District #86 Library Curriculum

Vision Statement

The school library media program is a vital element of the total education program of District 86.  The program provides instructional activities, resources, facilities, and technologies to enable students and staff to become effective and efficient users of information.  The students' learning opportunities are enhanced with the use of the technology available in the library media centers.  Reading literacy is a central theme of the program.  Resources are provided to stimulate interest in reading and viewing and using information and ideas.  The program provides intellectual and physical access to materials in all formats for the students and staff.  The facilities of the program are inviting, accessible, stimulating, open and staffed for individual and group use.  
 

Scheduling of Classes:

At the K-5 level, every class is scheduled once a week for library/computer lab time.  Part of that time is spent checking out library books and the rest is utilized for library and technology curriculum lessons.  During times the library and lab are not scheduled for these classes, teachers can sign up to use the library and/or lab in ways that support student learning and the classroom curriculum.
 

Library Curriculum:

The goal of the library program is to increase competence and stimulate interest in reading, viewing, and using information and ideas.  During their time in the library, the students learn the importance of proper book care and how to use the library, including the online card catalog.  The students also learn about the different types of books (fiction and non-fiction) and where they are located.  Time is spent discussing the parts of books and the classification system used to organize them on the shelves.  Students also learn about the reference section and how to obtain information from these books.  At the younger grades, the students have many different stories read aloud to them to help in the development of lifelong readers.
 

Technology Curriculum:

The goal of the technology program is to support student learning, as well as to enhance and enrich students’ classroom experiences through the use of technology.  During library/computer lab time, we provide basic literacy technology skills using a variety of software in order to lay the foundation for teachers to use technology to support, enhance and enrich their classroom curriculum.   Once literacy level skills are mastered, we integrate technology lessons into the classroom curriculum, challenge students to think and create, while targeting NETS standards for students. 

Student Internet use is filtered for inappropriate content, staff members preview sites before using them with students and a staff member is present to supervise when students are using the Internet.  Besides research, the Internet is used to collaborate with others in a safe environment.  For example, we utilize The Collaboratory Project, a Northwestern University initiative, to extend students' reading experiences while participating in The Monarch Awards, sponsored by the Illinois School Library Media Association.

Our K-2 labs have 14 computer workstations for students, our 3-5 labs have 25 workstations, and CJHS has a variety of labs.  They include several mini-labs in classrooms, both a modular lab and an IT lab as part of CJHS’ exploratory classes, plus a Reference Room lab and two other open labs that are available for staff to sign up to use during class times. 

The software listed below is used during computer lab technology lessons.  It is not a list of all the software available to our students, as we have a variety of software for drill and practice type skills for language arts, math, social studies and science.  We use Sunburst typing products: Type to Learn Jr and New Keys for Kids at the K-2 level, Type to Learn and Type for Fun at the 3-5 level, and CJHS follows up with Type to Learn 3 and Type to Learn Assessment.

Technology curriculum software:

          Graph Club, Graph Master, and Excel (spreadsheets and graphing)

          Kidspiration and Inspiration (graphic organizers)

          Microsoft Access – CJHS only (database)

          Microsoft PowerPoint (presentation software)

          Microsoft Publisher (desktop publishing)

          Nvu (web page creation)

          Paint, Tux Paint and Storybook Weaver (picture telling)

          Storybook Weaver and Microsoft Word (word processors)