4-5 Library/Media Center
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4th grade Model Standards

The Standards

The model school library standards incorporate information literacy (the ability to access, evaluate, and use information effectively) and digital literacy (the ability to use digital technology, communications tools, or networks, to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate) to enable students to function in a knowledge-based economy and society. They describe what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade.


The standards are organized around four overarching concepts with detailed standards that each student is expected to have successfully achieved. In addition, students are expected to have mastered the standards for previous grades and continue to use those skills and knowledge as they advance in school.


School library standards are aligned to many of the content standards in the subject areas included in the course of study, and are best learned through the content. The following fourth grade model school library content standards were adopted by the California State Board of Education on September 10, 2010.

 

Model School Library Content Standards
Grade Four


1. Students Access Information
1.1    Recognize the need for information:
1.1.a    Identify a more complex problem or question that needs information
1.1.b    Recognize and use appropriate presearch strategies (e.g., recall of prior knowledge)
1.2    Formulate appropriate questions:
1.2.a    Identify words with multiple meanings that may affect a search
1.3    Identify and locate a variety of resources online and in other formats using effective search strategies:
1.3.a    Use standard reference tools online and in print, including dictionary, atlas, thesaurus, encyclopedia, and almanac
1.3.b    Explain the basic organization of the library classification system (e.g., ten major Dewey Decimal System classifications)
1.3.c    Understand the organization of newspapers and periodicals, both in print and online, and how to use them
1.3.d    Define online terms (e.g., home page, Web site, responsibility statement, search engine, uniform resource locator [URL])
1.3.e    Define URL Internet extensions (e.g., .com, .org, .edu, .gov, .us, .net)
1.3.f    Use electronic menus and icons (e.g., search, content, help screen, index, key words) to locate information.
1.4    Retrieve information in a timely, safe, and responsible manner:
1.4.a    Extract information from illustrations, photographs, charts, graphs, maps, and tables in print, nonprint, and digital formats


2. Students Evaluate Information
2.1    Determine relevance of information:
2.1.a    Extract and record (note taking) appropriate and significant information from the text
2.2    Assess comprehensiveness, currency, credibility, authority, and accuracy of resources:
2.2.a    Identify the factors that make a source comprehensive, current, credible, accurate, and authoritative
2.2.b    Distinguish between fact and opinion in expository text
2.2.c    Recognize the role of media to persuade, interpret events, and transmit culture
2.3    Consider the need for additional information:
2.3.a    Verify accuracy of prior knowledge


3. Students Use Information
3.1    Demonstrate ethical, legal, and safe use of information in print, media, and digital resources:
3.1.a    Identify author, title, copyright date, and publisher
3.1.b    Use approved or personal passwords appropriately
3.1.c    Understand the environment of Internet anonymity and that not everyone on the Internet is truthful and reliable
3.2    Draw conclusions and make informed decisions:
3.2.a    Summarize the main ideas and the most significant details from research
3.3    Use information and technology creatively to answer a question, solve a problem, or enrich understanding:
3.3.a    Understand and use a variety of organizational structures as appropriate to convey information (e.g., chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, posing and answering a question)
3.3.b    Select a focus, an organizational structure, and a point of view for a report or presentation based upon purpose, audience, length, and format requirements


4. Students Integrate Information Literacy Skills Into All Areas of Learning
4.1    Read widely and use various media for information, personal interest, and life-long learning:
4.1.a    Read a good representation of grade level appropriate text making progress toward the goal of reading 500,000 words annually (e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, online information)
4.1.b    Understand and describe the purpose of age appropriate book awards (e.g., Caldecott, Newbery, California Young Reader)
4.2    Seek, produce, and share information:
4.2.a    Evaluate information of a personal interest for accuracy, credibility, and relevance
4.2.b    Communicate with others outside your school environment through the use of technology to share information (e.g., video conference, blog, wiki, chat, discussion board
4.3    Appreciate and respond to creative expressions of information:
4.3.a    Use a variety of information resources to deliver oral presentations that express main ideas supported by significant details