A report on the development of a suggested activities program to teach library skills to students in grades four, five and six

Abstract

The major purpose of this project was to develop a viable activities program to successfully teach library skills. Specifically, these activities would be so designed as to give students of Grades four, five and six a chance to participate in the learning process. -- To determine the extent of need for the program, letters and questionnaires were sent to Consultants and Librarians presently working within the Newfoundland school system. The answers received exhibited a positive response to the development of a handbook of activities. -- To ascertain what activities would be developed, the continuum of skills issued by the Department of Education for the Province of Newfoundland was employed. The listing of skills was studied and applicable activities found and/or devised using professional resources. These resources included published handbooks, journals and manuals relating to the activities approach to teaching skills. -- An Informal Evaluation was undertaken to obtain constructive criticism and comments on the format, content and organization of the handbook. This was completed by four evaluators and corrections were made. -- A formal Evaluation was done by ten librarians on the finished handbook. Minor revision and corrections were made on the basis of their responses. -- Finally, the overall response to the handbook revealed a definite need for a program which would give trained and untrained teachers and/or librarians a successful method for library instruction.