Are you planning on joining the masses for Library2.011? The worldwide virtual conference is fast approaching and the presenters have some amazing sessions planned for the three day event. You can watch librarians from all over the world talk about what they are doing in their libraries. One of HVLA's own librarians, Briar Sauro, will be presenting her curriculum as well. Read all about it below.
Briar was
inspired by conference STRAND 2: "Librarians &
Information Professionals" - Evolving Professional Roles in Today’s
World. Says Briar,
“I wanted to present at Library 2.011 because I saw the term ‘embedded
librarian,’ an idea to which I strongly relate but which I rarely see applied
at the elementary level.”
Briar has been
at Berkeley
Carroll since 2004 as the librarian for Grades 2-4 and has been an
Independent School Librarian in New York since 1999. About two years ago she
began making big changes to her library curriculum. She got the Fourth Grade library
class scheduled back-to-back with computer class so that she, along with the
computer teacher, could use the time flexibly for computer skills, library
skills and online research skills as needed.
Briar did not
stop there. That year, she was under Peer Review and was asked to imagine her
ideal library program by her Review committee.
She told them about all the things we learn in library school, flexible
scheduling and integrating research skills into the classroom curriculum. One
wise teacher said, “Sounds like you need to be working with the classroom
teachers, not just the computer teacher.”
So, with the
support of her Peer Review committee, she presented a proposal to the
administration to overhaul her entire Third and Fourth grade curriculum. She
now co-teaches with the computer teacher and the classroom teacher. They work
in the library, lab, or classroom, depending on the content of the lesson.
Briar attends all grade level meetings and works out a research timeline with
the teachers. They figure out what the students will need to know for their research
projects and then they break it down into lessons and mini-lessons leading up
to their projects.
The integrated
library curriculum is always dependent on the social studies curriculum and may
change over time. For one unit, Briar taught three weeks of lessons on using
authoritative websites followed by a short mini-lesson on using Google Docs for
note-taking as students launched their explorer research. For another project
she built a web page full of video and interactive resources for a trip to Ellis
Island and then assisted while the students wrote immigrant journals in their docs
(with factual sidebars!).
This new
curriculum would not be possible without the support of the administration, a
team of enthusiastic teachers up for a challenge, a reworked schedule, and a
librarian for PreK-1st Grade who can help the students become independent
library users by 3rd Grade. And it is not without its challenges. In her presentation,
Briar will talk about all that went into her embedded curriculum: the planning,
the collaboration, and the challenges. “This is messy work and we are still
figuring out how best to do it. I’ve been pleased, though, by the increase in
students’ capability and competence with online tools and their enthusiasm for
the work we do together.”
Thanks to Briar Sauro for providing the details of her program. I hope you check out her session.
This post was brought to you by HVLA Vice President, Kimberly Pallant
