ethical manner (E/C)
  • Collaborate to creatively investigate things of interest and to design solutions to problems (E/C)
  • Determine appropriate ways to share learning with different audiences  (E) 

Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy (6-8)

  • Share brainstorming and questioning through online platforms, as appropriate (I)
    • See, share, and respect global perspectives that may be different from one’s own (I/C)
    • Consider the validity and relevance of online feedback and determine how to proceed (E/C)
    • Understand the need to make healthy online decisions (E/C)
  • Share ideas and feedback thoughtfully, considering the impact (E)
  • Understand that one can disengage from negative online communities (E)

Course Resources & Materials

In addition to books and other materials available for checkout, library media resources include

Date Last Revised/Approved: 2018