Reference and User Services
Retrieve, evaluate, and synthesize information resources to fulfill an information needs assessment; evaluate the usefulness of these resources to the user
STEM Resources Handouts:
Children's Literature to Support STEM Concepts
The purpose of LI831: Resources and Services for Children is to introduce librarians to a wide variety of genres in children’s literature and to apply knowledge of child development theories to design resources and services for children. This particular course focused heavily on how librarians can incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts into programs and activities for children.
To achieve the goal of STEM incorporation into library activities, I created three handouts that were designed to meet the needs of the following scenario: an elementary school principal asked his librarian to create a one hour instructional workshop for teachers in the building so that they could learn about and practically apply connections between children’s literature and STEM materials. The first handout provided teachers with an overview of STEM and information about what current research says that classroom learning environments are doing to connect children’s literature to STEM. The second handout consisted of descriptions of online resources that provide suggestions for activities explicitly highlighting STEM concepts with children’s literature and descriptions of online reader’s advisory reference sources that inform selection of materials for STEM. The third handout was a detailed list and description of resources that can be used to support STEM concepts. The list contained detailed information of the following genres and formats: one DVD, three picture books, three early reader’s books, three fictional chapter books, three non-fiction books, one book aimed at the tween market, and one graphic novel.
As a school librarian, I know that I will be compiling a variety of resources for teachers to use with their students in either the library or classroom setting. Creating these three handouts gave me practice with finding quality resources to meet the needs of a particular situation. Through this process, I also learned that I thoroughly enjoy coming up with activities to connect to a particular focus for a book, in this case, STEM concepts. I was encouraged to discover that my background as a classroom teacher will really be beneficial to creating connections and helping teachers develop activities to reinforce literacy and research skills.