The collaborative lesson plan created in SLM 552, Library Practicum course, is a great example of the possibilities and resources a Library Media Specialist can provide to classroom teachers. With this assignment I was able to work with the content area teacher. Together we implemented a well organized and thought out lesson plan that met the needs of the classroom teacher’s students and provided comprehensive instruction in both the content area standards in alignment with the American Library Association standards. The content area teacher and I also used this lesson to meet the technology standards required.
“Candidates make use of a variety of instructional strategies and assessment tools to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments in partnership with classroom teachers and other educators.” With this particular lesson the classroom teacher and I used a variety of instructional strategies to keep students engaged in the lesson. The students were instructed first by the classroom teacher on author’s voice and style, and then I introduced the students to the variety of databases offered by our school system using PowerPoint and Screencastic. With Screencastic I created a tutorial of how to navigate through the database Ebsco Host.
I truly enjoyed this lesson because this type of collaboration is the driving force to keep this field of education alive and thriving. By creating plans like this one and working with classroom teachers shows that the library media specialist has a purpose. It also shows others that Media Specialists play a pivotal role in education.
If I could have changed anything about this experience, I wish I could have had more time in both the collaboration process and the teaching. I think if our schedules would have been more conducive, the classroom teacher and I could have expanded this lesson and the project attached to it. The students created PowerPoint Presentations to present the authors’ of the Holocaust style and voice by completing an analysis of the selections of their chosen author, and then also making the connections of the style and voice with Elie Wiesel. Students were also required to utilize the databases from our library website and to link a primary document in their presentation. The projects the students created in the end turned out to be very impressive. Many of the students, after taking a short post survey mentioned that they had wished they could have been taught about the databases in earlier grades.
The classroom teacher I worked with on this assignment was very open to collaborating with me, and was glad to have the help with this unit. She shared with me that she wanted something new and something engaging to get her students, especially some of her underachieving and reluctant students, excited about this unit. It was refreshing to work with another teacher and create a lesson and project that we found engaging and was also engaging for our students.