Library Skills Archives

Biography Research Projects

Students need to read and learn about many different types of informational texts, including biographies. A biography research project can combine many important skills besides just learning about the life of an important person, such as: note-taking summarizing and paraphrasing information evaluating information finding the best sources for information organizing information the importance of citing your sources practice writing informational text Basics of a Biography Teach students the call number When I teach about biographies in the library, I start by showing students the biography section and pointing out the call number for biographies. I always give my biographies the call number of 92; however, each library is different. What’s the difference between a biography and an autobiography? I then like to discuss the difference between a biography and an autobiography. A biography usually provides facts about a person from their childhood through adulthood and is written by someone

Teaching Genre in the Library

Who else loves to teach genre to your students? Teaching different types of genres help students become lifelong readers. This is also true when thinking about writing. It opens their minds to the outside of their world and not just a traditional narrative. The Importance of Genre We want our students to fall in love with different types of books and not just all the Fly Guy or Mo Willems books. Our younger readers tend to fall into this trap where they only want to read specific types of books or even only one type of author. Then, as students get older they don’t know what they like because their interests have changed. Reluctant readers also tend to be at a disadvantage because they don’t know what they like and truly don’t love to read. This is why teaching genre throughout the elementary years is so important. Librarians have

Library Orientation Mini Books

As educators we all know the importance of laying a solid foundation in the early weeks of a new school year. Having clear routines and procedures are key to having good classroom management and a smooth year. By taking the time to explicitly and thoroughly teach students your expectations, you are setting yourself and your students up for a successful school year. That’s where library orientation comes into play! Library orientation is a very very busy time of the year. As the librarian, you are solely responsible for ensuring every single student in your school is respecting library time and following the correct procedures. After all, we only have them in the media center for a short time each week! This time at the beginning of the school year is so important to a seamless year! One engaging and fun way I like to teach expectations to my students is

Teaching the Research Process

We all know how important it is to teach our students information literacy skills: how to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate information. There are several different research or information gathering models available to teach the research process including the Big6 and the FINDS model from Florida. However, I do not think you need to use a “formal” model as long as your lesson plans cover these skills. Something to keep in mind is that a research project is more about teaching students the process of finding information, not so much as in the finished product. The primary objective is to teach students problem-solving techniques and how to think critically. You want them to learn how to navigate through large quantities of information to find what they are looking for. Show them how important it is to provide credit to the sources the information came from and how to avoid

Library
Management

Lesson
Plans

Reading
Motivation

Library
Skills

Research

Reading & Literacy

Archives

Biography Research Projects

Teaching Genre in the Library

Library Orientation Mini Books

Teaching the Research Process

QUICK LINKS

BESTSELLING PRODUCTS

LEGAL STUFF