S.O.S. for Information Literacy
By Staff -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2005
Educators looking to foster information literacy among youngsters now have a new online source of dynamic classroom ideas for teaching these critical skills.
Designed for K–8 schools, S.O.S. for Information Literacy is a free, Web-based database of lessons and teaching materials to help students learn to find, evaluate, and use information in all its forms. The lesson plans on S.O.S (Situations, Outcomes, Strategies) are based on the nine information literacy standards devised by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), which sponsored the project, along with the Center for Digital Literacy at Syracuse University and the Institute of Museum & Library Services.
According to the site, information literacy skills are best taught when teachers and library media specialists work together and relate these lessons to the curriculum. Therefore, S.O.S. materials emphasize collaborative planning and delivery with classroom teachers and can be tailored to specific needs.
The project, which debuted at AASL’s October conference in Pittsburgh, has been well received, says S.O.S. codirector Ruth Small. “School library directors in New York and Chicago, as well as several other districts nationwide, asked us for promotional materials.”
