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Holly Wilson MLIS 5050 Information Literacy Needs Assessment Plan of Action & Lesson Plan

**Plan of Action** The most glaring deficit discovered from the Needs Assessment was the students’ understanding of what information they could find in an encyclopedia. Along with this identified gap is also the gap among students with special needs. According to Figure 3, the two classes with inclusion students typically had a slightly lower percentage of understanding than the other three classes. These two identified gaps prove the need for instruction in using an encyclopedia and including a variety of learning strategies when teaching how to use reference sources. When tallying the responses from the questionnaire, it was discovered many students selected almanac as their response for the encyclopedia question. This identifies the need for clarification between the facts that can be found in an almanac and the more thorough information found in an encyclopedia. To begin “filling the information literacy gap,” the first step will be teaching several mini-lessons in the library with hands-on strategies about specific reference sources the students struggled with on the Needs Assessment. These mini-lessons will cover all eight reference sources, and specifically will include newspaper and almanac scavenger hunts with partners, and a lesson on reading carefully for understanding. Next, a lesson on how to use encyclopedias and what information can be found in them will be taught before students begin their research project about explorers in the second semester of the school year. Following the lesson on encyclopedias, a review lesson will address the similarities and differences between almanacs and encyclopedias, which the Needs Assessment showed needed clarification. Finally, the students will work in pairs and use several of the resources, including an atlas, thesaurus, dictionary, non-fiction books, and encyclopedia for their research project on explorers. This research project will be a review and application of what the students have learned about using reference sources over the course of the school year.

**How to Use an Encyclopedia to Find Information** //Encyclopedia Lesson Plan//

magazines, newspapers).
 * __Standards__**
 * AASL Standard:**
 * 1.1.4** Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.
 * Tennessee** **English/Language Arts Standards – Grade 4:**
 * 0401.4.8** Use and discern appropriate reference sources in various formats (e.g., interviews with family and community; encyclopedia, card/electronic catalogs, almanacs,

What is an encyclopedia? How do I use an encyclopedia to find information? What information can I find in an encyclopedia?
 * __Essential Questions__**

Students will learn what an encyclopedia is, how to use it, and what information can be found in it.
 * __Lesson Goal__**

Students will: - Analyze the format of an encyclopedia and the information it contains - Play a team game using an encyclopedia - Collect information about a selected topic from an encyclopedia
 * __Objectives__**

- Students know where to find the encyclopedias in the library.
 * __Prior Knowledge__**

Teacher will pose the following question to the students: Can anyone tell me what you might use an encyclopedia for? When we research, there are several sources we use. We have already talked about a few of those resources. Today we are going to find out what information we can find in an encyclopedia for our research on explorers starting next week. Direct the students’ attention to the board where the day’s essential questions will be written. Read these and the lesson objective to the students: Use and discern appropriate reference sources in various formats (e.g.,interviews with family and community; encyclopedia, card/electronic catalogs, almanacs, magazines, newspapers). Review the information that each source that has been previously covered contains and how it will help the students when they begin their explorer research for social studies. Teacher will say: Today we will focus on what an encyclopedia is and how to use it, and play a team game using the encyclopedia to find information. After that, you will work with a partner to collect information about an assigned topic from an encyclopedia. This will be practice for when you begin researching an explorer next week for social studies. 1. Bring students to the carpet and have them sit in pairs. Give each pair a volume of the //World Book Encyclopedia//. Explain that an encyclopedia gives information about common people, places, and topics. Have this list of terms on the board: guide words, alphabetical, pronunciation guide, entry word, author, topics, article, volumes. Walk through the terms with the students, having them find the particular part of the encyclopedia in their volume (point to the guide words, notice it’s in alphabetical order, etc.). 2. Talk about how dictionaries and encyclopedias are similar. Create a Venn diagram on chart paper comparing and contrasting the two sources. Librarian then models how to look up a topic (Helen Keller) in the encyclopedia and highlights the important sections that can be found in an encyclopedia article. Point out specifically that when looking up a person in an encyclopedia, he or she will be listed under their last name. Librarian leads a discussion about whether another reference source could be used to find this information. 3. Have students return to their team tables and give each team four encyclopedia volumes and their Encyclopedia Trivia Sheet of 4 questions. Group 1: Volumes - 1(A), 3(C-Ch), 7(F), 12(L) Group 2: Volumes - 5(D), 9(H), 13(M), 18(So-Sz) Group 3: Volumes - 2(B), 10(I), 15(P), 19(T) Group 4: Volumes - 6(E), 11(J-K), 16(Q-R), 21(W-Z) Group 5: Volumes - 4(Ci-Cz), 14(N-O), 17(S-Sn), 20(U-V) Tell students they are competing against the other teams to be the first to find the information that their trivia sheet asks for. Allow no more than 10 minutes for the students to work. They should work as a team to find the information. Librarian monitors student work and answers and assists as needed. When all teams are finished, discuss anything the students discovered about using the encyclopedia. Discuss pros and cons of using the encyclopedia for information. Have this list of topics written on the board: Alaska, beetle, canoeing, coal, diamond, elephants, forest, gardening, Hawaii, insect, knights and knighthood, London, mining, Olympic Games, porcelain, rubber, silk, stained glass, trout, Valley Forge, Yellowstone National Park. Separate children into pairs at their team tables. Give students the Encyclopedia Practice Page, and have them select a topic from the board to research in the encyclopedia (each topic can only be chosen by one pair of students). After selecting their topic, the pair should select the correct //World Book Encyclopedia// volume that contains their topic. Have student pairs locate their topic in the encyclopedia and answer the questions on their practice page together. Librarian observes and assists as needed. Have students write on a sticky note (Ticket Out the Door) their name, one thing they learned about how to use an encyclopedia, and one thing they learned about what kind of information they can find in an encyclopedia (write these directions on the board). Then, have students share their learning with someone they did not work with in a team or partnership today. Students will leave sticky notes on the board when they leave for teacher to check for understanding.
 * __Procedures (Instructional Sequence)__**
 * A.** **Hook:** **//2 minutes//**
 * B**. **Focus:** **//3 minutes//**
 * C. Curriculum Correlation:** **//2 minutes//**
 * D.** **Guided Practice:** **//20 minutes//**
 * E. Independent Practice:** //15 minutes//
 * F.** **Closure:** **//5 minutes//**

The librarian will observe students for understanding as they use the encyclopedia to find the correct information. Student worksheets and Tickets Out the Door will be evaluated for accuracy of work and for understanding of how and what to use an encyclopedia for.
 * __Assessment__**

What is an encyclopedia? How is an encyclopedia similar to a dictionary? How is it different? What are the guide words? Where do we find them? Could I use a different resource to look up information about Helen Keller? What kind of information would that source give me? What are the advantages of using an encyclopedia? What are the disadvantages of using an encyclopedia? What is one thing you learned today about the encyclopedia that you did not know? For what other types of topics would the encyclopedia be useful?
 * __Questions__**

Students will be working in teams and partners assigned by the librarian to assist children with special needs or gifted needs. Use of Venn diagram, terms written on the board, and student participation will address various learning modalities. Number of items on Encyclopedia Practice Page can be lessened if necessary for students with special needs.
 * __Accommodations__**

1. Complete set of //World Book Encyclopedia//, 2002 Edition 2. White board, marker, and eraser 3. Chart paper and markers for Venn 4. Encyclopedia Trivia Sheet (one per team) 5. Encyclopedia Practice Page (one for each child) 6. Pencils 7. Sticky notes
 * __Materials (Teacher and Student)__**