Library Media Curriculum Analysis
Sarah Scholl
Harford County Public Schools - 6th Grade
History and Development
- Established in 2008
- Developed by Middle School Library Media Specialists and Content Area Supervisor
- To provide a set framework for librarians in HCPS to teach library and information literacy skills
- Allows for flexibility to manipulate lessons and integrate library skills into subject area curriculum
- Lessons are suggestions for how library content can be integrated and used for co-teaching with other teachers
- Goal is to co-teach within the content areas and teach lessons in isolation as little as possible
Philosophy
A strong curriculum meets the needs of a 21st century learner, provides opportunities for differentiation and uses standards based lessons which prepare students to be college and career ready through inquiry based, real world experiences.
Content
Units contain the following sections:
- Unit and Instructional Time
- Rationale
- Maryland State Curriculum and Maryland Technology Standards
- Harford County Content Standards and Indicators
- Concepts
- Enduring Understandings
- Guiding Questions
- Materials Recommended
- Declarative Knowledge
- Procedural Knowledge
- Experience - Lesson plan with detailed instructions
- Overview
- Assessments
- Scoring Tool
Library Media State Curriculum - Maryland
Harford County Library Media Curriculum is aligned with the Maryland State Curriculum for Library Media
Units: Orientation, OPAC, Academic Integrity, Research, and Literature Appreciation
Organization and Scope
There are five units which each contain a series of experiences to teach the content within the unit. The detailed scope and sequence within the curriculum provides teachers with an detailed overview of the concepts addressed within the grade level. The scope and sequence chart is a new addition to the curriculum which provides a grade level alignment for middle school in an easy to navigate format.
Each lesson contains:
- Title
- Recommended instructional time
- Enduring Understandings
- Guiding Questions
- Prerequisite Knowledge
- Declarative Knowledge
- Procedures
- Assessment
- Correctives
- Enrichment
Strengths
- Content is aligned with the state curriculum for library media
- Content is aligned with the state's technology standards
- Flexibility for teachers is directly stated within the curriculum, giving teachers the opportunity to make changes as needed
- Detailed philosophy, scope and sequence, conceptual hierarchy for K-12 and standards are provided in the front matter
- Essential questions guide the units and individual experiences
- Formative and summative assessment strategies are provided within each experience
Recommendations
- Align with Common Core
- More detailed strategies for differentiation need to be provided within lessons and as general recommendations for teachers
- More thorough technology integration - especially the inclusion of current technology tools and HOW they can be integrated into curriculum
- Research Unit: Revise to provide teachers with more general guidelines for research which can be integrated into other curricular areas
- Provide a chart which aligns the current subject area units which would align well with the library curriculum
- Provide additional instructional strategies that blend individual, small group and large group instruction
References
- Harford County Public Schools. (2012). Middle school library media curriculum – grade 6. Retrieved from https://share.hcps.org/sites/CurriculumandInstruction/LibraryMedia/Middle%20School%20Curriculum/Forms/AllItems.aspx
- Superkimbo. (Photographer). (2009, March 01). Curriculum drives technology [Print Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/superkimbo/3318904030/
- Superkimbo. (Photographer). (2009, March 01). A mindset, Not a skill set [Print Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/superkimbo/3318863498/in/photostream/
- Wetherington, B. (Photographer). (2009, Octo 05). Organization [Print Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/macbeck/3985839229/