As a former secondary school English teacher, I have taught information literacy skills for years and believe that they are an essential part of students' education. Information literacy should be taught across the curriculum with support from teacher-librarians. Unfortunately, in my new position as a teacher-librarian at a small K-5 school, I am discovering barriers to my desire to teach information literacy. While I think it is reasonable to expect teacher-librarians to possess the six qualities (outlined in our Lesson 2 course notes) needed to successfully support the reference process, the small amount of time many of us have with the students limits the extent to which we can make use of these qualities.
I have a .35 FTE contract at a K-5 elementary school and have 7 divisions of students to see weekly. In addition, this year Kindergarten students no longer attended music classes, but instead were sent to the library, where I would teach outcomes chosen in consultation with the Kindergarten teachers. At my school, because we have two Kindergarten classes, I spent two hours a week having fun with the youngest students--we did choose some outcomes that enabled me to teach beginning information literacy skills--but I lost time that could have been spent focusing on the research process with older students.
Fortunately, the school board has decided not to continue with this plan, and it seems that there will not be a cut to the teacher-librarians' time. If I have this extra time next year, I will be able to extend the library classes and teach information literacy skills in context. This year, I have had time to teach only a few strategies in isolation, a much less effective means of instruction. The teachers tend to use the library for research projects on days when I am not at school because they can bring their classes in for extended periods of time. Ideally, I would like to be part of the research process from beginning (task initiation or identification) to end (evaluation or reflection).
In a K-5 setting you'll probably discover that there are different research priorities than exist in middle school or high school. In kindergarten go with what the kids really need - and most of this will involve learning how to speak and listen!
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