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Rebecca Welch
ISCI 742: Curricular Role of the School Librarian
Collaborative Unit Plan
12 June 2023
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Overview
My collaboration unit was done in partnership with Sas LoVine, a 2nd grade teacher at Pelham
Road Elementary School in Greenville, South Carolina. The unit we worked on is titled Why
Does US History Matter? and covers a 4-week social studies unit. During our initial discussion,
Sas and I determined that this unit would benefit from having additional instruction from the
library because of the research aspect. The focus of our collaboration is for the second week of
the unit for the section titled Famous Americans. This unit is something that has been taught
before but could use some updates to help students better understand researching methods for
their final project which required them to find and share information about a famous historical
figure of their choosing. Final projects will be individually done. The students will have some
background information on these famous figures from the prior week of the lesson, but overall, it
is going to be a new topic for them all.
Student Learning Objectives
For both the unit from Ms. LoVine and the lesson from myself, the learning objective is that
students will be able to research a historical figure in American history and provide a photo,
summary of their contribution to US history, and a fun fact about them. Additionally, students
will learn to summarize and retell information from a text during the library lesson plan. In both
of these situations, the standards that will be followed are as listed below:
South Carolina Standards for Social Studies:
1. Utilize the college and career skills of a historian to study the continuity and changes
over time in the United States.
a. Students will employ the historical thinking skills of comparison, cause and
effects, continuities and changes, and sourcing to study the diversity of the United
States.
i. 2.H.1: Identify and compare significant historical events, moments, and
symbols in U.S. history. This indicator was developed to encourage
inquiry into historical events, including figures, symbols, and observances,
that have been important to the U.S. over time as well as how they impact
us.
ii. 2.H.4: Evaluate different forms of evidence used in historical inquiry and
determine their validity. This indicator was developed to encourage
inquiry into how to critically evaluate sources for validity. The indicator
was also developed to promote inquiry into how to ensure data is accurate,
citable, complete, credible, current, and objective.
South Carolina Standards for English Language Arts
1. Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of thematic
development.
i. 6.1 Use information gained from illustrations and words in a print or
multimedia text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or
plot.
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2. Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of central ideas.
i. 6.1 Retell the central idea and key details from multi-paragraph texts;
summarize the text by stating the topic of each paragraph heard, read, or
viewed.
AAS Standards:
1. Inquire
a. Create: learners engage with new knowledge by following a process that includes
using evidence to investigate questions and generating products that illustrate
learning.
b. Share: learners adapt, communicate, and exchange learning products with others
in a cycle that includes interacting with content presented by others.
2. Collaborate
a. Grow: learners actively participate with others in learning situations by actively
contributing to group discussions.
3. Curate
a. Think: learners act on an information need by determining the need to gather
information.
b. Create: learners gather information appropriate to the task by organizing
information by priority, topic, or other systematic scheme.

Learners
Ms. LoVine’s class is comprised of roughly 20-25 students a year. Currently, she has a class size
of 23 with four students in resource class with special needs that require additional help. The
culture of the classroom is very group centered and she uses the clip chart system for behavior
management. Typically, her students are very perceptive to other teachers and don’t often act out
in any drastic ways. Most of her teaching involves mini lessons and she likes to use the “I do, we
do, you do” teaching strategy so that students get to see an example prior to doing a task on their
own. Worksheets are the main check-in for her to see how students are getting on with new
information. Typically, the average reading comprehension level of 2nd graders is at a level L.
Among the students in the class, the average reading level is at or above an M, which is above
the standard for 2nd graders in South Carolina. Of the four students in resource, they are reading
at a lower level, usually around an F or G. They require some reading help like longer time
requirements and accommodations like less reading and more video information intake.
For this class, the unit on famous Americans fits perfectly into their South Carolina social studies
standards and allows for further teaching on library aspects like summarizing texts, as covered in
the lesson taught by myself. In order to accommodate the students that need help, I found it
important that the final project be presented in multiple ways. Students can either type out the
information needed or they can give a verbal account of the project. The resources provided to
the students is also offered in both text and video so that anyone with accommodations can
gather the information in a way that suites them best.
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Instructional Strategies
Day Where Time Allotted Instructor(s) Activities
#
1 Classroom 30 Ms. LoVine Introduce the unit and explain
the importance of historical
figures. Three historical figures
will be discussed: George
Washington, Martin Luther King
Jr., and Amelia Earhart. Each
person will have a slide
dedicated to themselves with a
video or article about their life
and civic duty they did. Briefly
discuss the final project that
each student will do at the end
of the unit. Introduce briefly the
Big 3 strategy that will be used
to complete the final project.
2 Classroom/Virtual 30 Ms. Welch Give lesson plan on how to
summarize a text/video/audio.
Introduce the pathfinder to the
class that they will use to help
with their final project. Bring in
cart with useful resource books
in addition to the pathfinder. At
the end of the lesson, go over
the first two steps of the Big 3
research model to let students
know that they will be using it
for the project the following day.
3 Classroom 30 Ms. Reinforce the importance of
LoVine/Ms. historical figures and give three
Welch more examples. Go over
directions for the final project
and reintroduce the pathfinder to
the class. Then, briefly reiterate
the Big 3 research model so
students can reinforce the
research plan for their project.
As students start to work on
their project, both instructors
will walk around and give any
assistance to any students that
need it. For any students that
needs accommodations, go over
those (like having students
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watch a video rather than read

an article, or have students give
a verbal report rather than a
written one.)
4 Classroom 35 Ms. Final discussion on historical
LoVine/Ms. figures with one more example
Welch that is designed to match the
student’s final project. Have
students finish their projects and
start sharing them with the rest
of the class. Provide feedback
on presentations and have
students discuss where they
gathered the information from.

Resources
For my pathfinder, I wanted to make sure that the students had a fun and interactive way to get
information for their research project. Designing my virtual classroom to be like a library with
my desk and a bookshelf seemed to fit the resources well and I also made sure to mark what each
interactive object was a good link for. Almost all of my links require a Discus login so there is a
notation at the bottom with the South Carolina login so that parents and students can use the
links at home. Finally, I wanted to give the students a brief idea of some of the books that will be
on the designated card in their classroom during the unit, so those are pictured at the bottom of
the bookshelf as a reminder to use the resources in the classroom as well as online.
Link to pathfinder on google slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1m5amYE9rPiPPBDRdiXc2CEdK-
kOz2TJnpgXyw0W6s28/edit?usp=sharing
Collaborative Roles
Teacher Responsibilities:
• Instruction of unit materials outside of the library lesson plan.
• Making and distributing handouts and slides for the unit.
• Creating outline of final project and giving instructions on how to complete the project.
• Determine which historical figures would be provided on the final project selection list.
• Grade and give feedback on final projects.
Librarian Responsibilities:
• Create and teach lesson on summarizing texts.
• Compile a list of resources for students to use while working on their final project.
• Pick which research model works best for the unit and help develop the incorporation of
it into the unit.
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• Curate a cart of books from the school library to be brought into the classroom as
resources for the final project.
Evaluation Form:
Name: ____________ Unit of Collaboration: _________________
What is one thing you would do differently the next time we collaborated on a unit?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

What is one area of our collaboration that was beneficial to your role?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Was this collaboration useful to you? Why or why not?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

What was something you would want to collaborate on in the future?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

How can this process be improved the next time we collaborate?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Plan

The lesson plan I chose for this unit was one that I came up with to help students understand
summarizing texts. As one of the South Carolina ELA standards, I thought it would be beneficial
to not only reinforce a required standard, but also aid in the final project of the social studies
lesson. As you will see in the lesson plan, I wanted to make sure that the lesson could be taught
both in the classroom, or virtually over Zoom. This lesson can also be used in other subject areas
that require students to take in information then share what they found. Additionally, I wanted
the students to be able to use the skill of summarizing in other areas of their life like in the
library when reading outside of the classroom.
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Summarizing Texts
Grade: 2nd
Library Context: Summarizing information in a text
__ Fixed
_X_Flexible

__Individualized Instruction
_X_Stand-alone Lesson
__Lesson in a Unit
__Multiple Lessons in a Unit
Collaboration Continuum
__None
__Limited
_X_Moderate
__Intensive
Content Topic: Summarizing a text
Estimated Lesson Time: 30 minutes

AASL National School Library Standards for the Learner

SHARED FOUNDATION AND KEY COMMITMENT: Curate

DOMAIN/S: Create

COMPETENCIES: Learners gather information appropriate to the task by organizing information

by priority, topic, or other systematic scheme.

CONNECTION TO LOCAL OR STATE STANDARDS

South Carolina Standards for English Language Arts
3. Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of thematic
development.
i. 6.1 Use information gained from illustrations and words in a print or
multimedia text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or
plot.
4. Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of central ideas.
i. 6.1 Retell the central idea and key details from multi-paragraph texts;
summarize the text by stating the topic of each paragraph heard, read, or
viewed.
SCENARIO: Before the students start this lesson, the librarian can work with the classroom teacher to
see if they have covered summarizing in their ELA units yet. Getting an idea for what the class knows
about summarizing will help guide the level of media used to assess their work. The librarian can also ask
about any topics that the students are learning about in other subjects in order to gather a collection of
media on topics that have been or will be discussed in the classroom.
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OVERVIEW:
Students will be asked the question, what is summarizing? They will then be given an instructional lesson
on what summarizing is and how to use it with different types of media like books and videos.

FINAL PRODUCT:
Students will watch, listen to, or read a passage of literature and fill out a worksheet that explains what
the main concept of the reading was. All students will be required to give at least one sentence
summarizing their reading and sharing it with the class.

LIBRARY LESSON(S):
The students will be focusing on curating today and gathering information. The key question for them
will be what information do I need to gather from the text provided. They will focus on reading titles of
articles, videos, or audio recordings as well as focusing on finding key ideas throughout the media.

ASSESSMENT:
PRODUCT – Each student will turn in a brief summary of the media of their choosing and I will read over
to confirm if they could properly summarize the texts.
PROCESS – Students will work individually at first then move into pairs to share their findings then
present their partner’s summary as a way of reinforcing the idea of summary not only form their own
work, but from hearing their partner discuss their work as well.
STUDENT SELF-QUESTIONING (Reflection) – Students will then discuss as a group what it was like
summarizing and then be asked to share what are some things in their life do they summarize already?
Do you tell your family about your school day, or do you explain to a teacher what you did over the
weekend? That’s summarizing!

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
RESOURCES STUDENTS WILL USE:

• Google docs (this will be sent out to the class with a pre-selected list of stories)
• Zoom
• Digital worksheet (to be filled out and turned in

INSTRUCTION/ACTIVITIES

DIRECT INSTRUCTION: To open the lesson, I will start by explaining a story all of the students
know, like a classic fairytale, without mentioning the title or character names to them at all. At
the end, I will ask them to call out what story they think I was discussing and we will talk about
how I summarized the story for them.
MODELING AND GUIDED PRACTICE: After introducing the lesson, I will go into
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: Students will be given a google doc with links to a selection of stories
they can choose from. After picking the story they want to read, listen to, or watch, they will fill
out a worksheet asking them to give a summary of the story to share with the class. Students
can
SHARING AND REFLECTING: Once students finish their independent practice, they will pair up
and share their summaries with a partner (either in person or in break out zoom rooms) and ask
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questions about the other’s story to get an idea. They will then share with the class on their
partner’s story to practice summarizing once again.

STRATEGIES FOR DIFFERENTIATION

This lesson lends itself to differentiation, thankfully. Providing different types of media to the students to
summarize allows for any students with a need to be met. There will also be the option for students to
give a verbal summary instead of the written summary that is turned into the teacher. Finally, offering
the students to work individually then in pairs provides anyone that needs help from a friend the
opportunity to work through their assignment with a buddy or teacher.

Final Student Product

Link to an example slide for the final product of the unit:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MMyL6xI-
b6hfhYLs9ofvTSo3fu5RFPmw6v073vIA8Rw/edit?usp=sharing

Rubric for final project:

Task Needs some help (1 On the right track (2 Meets expectations (3
point) points) points)
Includes a photo of Slide does not Slide has an Slide includes an
the historical figure. include a picture of inaccurate picture of accurate picture of
the historical figure. the historical figure. the historical figure.
Includes the name Slide does not Slide includes Slide includes the
and title of the include the name or incorrect name and correct name and title
historical figure. title of the historical title of the historical of the historical
figure. figure. figure.
Includes a summary Slide does not Slide includes Slide includes a brief
of the historical include a summary of incorrect information summary of correct
figure’s contributions contributions. on the historical information regarding
to US history. figure’s contributions. the historical figure’s
contributions.
Includes at least one Slide does not Slide states one Slide states more than
interesting fact about include any interesting fact about one interesting fact
the historical figure. interesting facts about the historical figure. about the historical
the historical figure. figure.

Reflection

When I started this assignment, I didn’t fully understand how beneficial collaboration can be
between a classroom teacher and librarian. As someone who has not yet worked in a school, I
was very intimidated by working with a teacher, but I quickly realized that we are all focused on
the same goal: student success. While I felt worked well for my collaborating teacher and myself
was direct communication of wants and needs. Having a clear idea of what was ahead in the
collaboration made for straight forward conversations and easy to understand requests. While
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timing was a big challenge for us both, I think it gave me a good sense of what I need to work on
when working with a teacher. All of our time in education is precious and should be honored by
one another so when working with someone else, I will always take their timeline into
consideration and make sure that I am getting any questions to them in a timely manner so that I
am not left scrabbling for information at the last minute. Overall, this assignment and
collaboration has taught me that when two people come together with the goal of creating a great
lesson and unit for students, the end result will be as exceptional as they want it to be. I was very
pleased with the work that came out of this project and I look forward to being able to teach it in
a classroom one day.
References:
American Association of School Librarians. 2018. National School Library Standards for
Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. Chicago: ALA.
South Carolina Department of Education. (2015). South Carolina College- and Career-Ready
Standards and Indicators for Grade 2 . Columbia.
Summarizing: Classroom strategy. Reading Rockets. (2022, August 23).
https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/summarizing

Wanasek, S. (2023, April 13). How to create and use an interactive Bitmoji classroom in
powerpoint - classpoint blog. ClassPoint. https://blog.classpoint.io/bitmoji-classroom-in-
powerpoint/