I am finally posting a hit to this question I asked before Christmas. I was
considering proposing a new class for next year, but based on your replies
and advice, have decided against it. However, I found your replies very
useful and I got some good ideas.
Thanks to all who responded!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jessica Langlois" <librarian@MSJVERMONT.ORG>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:09 PM
Subject: TARGET: (HS)What classes do you teach?
I know some of you teach semester- or year-long classes in addition to your
other library work, and I am interested in what those are. If you could tell
me the class title, duration, and any other info like a brief description, I
would really appreciate it. I'm thinking about proposing a new class for
next year and I would like some ideas.
Thanks!
Jessica Langlois
Librarian
Mount St. Joseph Academy
Rutland, VT 05701
(802) 775-0151
librarian@msjvermont.org
My partner teacher a TV Production class all year long. It's one
period a day right now, but next semester we are trying it to be all
four periods, but only have 4 different students each period, instead of
the 16 he has first period this semester. He will teach it from the
library rather than from a different classroom too. We shall see.
I do reading and writing clubs AFTER school. Alternating weeks for one
hour.
A few years ago I taught a 9-week long study skills class to the 8th
graders. That class has since been turned into a careers class taught by
the MS counselor.
DO NOT!!!
Check your school's accreditation. If you are NOT fulltime in the
library, then your school can be out of compliance.
Besides, how will you meet the needs of your staff and students if you
are responsible for a teaching and students? You can't just walk away
from them and help another teacher or class that comes to the library
that period.
AND be very careful of the "past practice" mentality. "You taught a
class last time, this why not do this one this year?"
I know its mean, and sometimes it would be way cool to teach the skills
the students need, but the bigger picture comes into play.
I teach a three week class all year long - not quite the same as what you
are asking perhaps. I teach in our Freshman Rotation: all of our freshmen
spend one semester taking a variety of classes (public speaking, health and
wellness, diversity awareness, ethical behavior, and my class in
research/technology use) and a second semester in fine arts. I teach the
same class 9 times, each one a bit different depending on where in the year
it falls and what the class makeup is.
If I had my way however: I have given thought to teaching a senior seminar
class in fan fiction writing. I think it would be a blast, and a great way
to get kids into recreational reading. It won't be next year but I will
probably suggest it for the year after.
Mass Media - one semester - during second as I coach in the Fall through
February.
Description:
Mass Media is an elective course designed for any junior or senior
student who enjoys taking a more active role in developing his/her
communications skills. Students who choose to take the Mass Media
course will study those telecommunications media-such as television,
radio, news, film, music, advertising, the Internet, etc.--that have the
innate ability to influence the opinions of masses of people everyday.
A student in Mass Media will fulfill many of the course requirements as
a member of a Project Team. A Project Team will consist of three to
four students who are responsible for preparing class presentations on
various media-related topics. The purpose of the Project Team is to
enhance student achievement through cooperation and hands-on, learning
experiences. However, this student-directed style of learning does have
its responsibilities. As a member of a Project Team, each individual
member is expected to assist in defining and meeting group goals as well
as becoming a contributing member to his/her Project Team. This, of
course, means that individual accountability is necessary for each group
to succeed. Frequent absenteeism and/or an unwillingness to work in
collaboration with classmates will negatively affect a student's
likelihood of succeeding in this class.
This will be changing a bit this year as I will be teaching this over
ITV this year. I am also changing a lot of the units to be more
in-depth and group discussion oriented due to the limitations ITV will
cause for this course.
I teach Speech/Senior Project. This class is 100 minutes long and it was
dumped on me this year. It takes a big chuck out of my day, not only for
planning, grading, but also for class time. I just can't let others come to
the library when this class is in session as they are taught in the library
(the only available space for me to teach in). I can't have speeches
interrupted by other students.
Be careful what you wish for - it can be tons of work. I teach 7th and 8th
grade Media Skills I and II. We create a full research paper in 8th grade.
Seventh graders learn databases, eval web pages, almanac and other reference
books. Good luck!
I teach a 7th grade exploratory class on Internet safety and evaluation
of web sites. We only meet for 14 days so I don't have a lot of time to
cover much.
I teach 8th grade exploratory and we work on research skills. This
class also only meets for 14 days.
I teach high school (grades 9-12) reading assistance to students who are
less than proficient in their reading abilities. These students are
selected on the basis of their ITED scores. The class runs for a full
year and the only way to get out the next year is to score at the
proficient level. I run it as an individualized class for the reading
-- they select their own books. I have them journal each day and do a
project when the complete the book. This makes more work for me at the
end of the trimester as each test has to be individualized. We also do
a word of the day and a weekly vocabulary worksheet. We do an activity
each Friday that is somewhat similar to the ITED format so they are
comfortable with this type of layout when we get to the test in the
spring.
Hope this information is helpful. Let me know if you need any more details.
I teach Middle Level Exploring Careers. One quarter each with three groups
of students and one quarter off. Last year I taught Seventh grade reading.
Before settling on a schedule this year it was suggested I teach Basic
English, for those who weren't ready for Freshman English, Sixth grade study
skills, and Seventh grade computers. The last three would have been year
long classes. Don't think this is what you are looking for but that is what
happens in a K12 system.
In addition to library classes, I teach Tier 2 Enrichment (which is those
students who do not quite qualify for G&T). I teach small groups (4-5
students) once per week for 40 minutes. Each grade level has its own group
of students. I begin the program in November and it runs through the end of
May. We do projects across the curriculum - reading, computers,
keyboarding, writing, science experiments - really whatever strikes mine and
their fancies.
I teach 8th grade, not HS, for 1/2 year (18 weeks for 1/2 the grade,
then switch to the other 1/2 in January and do it all over again) but I
do teach a bona-fide "library science" class everyday, five classes per
day. Over time I have turned more and more of what we do to electronic
resources to give the kids practice with using the computer, using
different programs/applications, using the web, etc. We have not had a
permanent elementary librarian for any of our four elementary schools
for a number of years or any library instruction for 6th or 7th grade,
so I am starting with basics for some students. In a nutshell, I (try)
to teach
-Ready reference - encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs
-Review parts of a book, mostly so they know where to look for citation
information
-Bibliography format (MLA)
-Research method (I use a variety, including the Big 6) and
note-taking/info organization skills
-Website evaluation
-HTML (my "big hit" project is to build their own website, a very short
website from scratch, which I host for the rest of the year on the
library website)- this helps to illustrate the concepts they learn
regarding web evaluation in a very concrete way, since they discover how
easy it is to make a website and put anything on the web for all to see!
I also use this to illustrate the importance of internet safety.
-Electronic databases and encyclopedias (we have access to Power Library
in Pennsylvania and we subscribed to the Encyclopedia
Britannica/Compton's online)
-search engine usage and search strategies, including Boolean logic.
I am also charged with the Scholastic Reading Counts program for eighth
graders, which we work on while I have them in class.
I would love to have the same kind of class at the high school level,
where so much more "higher-level" thinking and in-depth research could
go on! Sometimes my students are just not mature enough to grasp
certain concepts that are so important for research, such as the bias or
POV in a resource, the synthesis of facts into a thesis statement for a
research project, and the intricacies of searching for information on
the WWW. I think any attempt on the librarian's part to help students
with those kinds of concepts can do nothing but good.
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