Selection+of+Curriculum+Area,+Grade+Level,+and+Rationale

= Selection of Curriculum Area, Grade Level, and Rationale by Melisa Hunter =



 I have chosen to focus the development of my collection on resources that look at local plants and animals. This supports the Grade 4 Life Science curriculum which covers local habitats and communities. At first glance, the materials in these sections of my library seem lacking or very old. One of the challenges that I will face will be to find appropriate materials in French. I will do my best to find these, but if the choice is limited in French, I will buy any good resources that I find in English in order to improve the collection on this topic. = = =**Rationale:** =

= =  This is my second year as a teacher-librarian in a single track French Immersion elementary school. Last year, I was fortunate to work closely with the intermediate teachers on 5 major collaborative research projects. One of the research projects that I worked on was with the Grade 4 teacher on animal habitat and communities from the British Columbia Grade 4 Life Science curriculum. When I was looking for resources for that project I realized that this area of our collection was either getting very old or was quite thin in spots. Since this teacher is starting the year off with a smaller research project on this topic, I thought that this area of the library would be an important one to improve.

 The teacher in question is starting off the year with this mini research project because she has the opportunity to take her class, in mid-September, to a Wetland Restoration Workshop in Kamloops put on by the BC Wildlife Federation. They will have an opportunity to learn how to care for and maintain wetland and grassland plant species. This fits into the part of the Grade 4 science curriculum where they are to learn how to “construct and explain the elements of a simple food chain” and “prepare and illustrate a simple, local habitat improvement plan that shows which plants and animals benefit from the plan” (BC Science IRP Grade 4, 2005, p. 41). When I heard about this teacher’s relevant field trip, I thought that partnership agreements could perhaps be drawn up between my school library and the BC Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, and our local First Nations people, the Secwepemc.

 It is stated in the BC Science IRP that: “ The science curriculum guide integrates prescribed learning outcomes within a classroom model that includes instructional strategies, assessment tools and models that can help teachers provide all students with an understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal science. Integration of authentic Aboriginal content into the K to 7 science curriculum with the support of Aboriginal people will help promote understanding of BC’s Aboriginal peoples among all students”. (BC Science IRP Grade 4, 2005, p. 10//)// As a result, I feel that this is an area of my collection that I need to improve.

I am fortunate to be able to work with a First Nations support worker who is assigned to our school this year. Her job description includes providing support to First Nations students who have demonstrated an academic need, and also to share her culture with the general student population. She will be a valuable resource for when I look for Aboriginal resources to add to my collection to support this curriculum strand on local plants and animals in the Grade 4 Science IRP. = =

 Resources about animals, besides being an obvious choice because of curriculum connections, are appealing to all ages. In fact, books about animals may be the number one choice for primary and lower intermediate children when they choose to borrow non-fiction books from the library. Bishop states in //The Collection Program in Schools// that it is important to ask the following questions: “ Whom does the collection serve? What are the users’ informational needs? What are the subjects taught in the school? What are the teachers’ instructional needs? Are there groups of students with special needs?” (Bishop, 2007, p.11)//.// Choosing to improve this section of the collection would not only enrich the experience of the students conducting the research, but would also add to the experience of the students in grades 1 to 4, as they would have access to a more current selection of resources in a popular area of interest.

 Along with print sources, we also need to consider what online resources are available for the students. This will apply to resources that are appropriate for my target area of local animal habitat and communities including Aboriginal connections. My school district subscribes to World Book online and to a number of EBSCO databases. This means that there is no cost involved from my library budget to access these resources. I do, however, need to explore and evaluate these resources in order to guide my students in their use of them. I also need to be on the lookout for appropriate websites and provide access to these websites to my students. Elizabeth Prevost states that “today, with the increasing popularity of the Internet as a resource, it can be argued that an acceptable balanced collection in an elementary school requires catalogued Internet sites” (Prevost, 2009, p. 8).

 I feel that it will be very worthwhile to update and expand the number of resources on local plants and animals that we have in my library. At first glance this section of the library looks old and does not necessarily contain a local focus, which is an important aspect of this strand of the Grade 4 Life Science IRP. It can definitely use an update. Since the animal section of my library’s non-fiction collection is popular and Grade 4 teachers enjoy teaching this life science unit as a research project, I know that the new materials will be welcomed.



= = =The general outcomes for this section of the Grade 4 Science IRP are: = = = = =
 * compare the structures and behaviours of local animals and plants in different habitats and communities
 * analyse simple food chains
 * demonstrate awareness of the Aboriginal concept of respect for the Environment
 * determine how personal choices and actions have environmental consequences

The specific outcomes are set out under each general outcome.
= = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">//It is expected that students will://


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">compare the structures and behaviours of local animals and plants in different habitats and communities

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">//The following set of indicators may be used to assess student achievement for each corresponding prescribed learning outcome. Students who have fully met the prescribed learning outcome are able to://


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">explain in detail why organisms are found in specific local habitats, based on their structures and behaviours
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">identify the structural adaptations of two or more organisms
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">with teacher support, infer and justify what communities might interact in a particular environment

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">//It is expected that students will://


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">analyse simple food chains

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">//The following set of indicators may be used to assess student achievement for each corresponding prescribed learning outcome. Students who have fully met the prescribed learning outcome are able to://


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">construct and explain the elements of a simple food chain
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">interpret population changes from data in one- or two factor graphs (e.g., rabbit only; rabbit/coyote)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">//It is expected that students will://


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">demonstrate awareness of the Aboriginal concept of respect for the Environment

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">//The following set of indicators may be used to assess student achievement for each corresponding prescribed learning outcome. Students who have fully met the prescribed learning outcome are able to://


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">describe in detail how to show respect for the environment (e.g., clean up school yard, recycle, weed garden) create accurate, detailed drawings to illustrate stories that demonstrate the relationship Aboriginal peoples have with the land, water, animals, plants, and sky (e.g., respect for water, earth)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">//It is expected that students will://


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">determine how personal choices and actions have environmental consequences

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">//The following set of indicators may be used to assess student achievement for each corresponding prescribed learning outcome. Students who have fully met the prescribed learning outcome are able to://

= = = = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">The complete BC IRP for Grade 4 science can be found in the 2005 Ministry of British Columbia Integrated Resource Package for Grade 4 Science here: [] = = = = = = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">**Works Cited**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">document the steps involved in supporting actions that positively affect the school environment (such as those involved in a garbage-less lunch campaign), using detailed checklists, group projects
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">prepare and illustrate a simple, local habitat improvement plan that shows which plants and animals benefit from the plan.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Bishop, K. (2007). //The collection program in schools: concepts, practices, and information sources// (4. ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia. (2005). //Science Grade 4 IRP Package 2005.//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Prevost, E. (2009). Online collections are essential: Collaborative collections in elementary school libraries. //Literacies, Learning, and Libraries// 2 (1), 7-11.

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