How can school libraries and knowledgeable media specialists benefit students and staff to cultivate literacy
for lifelong learning?
Library Media Specialist & the Students
Library Media Specialists
roles have changed!
Read Aloud Benefits
According to Steven Layne (2015), some of the benefits of students listening to a read-aloud are increased:
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Syntactic development
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Vocabulary acquisition
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Comprehension
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Fluency
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Reading skills such as pronunciation and inflection
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Read-alouds improve our students’:
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Writing
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Engagement
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Attitude
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Understanding of text types
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Broadens students’ thinking as well as their imaginations
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Affords them the opportunity to become more culturally sensitive
Course Connection! Reading in the Elementary School
Literacy Assessment and Intensified Instruction
Students score higher
A 2013 study conducted by the Library Research Service concluded that students who attended schools that “maintained or gained an endorsed librarian between 2005 and 2011” displayed a significant number of students who received an advanced score on the reading section of their standardized tests as compared to schools that did not have librarians.
Schools that had a librarian throughout those years:
45% of students receive an advanced score,
Schools that did not have a librarian:
only 29% of students receive an advanced score
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According to Lance and Hofschire (2012),
“if an endorsed librarian is doing her or his job well, this is what one would expect.”
Course Connection! Reading in the Elementary School and Literacy Assessment and Intensified Instruction
Students learn research skills
Course Connection! Teachers as Writers
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Libraries bridge the digital divide by providing access to technology and technological instruction. School librarians are also able to provide the space and personalized guidance to play an integral role in helping students achieve the skills they need for future success.
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"Librarians contribute to student engagement by providing expertise to students through formal workshops or tutorials and by providing guidance informally. Librarians help students learn the best ways to access and use quality information and resources, help them to enhance their study and research skills and explain how to use the latest technologies to enhance their learning" (How Libraries and Librarians...").
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