The Bush School
Library & Instructional Technology Department

Lower School Curriculum (Grades K-5)

Information Literacy (Library)

Kindergarten | 1st Grade | 2nd Grade | 3rd Grade | 4th Grade | 5th Grade | 3-5 Instructional Technology

Kindergarten

  • Locate basic areas of the library facility
  • Locate materials appropriate to needs and abilities
  • Recognize and articulate information needs
  • Develop and demonstrate listening and responding skills
  • Develop a wider appreciation of children's literature
  • Develop and demonstrate appropriate general library behavior
    • walking, talking quietly, lining up
    • appropriate care and handling of materials
    • understanding the concept of borrowing

First Grade

  • Explore more of the library facility
  • Locate materials appropriate to needs and abilities
    • beginning readers, fiction, non fiction, periodicals
  • Recognize and articulate information needs
  • Develop increased attention span and demonstrate maturing listening and responding skills
  • Demonstrate clear understanding of appropriate library behavior
  • Develop skill in care of library materials

Second Grade

  • Explore more of the library facility
  • Locate materials appropriate to needs and abilities
    • using knowledge of facility and computer catalog
    • utilizing a variety of material types
  • Recognize and articulate information needs
  • Develop increased attention span listening to longer read aloud sessions

Third Grade

  • Locate all public areas of library facility
  • Locate materials appropriate to needs and abilities
    • using knowledge of facility and computer catalog
    • utilizing a variety of material types
    • utilizing computer and web resources
    • developing ability to articulate preferences
  • Develop understanding of classification systems
  • Develop understanding of the structure of information sources
  • Explore basic reference tools
  • Recognize and articulate information and research needs

Fourth Grade

  • Develop a deeper understanding of classification
  • Develop a familiarity with a variety of print and electronic reference materials
  • Develop appreciation and response to literature genres
  • Recognize and articulate information seeking tasks and strategies
  • Demonstrate the ability to locate print and electronic materials in the library with minimal adult assistance
  • Demonstrate the ability to locate relevant information
  • Learn the basics of note taking, paraphrasing, and citation

Fifth Grade

  • Demonstrate the ability to independently locate print and electronic materials in the library
  • Develop effective information seeking strategies
  • Develop appropriate use, synthesis and evaluation of information
  • Develop understanding of a broad range of literature genres, functions and techniques

Instructional Technology

Technology in the Primary Grades (K-2)

When we think of technology, the first question is, “What is technology?”

Technology has two aspects:

  • Design technology
  •  Information/communication technology

Both involve the use of tools and materials to complete a task, but in the primary grades we think of technology in its broader sense: as tools and materials used to complete tasks and to solve problems, not simply as the use of computers.  

Our aim is to provide primary age students with developmentally appropriate activities to explore and master these tools and materials. We have also made a conscious decision to emphasize experiences that promote the development of motor and social skills and de-emphasize the use of computers in the primary classrooms.  Some of these experiences may include gardening; cutting, modeling, and building with various materials; constructing ramps and testing and adjusting them based on results; writing with various implements depending on purpose and audience; using calculators when appropriate; and measuring using standard or nonstandard units, depending on the context and required result.

These activities enhance the skills needed by future engineers, designers, architects etc. In addition, they enhance skills that will be used by every normal person in everyday life such as seeing a project through from design to completion; cooperative communication skills; hand-eye coordination; patience and perseverance; and error-correction.

There are currently no computers in primary classrooms except for one desktop computer for each teacher. Teachers sometimes make use of cameras, document cameras, and data projectors to enable students to view a variety of resources, including online resources.

This practice, which has been in place for at least 6 years, is influenced by the following factors:

  • Current research that provides compelling evidence that computers are not developmentally appropriate tools for the young*.
  • Many computer activities use the computer as a child sitter or as a ‘skill and drill’ device. This is antithetical to our educational philosophy, which emphasizes critical and creative thinking and hands-on experiences.
  • In the primary grades, student work is often published in a hand-written form. Students are simultaneously working on the writing process and the fine motor skills of handwriting.
  • The physical tasks (keyboarding, mouse-clicking) and the ergonomics of using a computer, i.e. the effect on posture, potential for carpal tunnel problems, are potentially harmful to young children.
  • Too much multimedia exposure encourages passivity, and our goal is active learning.
  • Social goals for primary students are undermined by individual, solitary use of computers. Our emphasis in the primary grades is on community building. Although opportunities exist for web-based community activities, we choose to focus on the classroom and the Bush School community rather than virtual communities.
  • Information found on a computer is abstract and very rarely written for young children. We emphasize children exploring and seeking information in the real world that surrounds them, a more developmentally appropriate approach with young learners.

* Jane Healey, in Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children’s Minds—for Better and Worse

Technology in the Intermediate Grades (3-5)

Standards Categories:

  1. Creativity and Innovation
  2. Communication and Collaboration
  3. Research and Information Fluency
  4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
  5. Digital (Global) Citizenship
  6. Technology Operations and Concepts

 

The numbers in parenthesis following each Learning Activity identify the standards most closely linked to the activity described.

 

 

Examples of Learning Activities in which students might engage during Grades 3-5:

  • Use keyboards efficiently and effectively. (6)
  • Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich resources. (1, 2)
  • Use digital-imaging technology to modify or create works of art for use in a digital presentation. (1, 2 6)
  • Discuss basic issues related to responsible, ethical use of technology and information and describe personal consequences of inappropriate use. (5)
  • Use simulations and graphical organizers to explore and depict patterns of growth, such as the life cycles of insects or plants. (3, 4, 6)
  • Demonstrate the ability to navigate in virtual environments such as electronic books, simulation software, and Web sites. (6)
  • Identify and investigate a global issue and generate possible solutions using digital tools and resources. (3, 4)
  • Recognize bias in digital resources while researching an environmental issue with guidance from the teacher. (3, 4)
  • Debate the effect of existing and emerging technologies on individuals, society, and the global community (5, 6)
  • Practice injury prevention by applying a variety of ergonomic strategies when using technology. (6)

Library & IT | Bush School