Welcome to the Scarsdale High School Library Phyllis DiBianco and Leonard Kerson, Librarians Library Catalog At Home Database Access

 

Libraries Build Independent Learners

Through Information Fluency and Inquiry

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Inquiry is an essential component of teaching and learning that empowers students to follow their sense of wonder into new discoveries and insights. The empowered learner calls upon information/inquiry skills to connect with what he or she knows, to ask intriguing questions about what is not known, to investigate the answers, to construct new understandings, and to communicate those understandings with others.

 

A collaborative approach by the librarian and the classroom teacher is the most effective way to teach information fluency skills and strategies; students need to use the skills of inquiry to learn essential content and to construct new meaning. Instruction, designed around an inquiry framework, generates active learning and the formation of new understandings.

 

The information fluency skills required for independent and lifelong learning must follow a coherent developmentally appropriate continuum of instruction and practice throughout grades K–12 and beyond to enable all of our children to succeed in our fast-paced, information glutted world.

 

Scarsdale School Librarians:

Phyllis DiBianco, Head Librarian                                                                                                                                                              Len Kerson                                                                                                                                                                                                          MaryAnn Kingston                                                                                                                                                                        Pat Marwell                                                                                                                                                                            Carole Phillips                                                                                                                                                                                        Jan Schorr                                                                                                                                                                                 Anne Stokes                                                                                                                                                                             Liz Waltzman                                                                                                                                                            Sharon Waskow

 

August 31, 2009

 

 

Scarsdale Schools:

K-12 Information Fluency and Inquiry Benchmark Skills

 

Grade K

The information-fluent student in Grade K is developing the following skills:

·         Understands the alphabetical shelving arrangement of picture books and easy readers

·         Distinguishes between fiction and non-fiction books

·         Requests or chooses materials related to personal interests

·         Shows respect for library and library materials

·         Distinguishes between statements and questions

·         Participates in discussions and listens well

·         Shows respect for the ideas of others

·         Asks questions related to the listening activity

·         Makes predictions about what will happen next in the story

·         Makes text-to-self connections

·         Recalls facts from the listening activity

 

Grade 1

The information-fluent student in Grade 1 is developing the following skills:

·         Knows that the online catalog is used to locate materials within the library

·         Associates certain call numbers with areas of interest

·         Identifies books at his/her reading level (“just right” books)

·         Explores and chooses materials based on personal interests

·         Selects and uses appropriate non-fiction sources

·         Understands what a fact is

·         Makes connections to prior knowledge

·         Extracts some information from illustrations or simple charts

·         Identifies facts which can answer specific questions

·         Identifies plot, characters, time, and setting in a story

·         Discusses characteristics of the work of favorite authors and illustrators

·         Begins to draw conclusions about the main idea of a story, with guidance

·         Participates in discussions and listens well

 

Grade 2

The information-fluent student in Grade 2 is developing the following skills:

·         Wonders (“I wonder” questions during research)

·         Follows steps of inquiry process modeled by teacher and/or librarian

·         Uses online resources with guidance

·         Identifies the “big picture” idea

·         Uses simple note-taking strategies

·         Compares new information with prior knowledge

·         Recognizes the purpose of a table of contents, chapter headings, and an index

·         Credits sources by citing at least the author and title of books used during research

·         Identifies books at his/her reading level (“just right” books)

·         Chooses a variety of fiction and non-fiction

·         Begins to explore various literary genres

·         Compares characters and plots from different stories

·         Participates in discussions and listens well

·         Demonstrates respect for others’ ideas

 

Grade 3

The information-fluent student in Grade 3 is developing the following skills:

·         Wonders (“I wonder” questions during research)

·         Creates questions about a topic with guidance

·         Begins to understand the concept of ‘keyword’ as a research tool 

·         Recognizes the basic structure of the Dewey Decimal System of classification and its purpose

·         Identifies both fiction and non-fiction material at an appropriate reading level  (“just right” books)

·         Uses author, title or keywords to search the online catalog, with some assistance

·         Uses at least two sources for research projects

·         Employs simple note-taking techniques

·         Credits sources by citing author, title, and copyright date

·         Reflects on text during reading or listening

·         Identifies useful information in charts, captions, and sidebars

·         Uses online resources with guidance

·         Understands the basic structure of a website

·         Observes Internet safety procedures and district technology code of conduct

·         Identifies and discusses the problems and solutions in stories

·         Participates in discussions and listens well

·         Demonstrates respect for others’ ideas

 

Grade 4

The information-fluent student in Grade 4 is developing the following skills:

·         Creates list of keywords based on prior knowledge when beginning research

·         Formulates questions to advance research

·         Begins research by using the school library home page to access the online catalog, online encyclopedias, periodical and image databases  

·         Can skim and scan text to determine if material will be useful

·         Begins to use a variety of note-taking strategies as modeled by teacher and/or librarian (i.e. bullet points, keywords, facts, phrases)

·         Begins to paraphrase to record information

·         Recognizes that information on the same topic from two different sources can have discrepancies

·         Cites both print and online sources used during research

·         Identifies the elements of various literary genres

·         Supports interpretation of story (characters, setting, plot) with specific evidence

·         Chooses a variety of fiction and non-fiction at an appropriate reading level

·         Participates in discussions, listens well, and respects others’ ideas

·         Understands the basic structure of a website

·         Observes Internet safety procedures and district technology code of conduct

·         Is aware of personal consequences for inappropriate use of Internet resources

 

Grade 5

The information-fluent student in Grade 5 is developing the following skills:

·         Distinguishes between questions which can be answered by simple fact finding,  those which cannot be answered, and those which lend themselves to an interesting inquiry topic

·         Does research using the school library home page to access the online catalog, online encyclopedias, periodical and image databases 

·         Skims and scans to evaluate both print and electronic information for relevance

·         Evaluates facts for accuracy and recognizes that different sources can provide conflicting information

·         Distinguishes between important and unimportant details

·         Uses various note-taking strategies, including highlighting, underlining, lists, or graphic organizers

·         Uses evidence from text to support opinions

·         Reformulates ideas as new information is gathered

·         Cites all sources properly, using model supplied by teacher and/or librarian

·         Recognizes features of different literary genres

·         Reads a variety of fiction and non-fiction

·         Participates in discussions, listens well, and respects others’ ideas

·         Understands the structure and navigation tools of a website

·         Observes Internet safety procedures and district technology code of conduct

·         Is aware of personal consequences for inappropriate use of Internet resources

Grade 6

The information-fluent student in Grade 6 is developing the following skills:

• Understands the importance of defining the task and developing a research plan
  
  
• Refines and develops questions independently, based on key ideas or areas of focus
  
  
• Uses online catalog independently with increasing sophistication including
  narrowing and broadening search terms to locate books, ebooks and websites
  
  
• Uses a variety of resources, including books, websites and subscription databases  
  
  
• Identifies main ideas and supporting details and is able to organize notes accordingly
  
  
• Combines information and inferences to draw conclusions and create meaning
  
  
• Presents conclusions and supporting facts in a variety of formats
  
  
• Reads a variety of genres
  
  
• Observes Internet safety procedures, including safeguarding personal information

Grade 7

The information-fluent student in Grade 7 is developing the following skills:

• Uses background information to develop keywords and search terms
  
  
• Refines questions to clarify information needed   
  
  
• Evaluates and selects information based on relevance, currency, and accuracy
  
  
• Uses a greater variety of sources including primary documents
  
  
• Organizes notes according to topics and subtopics 
  
  
• Interprets information and ideas by defining, classifying, and inferring
  
  
• Synthesizes information and demonstrates new understanding
  
  
• Cites all sources used including images and is adept at using electronic bibliographic tools
  
  
• Recognizes an author’s point of view; considers alternative perspectives
  
  
• Reads a variety of genres
  
  
• Uses the Internet responsibly, efficiently, and ethically

 

Grade 8

The information-fluent student in Grade 8 is developing the following skills:

• Revises research questions or problems to arrive at a viable topic
  
  
• Develops an organizational plan for note-taking and citing sources
  
  
• Uses a variety of search tools and databases to do advanced searching
  
  
• Draws conclusions based on explicit and implied information
  
  
• Uses information to create original products
  
  
• Seeks information from diverse sources to get balanced view
  
  
• Respects intellectual property rights by crediting sources
  
  
• Understands principals of intellectual freedom  
  
  
• Abides by the Internet Safety and Acceptable Use Policy
  
  
• Shares reading experiences in a variety of ways
  
  
• Reads a variety of genres
  
  

Grade 9:  

The information-fluent student in Grade 9 is developing the following skills:

• Understands the relationship between the big idea and supporting ideas within a topic
  
  
• Works collaboratively and cooperatively for successful group research projects
  
  
• Conducts advanced online searches using Boolean logic and other sophisticated search functions
  
  
• Identifies keywords and synonyms to further research
  
  
• Uses appropriate note-taking strategies
  
  
• Cites all sources according to MLA or other standardized style formats
  
  
• Seeks and locates information about personal interests both independently and with assistance
• Respects intellectual property rights by crediting sources

• Understands principals of intellectual freedom 
  
  
• Uses Internet sites responsibly, efficiently and ethically, observing safety guidelines
  
  
• Reads a variety of fiction and nonfiction materials

Grade 10:  

The information-fluent student in Grade 10 is developing the following skills:

• Develops and refines a research topic, problem, or question in consultation with teacher and librarian
  
  
• Refines questions to provide a framework for proceeding with research
  
  
• Uses periodical databases effectively for locating relevant scholarly articles
  
  
• Uses an outline to demonstrate relationships among ideas
  
  
• Considers various points of view and merits of resources  
  
  
• Selects information carefully to give an accurate picture of the research topic
  
  
• Expresses own ideas creatively in a variety of formats
  
  
• Reads to explore new ideas beyond the required curriculum; reads for pleasure, to learn, to solve problems, and to explore different ideas
  
  
• Uses a variety of tools to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts and other audiences
  
  
• Gives credit for all sources, citing them properly in notes and bibliography
  
  
• Uses Internet sites responsibly, efficiently, and ethically

• Respects intellectual property rights by crediting sources
  
  
• Understands principals of intellectual freedom 

 

Grade 11:  The information-fluent student in Grade 11 is developing the following skills:

·         Plans inquiry to test hypothesis or to validate thesis; develops own point of view and supports it with evidence

·         Pursues balanced perspective by evaluating information based on authority, accuracy, point of view, and reliability

·         Expresses own ideas through creative projects in a variety of formats

·         Demonstrates informed response to literary works

·         Uses print and non-print information resources for information and personal needs; actively seeks answers to questions

• Respects intellectual property rights by crediting sources
  
  

·         Understands principals of intellectual freedom 

·         Uses network, hardware and Internet sites responsibly, efficiently, and ethically

·         Observes Internet safety procedures including those appropriate to social networking

Grade 12:  

 The information-fluent student in Grade 12 is developing the following skills:

 

• Explores problems or questions for which there are multiple answers or no “best” answer
  
  
• Uses electronic resources effectively to answer questions by applying advanced search strategies
  
  
• Anticipates the best resources based on previous research experience, and then seeks additional resources for a particular need from a wide array of print, subscription databases, free web, and media.
  
  
• Challenges ideas in text and makes notes of questions to pursue in additional sources
  
  
• Builds a conceptual framework by synthesizing ideas gathered from multiple sources
  
  
• Presents complex ideas and original conclusions effectively
  
  
• Understands text on both a literal and an abstract level; interprets information
  
  
• Participates in literary discussions 
  
  
• Extends respect for intellectual property and copyright by giving credit for directly quoted material as well as ideas
  
  
• Observes Internet safety procedures including safeguarding personal information

 

 

Adapted from:
Libraries Build Independent Learners Through Information Literacy and Inquiry Benchmark Skills 
New York City Department of Education -- Office of Library Services  
http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/FD634F79-A074-4EAC-9A27-8A42FC5D7A21/45581/BENCHMARKBROCHUREINQUIRYandK12.pdf