What’s Happening in the Library
School Library Media Program
The mission of the Harford County Public Schools is to provide high quality educational services for all students every day. The mission of the school library media program in Harford County Public Schools is to support that mission by ensuring that all students and staff are effective users of ideas and information. The library media program has been designed to implement, enrich, and support the curricula outcomes and goals of the Maryland State Department of Education and the Harford County Public Schools. In addition, this program strives to improve learning and teaching through research, collaboration, distribution of materials, and the use of successful educational practices.
Library Media Curriculum Highlights
Kindergarten students will:
- read, listen to, and discuss stories that provide characters interacting with each other and solving problems that reflect human experiences
- make text-to-self connections
- choose to browse, select, and enjoy library books
- discover the pleasure of reading by listening to books
- identify and discuss the main events in a story
First Grade students will:
- explore and discuss use of story structure concepts/terminology; i.e., characters, setting goal, etc.
- use informational materials to build background knowledge
- utilize circulation procedures and policies to access reading materials
- recognize the connection between the ability to read and success in daily life
- select books that match topics of interest or need
- explore parts of a book and their functions
- recognize the difference between content of narrative (fiction) and expository (informational) materials
Second Grade students will:
- enhance the pleasure of reading by listening to and independently reading books
- make text to text connections
- practice developing effective research questions
- practice strategies for collecting relevant information from print and non-print resources
- practice recording relevant information in formats that help organize facts to facilitate generation of final products
- practice strategies for drawing conclusions, making valid inferences, visualizing, generating different opinions, and making personal connections with information
Third Grade students will:
- practice using the automated catalog to locate materials to meet their wants and needs
- recognize the relationship between the call number and the material’s content and location
- practice capturing key concepts in their own words, rather than copying complete sentences or words they do not understand
- practice identifying and using appropriate search terms and strategies when using age appropriate print, non-print, and online resources
- practice recording and organizing data in a variety of formats
- practice identifying examples of an author or character’s point of view and its impact
Fourth Grade students will:
- read, listen to, and discuss fiction titles that reflect personal interests and help to provide virtual experiences
- make text to world connections
- apply criteria that helps to determine the authority of an author and the accuracy of information when making selections of appropriate print, non-print, and computer/online resources to meet their current need
- practice presenting findings in oral, written, visual, and multimedia formats
- independently apply strategies for complying with fair use and copyright laws
Fifth Grade students will:
- expand use of informational materials to make connections between background knowledge and human interactions
- apply knowledge of advantages and disadvantages of using print, non-print, and computer/online resources to practice selecting the most appropriate resource for their current need
- apply strategies for determining relevance of information collected in relationship to what is asked for in the question
- integrate use of technology to facilitate appropriate note taking
- practice interpreting data/information presented in a variety of formats
What is the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Program?
Each year since 1992, the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award has been given in several categories. The purpose of this award is to promote literacy and lifelong reading habits by encouraging students to read quality, contemporary literature. The books selected to be placed on lists for each category are expected to broaden the human experience and provide accurate, factual information. The Black-Eyed Susan Book Award honors outstanding books, chosen annually by Maryland students. Committees of school library media specialists and other interested persons meet over the course of a year to determine which books will go on the lists; anyone is invited to suggest titles. Following are some of the criteria:
- Books may be fiction or nonfiction.
- Books must have a copyright date of the current year or one of the preceding three years and be listed in the current Books in Print.
- Each title selected will have received positive reviews from appropriate professional journals.
- Members of the committee will read and discuss the submitted books and choose the best books to be placed on the list.
- When the required number of books has been read, each student will cast one vote for the book he or she considers to be the most outstanding in each category. Votes from across the state are sent in to the Black-Eyed Susan committees and tallied to determine the winners. The winning authors and/or illustrators receive a pewter plate engraved with the year and the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award logo. Authors, illustrators and publishers recognize the award as an honor bestowed by Maryland students.