Locating Fiction Books

Running Head: LOCATING FICTION BOOKS

Locating Fiction Books: An Instructional Unit

Julia Bell

Towson University

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Locating Fiction Books

Section I: Overview

Introduction

To facilitate life-long learning, students need to become independent users of the library

media center. The skills learned in this environment will remain with students and enable them to

be effective seekers and consumers of information. To reach the point of proficiency, however,

students must start at the beginning and build on their foundation of prior knowledge.

One of the most basic skills taught in early childhood is the alphabet. It is used as a

stepping-stone for reading instruction, but once a child learns to read, the skill of alphabetizing is

often neglected. This skill—having alphabetic order memorized—is needed in accessing media

center materials. Instead of continually asking for help in locating books, it is essential for

students to use their knowledge of the alphabet and alphabetizing in order to independently

retrieve material from the shelves.

To address this problem, a unit of instruction has been designed to teach third grade

students how to locate fiction books using the Dewey Decimal Classification System. Students

will revisit reading content (alphabetizing) in order to meet the standards set forth in the library

media curriculum. More specifically, this unit was created to achieve the following instructional

goal: After students use the Patrons’ catalog to identify a fiction book of their choice, they will

then use their understanding of the Dewey Decimal System to independently locate this book in

the media center.

Front-End Analysis

Needs Analysis. The first step in the instructional design process is to conduct a needs

analysis to determine what change needs to occur in order to improve student performance

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(Brown & Green, 2006). In order to get to the root of the problem—why students are not

independently locating fiction books—Rossett’s (1995) five-step approach was followed.

This needs analysis model was used because of the relevance of the information that it

allows the designer to gather. This information helps to identify where the achievement gap lies

between the level at which students should be performing, and what they are actually achieving.

This model also takes learners’ feelings into consideration, which is an important variable to

consider when designing instruction. Finally, Rossett’s (1995) approach can identify that the

cause of this problem is a lack in skill or knowledge, giving direction as to what needs to be

fixed, and ultimately, a final solution (Brown & Green, 2006).

According to Rossett (1995), the first step in conducting a needs analysis is to determine

what type of situation is the source of the problem. In this case, students are exhibiting

performance problems. Next, the media specialist and classroom teacher are identified as having

information needed to develop a solution. The media specialist must collaborate with the teacher

to gather information about the learners, their needs, and their abilities. A second tool that

provides abundant information is continual observations conducted by the media specialist. Once

it is decided that sufficient information has been collected, these data are used to generate

potential solutions (as cited in Brown & Green, 2006, p. 96).

Learner Analysis. Performing a learner analysis is another vital step in designing

instruction. Dick, Carey, and Carey’s (2001) model is used to learn about the third grade students

in order to design instruction that is most effective and appropriate for their specific needs. This

model was chosen because the information it provides helps the designer learn essential

information about these students: their prior knowledge, ability levels, learning preferences, and

attitudes toward both the content being taught and the media specialist who is doing the teaching.

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(as cited in Brown & Green, 2006, p. 129). These data are then used to develop instruction that is

effective, efficient, and engaging for the students (Brown & Green, 2006).

Through collaboration with the classroom teacher, statistics about the target population

were gathered. In the focal class of 23 students, 48% are female and 52% are male. About half of

the class is Caucasian (52%); the other half is 21% Hispanic, 18% Asian, and 9% African

American. Of these students, 3 receive free and reduced lunch, 5 are in the ESOL program, and 1

student has an IEP for a learning disability.

A description of the targeted class was also constructed—with the help of the teacher—

based on Dick, Carey, and Carey’s method (2001). The average, on grade level student in this

third grade class is able to alphabetize sets of words and is familiar with the layout of the media

center. Some of the students have negative attitudes toward the library because of bad

experiences in the public library or with other media specialists. Most students have a neutral or

positive attitude to the current media specialist. The third graders have also voiced that

alphabetizing is boring and they don’t see why it is important. Additionally, this group responds

well to positive reinforcement, activities that promote interaction and communication, and—like

all children—they love to play games.

Learning Context Analysis. The entirety of instruction for this unit will take place in the

media center. It is important for students to learn this skill in the authentic learning environment,

where books and all other materials needed for instruction surround them.

The media center is organized in sections according media type. A large fiction section,

where students will ultimately locate a book, is located directly upon entering the facility.

Students work at round tables that each seats six students. Students can access the Patrons’

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catalog on one of ten computers located at the media center workstation. In addition, the teaching

wall houses a Promethean Board to supplement instruction.

Task Analysis & Progression of Problems

After conducting the front-end analysis, the subsequent step is to complete a task analysis.

According to Brown and Green (2006), the main goal of this analysis is to understand what

learners are to know or be able to do as a result of the instruction. This requires that “the type of

content that will make up the instruction and in what sequence this content should be provided”

be identified (p. 106).

Using Dick, Carey, and Carey’s (2001) instructional analysis process, the relevant steps for

reaching the instructional goal were identified, as well as the subordinate skills needed to meet

this goal (as cited in Brown & Green, 2006). This instructional analysis process was used to

complete the second phase of Merrill’s (2002) Pebble in-the-Pond model.

The Pebble-in-the-Pond model (Merrill, 2002) is used after identifying the design problem—

students’ inability to locate a book of their choice without asking for help. Similarly to Dick,

Carey, and Carey’s (2001) process, the aim of this phase is to “specify a progression of problems

that gradually increases in complexity, difficulty, or the amount of component knowledge of skill

required to complete the task” (Merrill, 2002, p. 42). Using the task analysis process, the

progression of problems for this unit of instruction was identified, comprised of four steps

leading up to the final, end problem (refer to Appendix A).

The initial problem in the sequence focuses on students demonstrating an understanding

that materials are organized in a specific order in the media center. This problem teaches students

(i) that the media center is organized by the different types of media, (ii) how to distinguish

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between the different types of media, and (iii) that fiction books are shelved alphabetically (left-

to-right and top-to-bottom) by author’s last name.

Once this knowledge is acquired, students must demonstrate comprehension of the call

number indicating where a book is located in the media center. Solving this problem requires that

individuals are familiar with the parts of books (especially the spine and call number sticker).

Moreover, students must display knowledge of the letter “F” on a call number sticker indicates

the book is fiction and the three letters on this sticker are the first three letters of the author’s last

name.

The next problem in the progression calls for the third graders to alphabetize a set of

authors by the first letter of their last name. Then the subsequent problem focuses on students

arranging a selection of books written by authors whose names begin with the same letter. They

must build on the skills from the previous problem and use the interior letters of the name to

alphabetize. From these problems, students will have gained the ability to locate the author’s last

name on the spine of a book. Beyond this, they will have also learned to first alphabetize names

according to the first letter, but then if these are the same letter, the second must be used, and so

on.

Finally, the end problem requires students to connect and utilize all the prior knowledge

learned from the preceding problems in order to independently locate a fiction book in the proper

section of the media center using the call number. After a student has used the Patrons’ catalog

to identify a book of interest, the student will then be able to navigate to the fiction section,

identify the call number on book spines, and use alphabetizing skills to successfully locate the

desired book.

Standards

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As shown in the following table, different sections of this unit of instruction align with

several specific standards:

Source Standard Link to Instructional Unit

NETS for Students (International Society for Technology in Education, 2007)

3. Research and Information Fluency b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

Students will locate a fiction book in the fiction section of the media center.

MTTS (Maryland Technology Consortium, 2002)

I: Technology Information Access, Evaluation, Processing and Application

Students will learn to efficiently locate fiction books upon completion of this unit.

Standards for the 21st Century Learner (American Association of School Librarians, 2007)

1. Learners use skills, resources, and tools to: Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge. 1.1.2. Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning. 1.2.2. Demonstrate confidence and self-direction by making independent choices in the election of resources and information.

Throughout the unit, students will build upon knowledge and skills they learned in previous lessons in order to independently access fiction books. This ability to independently use the media center will, in turn, encourage and motivate students to seek information for their personal use and growth.

4. Learners use skills, resources, and tools to: Pursue personal and aesthetic growth. 4.1.4. Seek information for personal learning in a variety of formats and genres. 4.2.2. Demonstrate motivation by seeking information to answer personal questions and interests, trying a variety of formats and genres, and displaying a willingness to go beyond academic requirements.

VSC - School Library Media (Maryland State Department of Education, 2004)

Locate Information 1.a. Practice using the automated catalog to locate materials to meet their wants and needs 2.a. Recognize the relationship

After students use the Patrons’ catalog to identify a book, the goal of this instruction is that students will be able to locate that

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between the call number and the material’s content and location within the collection

book using their knowledge on how books are organized in the media center. In order to reach this point of independently accessing resources, students must draw on and build upon their understanding of (i) the media center organization, (ii) books being shelved by their call number, and (iii) alphabetizing.

Literature Appreciation 2.a Utilize circulation procedures and policies to access reading materials

Section II: Sample Lesson Plan

Lesson Overview

The following lesson is one in a series that makes up this unit of instruction. Once

students have mastered the knowledge set forth in the first two tasks in the Pebble-in-the-Pond

progression (see Appendix A), this lesson will be used to specifically address the third problem

in the Pebble-in-the-Pond progression. Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to

alphabetize a selection of author’s last names according to the first letter of each name, getting

one step closer to the end goal of being able to independently locate a fiction book in the media

center.

Knowledge Components

For this third problem in the progression, there are three major knowledge components

that are necessary for students to complete this lesson (Merrill, 2002). The first, and most basic,

requirement is that students demonstrate mastery of the alphabet. Furthermore, the third graders

must display an understanding that they use the first letter of a word to alphabetize.

The last knowledge component is the ability of students to sequence letters in order.

However, it is essential to acknowledge that this ability level will vary with each child. All

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students will be familiar with the alphabet, but lower achieving third graders with a basic ability

level will have some difficulty sequencing the letters. Intermediate students will have a good

understanding of sequencing, but need some practice to become more skillful in placing words in

alphabetic order, while advanced children need to be pushed before they demonstrate mastery of

alphabetizing words according to their first letter (Sheehan, 2009).

Despite these differences, students all begin this lesson with similar abilities, and by the

lesson’s realization, all students will successfully alphabetize a selection of authors’ last names.

Lesson Outline

For a better understanding of what will occur during instruction, a general outline of the

lesson is as follows:

1. Review content learned in previous lessons and demonstration of new content.

2. Game rules are explained.

3. In pairs, students play “Alphabetizing War” card game.

4. The pairs split the deck of cards in half by color, so each student has twelve cards

of the same color.

5. Students individually put all twelve cards in alphabetical order by author’s last

name.

6. Student performance is evaluated.

Lesson Plan

The lesson begins by asking students to recall information learned from the previous two

tasks in the progression of problems (reference Appendix A), and finishes with students

alphabetizing twelve authors’ last names by the first letter. At the completion of this instruction,

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students will have the knowledge needed for the next step in the progression: alphabetizing a set

of books using the second and third letters of the authors’ last names.

In order to get to this point, however, the media specialist must incorporate tell, ask,

show, and do strategies in instruction (Merrill, in press). The following table describes the lesson

sequence, as well as the corresponding instructional strategies and materials used in each step:

Instructional Strategy Instructional Sequence Instructional Materials Needed

Ask Ask students to recall and explain how fiction books are organized

Show Point out examples on the shelves to highlight that books are in order by the author’s last name

A sequence of properly shelved books in the fiction section

Ask Ask students:- To explain how we alphabetize,- What we first look at and use to sequence words (answer: first letter of the word), and- Questions to help them practice sequencing (if I am letter M, what letter comes before me? After me?).

Show Using the Promethean Board, show a short list of author’s last names and sequence them in correct alphabetical order.

Promethean Board (slide 1 of flipchart)

Tell Explain the instructions for “Alphabetizing War” card game.

Card game instructions (see Appendix B)

Show Simulate the game using the Promethean Board. Put one card from each player head to head, and show which player would win the cards based on the author’s last name.

Promethean Board (slide 2 of flipchart)

Ask Put another set of author’s names head to head, but ask the students who would win the cards.

Promethean Board (slide 3 of flipchart)

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Do Have the students play “Alphabetizing War” in pairs.

Author cards—enough for each pair of students—in which set one and two are printed on different colors of paper (see Appendix D & E)

Tell Explain the instructions for individual work.

Individual work instructions (see Appendix C)

Do Split the decks of cards and have each student individually put their cards in correct alphabetical order according to the first letter of the authors’ last names.

A set of 12 author cards

Media and Materials Design

The lesson is dependent on a small number of instructional materials that need to be

designed and created in preparation of instruction. First, the lesson hinges on the alphabetizing

game students play, so the most important material for this lesson is the playing cards. Two sets

of cards are provided (found in Appendix D & E), which can easily be printed on two different

colors of paper. However, if one chooses to make one’s own cards, the provided set were created

using Microsoft Word.

In addition, technology is integrated into instruction through the use of the Promethean

Board (an interactive whiteboard). In order to enhance demonstrations and cater to the needs of

visual learners, a flipchart needs to be created with three different slides.

In the first slide, four author’s names are listed. During instruction, the media specialist

then rearranges the names in correct alphabetical order. The second slide is used to simulate the

“Alphabetizing War” game and teach students how to play. This slide should include two

representations of cards—one from each player—and then clearly indicate which player would

win the card based on the author’s name. The last slide of the flip chart would essentially be the

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same, but with different author names used as examples. Instead of the media specialist showing

which name comes later in the alphabet, a student will signify this using the interactive

properties of the Promethean Board.

Assessment &Evaluation

Since instructional time in the media center is limited, assessment of student success was

built into the lesson plan. Observations will be used to determine if the objective—given a set of

cards with authors’ last names on them, students should organize them in correct alphabetical

order—was achieved through instruction.

During instruction, formative assessment is used to gauge how students are progressing.

“Random call” is used during the beginning stages of the lesson, asking students to recall

information and to demonstrate the game that will be played. Students will also be observed

while playing the card game and engaging in the individual work. If needed, this will allow the

media specialist to modify instruction to increase student achievement and ensure the

instructional objective is met (Brown & Green, 2006).

Once students have finished the individual work, and their cards are laid out in

alphabetical order, summative evaluation will be conducted. According to Brown and Green

(2006), “the goal of [this] postinstruction learner evaluation is to determine how successful a

learner was,” what level of achievement the students demonstrated, and if instructional goals

were met (p. 230).

A student sequencing their cards in alphabetical order serves as a direct test. The final

outcome (the cards in alphabetical order) will then be evaluated to determine how well the

student performed the skill taught (alphabetizing according to first letter). Evaluating how many

of the twelve names are in correct order will indicate how skillful a student is at alphabetizing.

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This information will be recorded (the number correct out of twelve) and analyzed to determine

how well the learning objective was met for this lesson (Brown & Green, 2006).

Conclusion

Walking into the media center, many students find themselves unsure of how to begin

navigating this space and to find a book of interest. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the vast

amounts of materials in the media center, students must to be taught the necessary skills to

access these rich resources. Upon completion of this instructional unit, students will be equipped

to do just that: third graders will be able to locate a fiction book of their choice in the fiction

section of the media center. More importantly, however, this achievement brings students one

step closer to having the confidence and skills needed to become independent users of all the

resources the media center has to offer, and to be life-long learners by accessing those resources.

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References

American Association of School Librarians. (2007). Standards for the 21-st century learner. Retrieved July 23, 2009, from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_Learning_Standards_2007.pdf

Brown, A. & Green, T. G. (2006). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J.O. (2001).The systematic design of instruction (5th ed.). New York: Addison-Wesley/Longman.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National Educational Technology Standards. Retrieved July 23, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf

Maryland State Department of Education. (2004). Maryland voluntary state curriculum- school library media. Retrieved July 23, 2009, from http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/NR/rdonlyres/EC67FB12-FE6B-464A-A2AD-D0C6307773E3/6210/VSCelemoutlineDraft.pdf

Maryland Technology Consortium. (2002). Maryland teacher technology standards. Retrieved July 23, 2009, from http://www.mttsonline.org/standards/

Merrill, D. (in press). First principles of instruction. In C. M. Reigeluth & A. Carr (Eds.), Instructional Design Theories and Models III (Vol.III). Hillside, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Merrill, D. (2002). A pebble-in-the-pond model for instructional design. Performance Improvement, 41(7), 39-44.

Rossett, A. (1995). Needs assessment. In G. Anglin (Ed.), Instructional technology: Past, present, and future (2nd ed., pp. 183-196). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Sheehan, K. (2009). Alphabetizing with original stories. Retrieved July 27, 2009, from http://www.readwritethink.org/index.asp

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Progression of Problems

Locating Fiction Books

Appendix A. Pebble-in-the-Pond graphic organizer.

Guidance Provided

Learners: Third grade students who are familiar with the layout of the media center and can alphabetize.

Demonstrate an understanding that the call number indicates where a book is located in the media center

Demonstrate an understanding that materials are organized in a specific order in the media center

Alphabetize a selection of author’s last names according to the first letter of the name

Put a selection of books by authors whose last names start with the same letter in the correct order using the interior letters of the author’s last name

Students will locate a fiction book using the call number in the fiction section of the media center.

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Instructional Problem: Students are often overwhelmed by the number of books in the media center and, therefore, are unable to locate a book of their choice without asking for help.Instructional Goal: After students use the Patrons’ catalog to identify a fiction book of their choice, they will then use their understanding of the Dewey Decimal System to independently locate this book in the media center.

Tasks – P1 Tasks – P2 Tasks – P3 Tasks – P4 Tasks – End P

- Understands that books are shelved alphabetically by author’s last name- Understands that books are shelved left-to-right and top-to- bottom- Understands that the media center is segmented and organized by the different types of media-Ability to distinguish between the different types of materials in the media center

- Basic knowledge of the parts of the book (especially the spine and call number sticker)- Ability to read numbers and letters- Knowledge of what a call number looks like- Understands that F = fiction on the call number sticker - Understands that the letters on the call number sticker are the first three letters of the author’s last name

- Mastery of the alphabet- Understands that you use the first letter of the last name to alphabetize-Ability to sequence letters in order

- Mastery of the alphabet- Ability to locate the author’s last name on the call number sticker- Ability to alphabetize books by the first letter of the author’s last name- Understands that you use the second and then third letter of the last name to alphabetize

- Understands that the media center is segmented and organized by the different types of media- Understands that the call number indicates where a book is located- Ability to alphabetize according to an author’s last name- Knowledge of where the fiction section of the library is located- Ability to locate a call number on the book spine

Locating Fiction Books

Appendix B. “Alphabetizing War” game instructions.

Set-Up1. Divide students into pairs.2. Each pair is given a deck of cards; one student takes one color of cards, while the other

student takes the other color. Every student should have twelve cards, each with an author’s name on it.

3. Each student shuffles their cards, and then keeps them facedown in a pile in front of them.

How to Play (based on the card game, “War”)1. Each student simultaneously turns over his or her top card.2. The student that has the card with the author’s last name that comes first alphabetically

wins the hand.3. The winning player takes both cards and puts them at the bottom of their pile facedown.4. Repeat steps 1-3 until one student collects all the cards (or time runs out).

Winning* The person to collect the all the cards is the winner, or If time runs out, the student with the most cards at the end is declared the winner.

* Remind students that it is not about winning or losing, but rather what is learned along the way.

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Appendix C. Individual work instructions.

To be completed after playing “Alphabetizing War”1. Each pair of students divides their deck of cards into two sets by color.2. Each student takes one set of cards.3. Individually, students alphabetize the cards using the first letter of the author’s last name.

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4. Students are to lay out and leave the alphabetized cards in order on their work surface for evaluation.Appendix D. Playing cards, set one.

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AVI CREECH ESTES

GAIMAN IBBOTSON KINNEY

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Appendix E. Playing cards, set two.

Images retrieved from www.barnesandnoble.com

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MARTIN OSBORNE RYAN

TAYLOR VOIGT YEP

BLUME DAHL FROST

HIAASEN JACQUES LOWRY

NAYLOR PAULSON SACHAR

URBAN WHITE ZUSAK