Developing 21st Century Literacies: A K-12 School Library Curriculum Blueprint with Sample Lessons

Mary Jo Langhorne, Denise Rehmke, and the Iowa City Community School District

ISBN-13: 9781555707521

300 pages • 8 ½" x 11"
Year Published: 2011

Here is a guide that shows you how to help students develop the critical thinking and learning skills necessary for effective and engaged citizens in the 21st Century. It provides tools and strategies to deliver a cutting-edge school library curriculum. Langhorne and Rehmke survey visual, technological, media, and information literacies, explore the concepts for learning with electronic formats, and expand the teacher librarians role in school reading programs. All of the forms, lessons, and worksheets found in the book are just a sample of what is available on the website, all of it available for easy downloading.

Part I of this book outlines the building blocks for creating a school library instructional program. Part II presents the curriculum blueprint developed in the Iowa City Community School District, including sample lessons and units. Like most curriculum documents, this one is organized around standards, benchmarks and objectives. Because school librarians have two major areas of responsibility for teaching, the content is also organized into two concept areas: literature and inquiry. The school librarian plays a critical role in the reading program of the school, both in supporting classroom reading instruction and in library teaching activities that enrich reading for students through exposure to various types of literature, literary elements and the work of respected authors. The literature component of this curriculum reflects the long-held belief that skillful reading is fundamental to all types of literacy.

An inquiry-based approach involves students seeking multiple perspectives, working collaboratively with others, using information ethically and creatively, and developing dispositions for learning curiosity, responsibility, persistence and independence.