• The K-5 Library/Media curriculum assists students in Navigating Library Resources, Text Appreciation, Research, and Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy. In the Grades 3-5 curriculum, district librarians provide guidance and assistance to students as they move towards independence in these areas. Students in Grades 3-5 read for both pleasure and purpose, selecting from a vast catalog of diverse fiction and non-fiction texts compiled from sources such as the Mark Twain, ALA, Dogwood Readers, Newbury, and Caldecott nominees and award-winners. Students learn how to review, recommend, and compare texts as well as how to independently select appropriate texts for varying purposes. In doing so, students learn how to navigate the library, using the online management systems and call numbers to find, select, and check out books. They learn how to be safe and responsible digital citizens and careful, skillful researchers; these skills allow them to access online databases (i.e. - GALE, Ebsco, World Book) and develop research skills to be applied in content area projects, considering issues such as sourcing and reliability when doing so.

    Grade Level(s): 3rd-5th

    Related Priority Standards (State &/or National): 

    K-12 Library Media Curricula have common Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas.   These are organized across four common K-12 strands - Navigating Library Resources, Text Appreciation, Research, and Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy.  Learning within a given grade level is meant to build upon previous work.

    Essential Questions

    Strand: Navigating Library Resources

    • How do I find what I need?
    • What is the purpose of the library?
    • How can I use my library skills to be more effective in finding what I seek?
    • Who is included in the library community?

    Strand: Text Appreciation

    • How does literacy help us to better understand ourselves and our world?
    • How can I understand, utilize, and appreciate all types of text?
    • How do I select the right book for me?
    • How do I select books that are windows and mirrors for me?

    Strand: Research

    • How do I find what I need to know?
    • How can others help me grow my thinking?
    • How do I evaluate and use sources ethically, appropriately, and critically?
    • How do I share my learning?

    Strand: Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy

    • How can I manage my identity in a global, digital world?
    • How can I be safe and ethical with technology? 
    • How can I share my ideas and knowledge with the world?
    • How do I efficiently and responsibly navigate through a digital world?

    Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas

    Strand: Navigating Library Resources

    • Patrons bring curiosity to the library.
    • Patrons seek answers to their questions.
    • Patrons are part of a larger community and are responsible for care of the resources and the space.
    • Patrons can seek and find materials that offer a diversity of perspectives.
    • Patrons can navigate the library using skills such as searching, locating, and evaluating.
    • Patrons provide recommendations and feedback within the library community.
    • Patrons collaboratively build the library’s collection.

    Strand: Text Appreciation

    • Readers will explore a variety of materials for lifelong learning and recreational reading.
    • Readers will share and reflect on what they read.
    • Readers select books that represent diverse ideas, cultures, and genres of literacy.
    • Reading for pleasure or information has lifelong application.   

    Strand: Research

    • Researchers display curiosity through inquiry by defining a topic and generating questions.
    • Researchers work together to broaden and deepen understandings and solve problems with information.
    • Researchers engage with information ethically, appropriately, and critically, both online and in print
    • Researchers read widely and critically to ask and answer questions.

    Strand: Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy

    • Digital citizens take active roles by asking questions about their digital world.
    • Digital citizens seek and share in ethical and responsible ways when they are online.
    • Digital citizens use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts, and community members, to examine issues and problems through multiple perspectives.
    • Digital citizens select and organize information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods.
    • Digital citizens create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
    • Digital citizens consider the impact of what they share with the online community.

    Course-Level Scope & Sequence (Units &/or Skills)

    Skills are organized into four strands - Navigating Library Resources, Text Appreciation, Research, and Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy.  In addition, skills within these strands fall into one of several domains, noted below in parentheses.  These include Inquire (I), Include & Collaborate (I/C), Curate & Explore (C/E), and Engage (E).

    Navigating Library Resources (3-5)

    • Develop keywords to search for what is needed (I)
    • Be a responsible patron within the library community (I/C)
    • Locate materials using the library catalog (E/C)
    • Understand that libraries are organized so resources are easier for patrons to find (E/C)
    • Share one’s reading suggestions with others (E)

    Text Appreciation (3-5)

    • Seek recommendations from other sources (I)
    • Share and reflect on what is read, supporting thinking with evidence from the text (I/C)
    • Independently find diverse titles for recreational reading (E/C)
    • Understand specific fiction and nonfiction genres (E/C)
    • Critically listen to and evaluate books nominated for various state awards (E)

    Research (3-5)

    • Develop a plan to guide research (I)
    • Share research with others (I)
    • Seek and represent different viewpoints (I/C
    • Use a variety of tools to help share research (I/C)
    • Question if sources are valid and accurate. (Explore & Curate)
    • Gather information from many different types of texts to answer questions and to learn different perspectives (E/C)
    • Think about misunderstandings and how new things are learned from research (E/C)
    • Solve problems through cycles of design, implementation, and reflection (E/C)
    • Persist through self-directed pursuits by tinkering and making (E/C)
    • Demonstrate respect for others’ intellectual property and authorship (E)

    Digital Citizenship & Technology Literacy (3-5)

    • Question the accuracy of online information (I)
    • Contribute responsibly when using technology (I/C)
    • Understand that people create a digital footprint when online (E/C)
    • Consider one’s audience when creating or commenting online (E) =

    Course Resources & Materials

    In addition to books and other materials available for checkout, library media resources include

    Online resources available through ConnectED & St. Louis County Library

    Date Last Revised/Approved: 2018