When I began the SLM program in 2005, there was no standard for literacy strategies. I think it was understood that school librarians play a significant role in developing reading skills and comprehension in students, but it had not been formally stated in the standards until 2010. As a result, the earlier classes I took in the program did not address literacy strategies directly. There is now an entire assignment devoted to literacy strategies in the Children’s Literature course as well as a group project in the Young Adult Literature course that addresses them. For me, finding an artifact that fits this standard was a challenge. I decided to use a small assignment that I completed in SLM 509 – Instructional Collaboration. We had to take an existing lesson plan and embed AASL indicators where appropriate. I chose a lesson I had done for my pre-first class on chameleons which was developed in conjunction with the science teacher. She was beginning a study of reptiles with this class and hoped to do a short piece of nonfiction writing with the girls.
I called the lesson “Chameleons are Cool,” and it followed a class where we had read Leo Lionni’s A Color of My Own. My goal was to have the students develop strategies and skills for information-gathering and problem-solving. I incorporated several literacy strategies into this lesson. First of all, I engaged the students by having the chameleon puppet greet the students when they entered the library. I also had the song “Karma Chameleon” by Culture Club playing in the background. The chameleon “spoke” directly to the students and introduced them to the books that we would be reading that day. They responded with big smiles and an eagerness to sit down and get started. We began the lesson by filling out a chart with sections entitled "What We Think We Know," "What We Learned,” "Questions" and "Misconceptions,” and I incorporated recall when I asked them to remember the details from the book we had used in the previous class. Before we began reading the nonfiction book Chameleons are Cool by Martin Jenkins, I had the students come up with questions that would frame their search for new understanding. Then we did some predicting of what they might learn from the new book. As we read, I had the students look at the pictures for clues and asked them to raise a hand when they identified new information about chameleons or when they heard something that verified or refuted something they thought that they knew. They were very enthusiastic about doing this and adding to our chart. Then I divided them into groups and gave each group a different nonfiction book about chameleons to read and discuss together. Their interaction with and feedback from their peers led them to guide their own inquiry process to the next level.
When I wrote this lesson, I did not consciously infuse the literacy strategies I incorporated. Being a former English teacher, I think I do this naturally and often as I work with my all of my library classes. Now that I have an awareness of this standard, however, I hope to make more conscious and deliberate efforts to integrate literacy strategies into as many library lessons as possible.
I called the lesson “Chameleons are Cool,” and it followed a class where we had read Leo Lionni’s A Color of My Own. My goal was to have the students develop strategies and skills for information-gathering and problem-solving. I incorporated several literacy strategies into this lesson. First of all, I engaged the students by having the chameleon puppet greet the students when they entered the library. I also had the song “Karma Chameleon” by Culture Club playing in the background. The chameleon “spoke” directly to the students and introduced them to the books that we would be reading that day. They responded with big smiles and an eagerness to sit down and get started. We began the lesson by filling out a chart with sections entitled "What We Think We Know," "What We Learned,” "Questions" and "Misconceptions,” and I incorporated recall when I asked them to remember the details from the book we had used in the previous class. Before we began reading the nonfiction book Chameleons are Cool by Martin Jenkins, I had the students come up with questions that would frame their search for new understanding. Then we did some predicting of what they might learn from the new book. As we read, I had the students look at the pictures for clues and asked them to raise a hand when they identified new information about chameleons or when they heard something that verified or refuted something they thought that they knew. They were very enthusiastic about doing this and adding to our chart. Then I divided them into groups and gave each group a different nonfiction book about chameleons to read and discuss together. Their interaction with and feedback from their peers led them to guide their own inquiry process to the next level.
When I wrote this lesson, I did not consciously infuse the literacy strategies I incorporated. Being a former English teacher, I think I do this naturally and often as I work with my all of my library classes. Now that I have an awareness of this standard, however, I hope to make more conscious and deliberate efforts to integrate literacy strategies into as many library lessons as possible.