How can the school library learning commons support you?
The school library and its staff are there to support you!
As new teachers entering the profession, you may not be aware of the range of resources, services, and supports that are offered by the school library and library staff. The purpose of this toolkit is to introduce you to what your school library can offer to enhance student learning, support you and your students with resources, and navigate teaching strategies related to inquiry and research, reading engagement, information and media literacy, and integrating technology into learning.
This toolkit will introduce you to the possibilities. We encourage you to seek out the teacher-librarian or library technician at your school to pursue these ideas and connect them to you and your students’ specific needs.
Active Learning Experiences
BORROW BOOKS: Reading creates readers. The school
USE THE VIRTUAL LIBRARY: Use this virtual hub for finding resources, learning supports, and collaborative activities.
INSPIRE CREATIVITY: Provocations in the virtual makerspace connect design thinking to inquiry learning.
INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY: Make videos, create podcasts, share amazing presentations. The library can help.
Diverse Learning Resources
ENGAGE READERS: Book choices to engage every reader, in multiple formats, in print and online.
INSPIRE INQUIRY: Rich print and online resource collections to inform research and inspire inquiry.
PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL MAKERSPACES: Resources and ideas to spark inquiry, creativity, and design thinking.
CURATED RESOURCES FROM THE WEB: Selected for reliability, authority, and relevance to learning.
Participatory Learning Environments
EXTEND YOUR VIRTUAL CLASSROOM: Enhance learning opportunities. Connect the library to your virtual classroom.
PARTICIPATORY VIRTUAL SPACES: Online reading, virtual book clubs, author visits and read-alouds, and virtual making.
DIVERSITY AND WELL BEING: School library programs support equity and inclusion and the well being of every student.
Expert Instruction and Guidance
The school library learning commons has a leading role in assisting learners to hone and apply an expanded notion of literacy as well as fostering an active reading culture.
Your school’s teacher-librarian can support you in many ways, including co-planning and co-teaching to integrate learning literacies into your lessons and units of instructions. All library staff can support you with ideas and resources.
Seek support with:
Learning Literacies:
Digital Citizenship:
Resource Selection: School library staff have excellent knowledge of print and online resources to support independent reading as well as research and inquiry.
Teaching Resources: School library staff can help you to find resources to support your own professional learning and classroom instruction.
Co-Planning, Teaching and Assessing:
RESOURCE CURATION: School library staff have excellent knowledge of print and online resources to support independent reading as well as research and inquiry. They can suggest specific resources to meet specific learning needs.
CO-PLANNING & CO-TEACHING: Partner with your teacher-librarian to plan, teach, and assess learning.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING: Your teacher-librarian can facilitate PD to meet evolving needs.
ONLINE ETHICS AND SAFETY: Your school librarian can provide copyright advice and digital citizenship instruction.