​Many beliefs in American society have become politicized and school environments naturally foster discussions around such issues. As a result, opinions are freely expressed regardless of depth of knowledge.  Whether a conversation about free speech,  the upcoming presidential election, or if vaccines are necessary, just about everyone is ready to express an opinion.  Texts, statements, videos, photographs, and eyewitness accounts offer support for facts, yet constructing knowledge requires going beyond conjecturing for strengthening information literacy skills.  Here are some basic tips:

• Who is the author? 

Personal experiences and beliefs contribute to bias, whether consciously or unconsciously. Is a biography available that can provide insight into where the author was raised and educated?  Are credentials and organizational affiliations available?  What makes the author qualified to write on the topic?  Is the author expressing an opinion or simply stating facts?  Does the author cite sources or refer to un-named or anonymous sources?

• Relevancy

Who is the intended audience?  Were several articles read for comparing viewpoints? 

• Accuracy

Is the information supported by evidence?  Where did the evidence come from?  Is it free from bias and emotion?  Has the evidence been reviewed by high standards?

• Purpose

What is the purpose of the author’s work? Is it to inform, persuade, entertain, or express an opinion?  Is the author’s intention or purpose clear?  Did the author tell you what to think or cultivate further inquiry into a topic?
 
In making these tips practical for students, consider applying information literacy skills to everyday life.  Did someone send a mean text?  Well, who is the author? Who is the intended audience? What was the purpose? A discussion can then take place on what friendship is and a possible remedy for the situation.  Similarly, this conversation can take place when opinions are expressed about a sports team.
 
Challenge students to support their opinions with knowledge gained from several sources.
What is the evidence?  What are some other viewpoints?  What authority is contributing to your knowledge?  Everyone has an opinion about something but whether they can use knowledge to defend that opinion is something else.

By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources

Information literacy is pertinent to students’ education and is cultivated through the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum (ESIFC) Cycle of Inquiry and Learning skills Connecting, Wondering, Investigating, Constructing, Expressing, and Reflecting.  These skills help students think critically, encourages innovation, and prepares them for research projects.  Students wonder about many things but lack effectiveness in finding accurate resources, however, through collaborative opportunities between content area teachers and school librarians these skills can be reinforced with students.   
School librarians attending the Collaborative Learning Community (CLC) for 2019-2020 have been provided with an updated version of the ESIFC, which also supports the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards. 
The ESIFC was developed by the New York City Department of Education/Office of Library Services School Library System in 2014 and has recently been updated to include NYS Next Generation Standards.  This resource is available to teachers and school librarians and helps familiarize them with curricular resources and assist in planning collaborative lessons.  The four anchor standards and indicators are:

• Inquiry & Design Thinking - Students Use Inquiry and Design Thinking to Build Understanding and Create New Knowledge
• Multiple Literacies - Use Multiple Literacies to Explore, Learn, and Express Ideas
• Social & Civic Responsibility - Demonstrate Civic Responsibility, Respect for Diverse Perspectives, Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship
• Personal Growth & Agency - Engage in Personal Exploration, Social and Emotional Growth, Independent Reading and Learning, and Personal Agency

Included in the ESIFC are benchmark skills for grades K-12 and assessments for each priority benchmark skill and may be viewed at https://slsa-nys.libguides.com/ifc
School librarians within CA BOCES will receive training in using this fantastic resource. 

By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources

The Daily 5 framework lays out a structure for getting students to read and write independently during a literacy block, freeing up the teacher for one-on-one conferences or small group instruction.
​

Daily 5 is a student driven management structure designed to fully engage students in activities that support reading and writing.  It is a structure that creates routines and procedures that foster independent literacy routines that become a habit and supports life long learning. 
 
The five tasks embedded in the structure of Daily 5 are: Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading and Word Work.  Teacher’s begin with introducing read to self and then move to the task work on writing.  Students read to self and work on writing EVERY day; students work on the other 3 tasks in a rotation decided upon by the teacher.
​

The framework begins with a focus lesson/mini lesson on a skill or a topic with the whole class.  The mini lessons lasts about 7-10 minutes.  After the focus lesson, students make a choice of what task they are going to work on during the round.  The round lasts approximately 15-20 minutes and it is based on student’s stamina.  When the chimes sound, students clean up their area and debrief/share.  The teacher then begins focus lesson/mini lesson for the next round.  The Daily 5 rounds may be completed at different times throughout the day or during one literacy block.
 
While the students are embedded in the tasks of Daily 5, the teacher pulls students who are needed for small group instruction, one-on-one conferences or assessments.  Students should meet with the teacher a couple times a week and the most needy are met with daily!
 
The Daily 5 Framework is NOT CONTENT, it is a structure for fostering life long learning and independence.  The 10 steps to independence formulate muscle memory, build independent learners and increase student’s stamina on reading and writing.  The teacher models/teaches the steps to independence during the focus lesson and then the students work on the tasks and build their stamina. 
 
This summer, we had 45 teachers from the region attend the kick off workshop and book study for DAILY 5, we have follow up dates in the calendar to support a smooth transition AND to support teachers and learn from one another.  If you want to learn more about Daily 5, check out the text and/or attend one of our DAILY 5’s workshops during the upcoming school year!

By:  Tessa Levitt and Shannon Dodson, CA BOCES Professional Development​