Collaboration is Key

Librarians are always excited when given the opportunity to collaborate with teachers, and I am no exception to that.  I have had quite a few opportunities to collaborate this semester, and it's only February.  That is really exciting for me!  (Yes, I am one of those librarians . . . the ones who feel they are not doing their job unless they are helping others.) So far, I spent time with Ms. Boykin's Lifetime Nutrition classes, Mr. Santanello's English II classes, and the English III team.

Ms. Boykin's classes needed to research restaurants, find a menu item, and create/find a recipe that would make that menu item healthier.  We did this same lesson last semester, but we tweaked it a bit to make it run more smoothly.  To learn more about this lesson, go to November's blog, Pop Up Library and Bathroom Book Talks.  Basically, we took one of the restaurant categories out (chicken) and replaced it with a more popular one (Italian food).  Other than that, we still did the restaurant "speed dating," but we called it a restaurant introduction.  This semester we made sure there were computers available right after our activity so they could do the research while the introduction was still fresh in their minds.  It is amazing how those little changes made all the difference with this lesson.

          

Mr. Santanello came to me when Media Literacy popped up in the English II TEKS.  We decided that website evaluation would be the best route to go since that is such a necessary skill in today's tsunami of information.  After careful consideration, I decided to use the CRAAP method of reviewing websites.  I created a library guide for his classes, and here is what that lesson looked like . . . Media Literacy - Mr. Santanello

In addition, the English III classes began their big research project on the topic of College and Career readiness this semester.  I created a library guide for them, College and Career Readiness - English III, and then I went into each of their classes to teach the students how to use the library guide including how to access our eBooks.  When I first arrived on the scene last year, I was amazed at the number of teachers who did not use our digital resources.  I am slowly introducing both teachers and students to the credible sources within our databases, and I feel as if I have made some progress. Having said that, I am still amazed by the amount of general Google searching that continues.  That is why the media literacy lesson with Mr. Santanello's class is so important.  Hopefully, I can get the other English II classes on board for next year.  I swear, some days I feel as if I have hit a brick wall, and other days I feel as if I really am making a difference.  It's always an adventure!