Collection Evaluation and Development Plan

Jeannie Pittman
FRIT/ITEC 7134
Description of te !ite/Environmental !can
Nahunta Elementary School is a Title I school and is the smallest of three elementary schools in the rural
Brantley County school district. The staff includes two administrators, 20 teachers, and a media specialist. The
school serves students in rades four throuh si!. There are 2"# students at Nahunta Elementary. The student$
to$teacher ratio is %#.&'. (ver &0) of the teachers hold a *aster+s deree or hiher, and the averae amount of
teachin e!perience amon the teachers is %# years. The racial ma,e$up of the school is -%) Caucasian, ')
.frican$.merican, 2) /ispanic, and 2) (ther01nspecified. '2) of the students at this school are at or 2elow
the poverty level and 3ualify for free or reduced lunches. There are 4% special education students and one
ES(5 student.
The Nahunta Elementary *edia Center offers -%'2 2oo,s, #-2 videos0676s, and an online card
catalo. The media specialist stated that 2ecause of 2udet cuts she no loner su2scri2es to any maa8ines or
newspapers for student use. There are eiht computers availa2le in the li2rary for students where they can loo,
up resources usin the (9.C, ta,e .ccelerated :eader tests, and access the Internet. (ther resources include
two computer la2s located within the school with #0 computers each. These la2s are not under the supervision
of the media specialist. ;rom these computer la2s, students can access Study Island, <eoria+s (nline
.ssessment System =(.S>, and 5in,s to 5earnin. Teachers can also access many free resources on the we2
such as the <eoria 6epartment of Education Social Studies Standards we2site located on the we2 at
http?00www.eoriastandards.or0socialstudies.asp!. They can also access lesson plans and teacher resources on
the companion we2sites for the social studies te!t2oo,s. These resources are found on the we2 at
http?00www.harcourtschool.com0menus0h2social@studies. The Nahunta Elementary *edia Center does not
participate in any resource sharin with any other schools at this time.
%
Curriculum Revie"/#appin$
The topic that I have selected for this proAect is 1nited States /istory. .ccordin to teacher data
athered and a review of the <eoria 9erformance Standards, this is covered in rades four and five in this
school. ;rom spea,in with the teachers and the media specialist, who is a former social studies teacher and
wor,s closely with the current social studies teachers, I was a2le to find out more a2out the proAects and
activities that the students complete throuhout the school year. In 4
th
rade, the students are assined proAects
and complete units on the topics of colonial history, Native .mericans, the :evolutionary Bar, the Constitution,
the Bestward E!pansion, and the time leadin up to the Civil Bar. In the '
th
rade, students complete activities
and proAects on the topics of the Civil Bar, the Industrial :evolution, immirants, Borld Bar I, Borld Bar II,
the :oarin 20s, and other historical happenins leadin up to the present day. In the &
th
rade, the social
studies curriculum moves away from 1nited States history into the history of other parts of the world so this
rade level was not included in my research. (verall, the students at Nahunta Elementary are e!ceedin the
state averae on the social studies sement of the C:CT. In 200", the 4
th
rade students scored -4) which was
') a2ove the state averae of C-). The '
th
rade students also scored -4) which was &) a2ove the state
averae of CC).
Since the DCCs are 2ein phased out and from what I understand will not 2e used after the 0"$0C school
year, I chose to 2ase my review on the <eoria 9erformance Standards only. The information pertainin to the
social studies curriculum on the charts 2elow can 2e found on the <eoria 6epartment of Education we2site. It
is a concise summary of the <eoria 9erformance Standards?
Fourt $rade students "ill %e$in te formal stud& of 'nited !tates istor&( from te development of
)ative *merican cultures to te &ear 1+,-. Concepts in $eo$rap&( $overnment( and economics "ill
interface "it te stud& of istor&. /& te end of 4t $rade( students "ill %e a%le to0
E E!plain the development of early Native .merican cultures in North .merica
E 6escri2e the European e!ploration of North .merica and e!plain the factors that shaped British colonial
.merica, as well as the causes, events, and results of the .merican :evolution
E .naly8e the challenes faced in overnin the new .merican nation, westward e!pansion, and the a2olitionist
and suffrae movements
E 5ocate the important eoraphical features of the 1nited States, 2oth natural and man$made, and descri2e how
these physical systems affect the rowth of the 1. S.
E 6escri2e and e!plain the sinificance of selected historical documents and of overnmental functions as they
relate to democratic 2eliefs and freedoms
2
E 1se economic concepts of trade, opportunity cost, speciali8ation, voluntary e!chane, productivity, and price
incentives to illustrate historical events
(Source: The 4
th
Grade New Georgia Performance Standards Brochure)
Fift $rade students "ill continue te formal stud& of 'nited !tates istor&( %e$innin$ "it te Civil 1ar
and culminatin$ "it te present. Concepts in $eo$rap&( $overnment( and economics "ill interface "it
te stud& of istor&. /& te end of 2t $rade( students "ill %e a%le to0
E E!plain the causes, maAor events, and conse3uences of the Civil Bar, and analy8e the effects of
:econstruction
E 6escri2e and e!plain life in .merica from the late %-th century to the present, includin the 1. S. involvement
in various wars and conflicts, the <reat 6epression and the New 6eal, the Cold Bar, and sinificant people
and events durin this time period
E 5ocate important places in the 1nited States, 2oth natural and man$made
E 6escri2e and e!plain how eoraphy affects economic rowth and e!pansion of the 1. S.
E E!plain the protection of citi8ens+ rihts under the constitution, includin the process for and history of
amendin the 1. S. Constitution
E 1se economic concepts of trade, opportunity cost, speciali8ation, voluntary e!chane, productivity, and price
incentives to illustrate historical events
(Source: The 5
th
Grade New Georgia Performance Standards Brochure)
Throuh the teachin of the social studies curriculum, the students will continue to apply mastered
s,ills, achieve mastery in certain areas, develop s,ills, or 2e introduced to new s,ills. The ta2les 2elow contain
more information a2out the s,ills that should 2e developed and practiced throuh the social studies curriculum.
3oal0 Te student "ill use maps to retrieve social studies information.
#*P *)D 345/E !6I44! 3rade 4 3rade 2
%. use cardinal directions .pply .pply
2. use intermediate directions .pply .pply
#. use a letter0num2er rid system to determine location .pply .pply
4. compare and contrast the cateories of natural, cultural, and political
features found on maps
.pply .pply
'. use inch to inch map scale to determine distance on a map .pply .pply
&. use map ,ey0leend to ac3uire information from, historical, physical,
political, resource, product and economic maps
*aster .pply
". use a map to e!plain impact of eoraphy on historical and current
events
*aster .pply
C. draw conclusions and ma,e enerali8ations 2ased on information from
maps
*aster .pply
-. use latitude and lonitude to determine location 6evelop 6evelop
%0. use raphic scales to determine distances on a map Introduce *aster
%%. compare maps of the same place at different points in time and from
different perspectives to determine chanes, identify trends, and
enerali8e a2out human activities
Introduce *aster
%2. compare maps with data sets =charts, ta2les, raphs> and 0or readins Introduce *aster
#
to draw conclusions and ma,e enerali8ations

3oal0 Te student "ill %e a%le to locate( anal&7e( and s&ntesi7e information related to social studies
topics and appl& tis information to solve pro%lems/ma8in$ decisions.

I)F5R#*TI5) PR5CE!!I)3 !6I44! 3rade 4 3rade 2
%. compare similarities and differences .pply .pply
2. orani8e items chronoloically .pply .pply
#. identify issues and0or pro2lems and alternative solutions 6evelop *aster
4. distinuish 2etween fact and opinion .pply .pply
'. identify main idea, detail, se3uence of events, and cause and effect in
a social studies conte!t
*aster .pply
&. identify and use primary and secondary sources *aster .pply
". interpret timelines *aster .pply
C. identify social studies reference resources to use for a specific purpose .pply .pply
-. construct charts and ta2les .pply .pply
%0. analy8e artifacts 6evelop *aster
%%. draw conclusions and ma,e enerali8ations *aster .pply
%2. analy8e raphs and diarams 6evelop *aster
%#. translate dates into centuries, eras, or aes 6evelop *aster
%4. formulates appropriate research 3uestions Introduce *aster
%'. determines ade3uacy and0or relevancy of information Introduce *aster
%&. chec, for consistency of information Introduce *aster
%". interprets political cartoons Introduce 6evelop
Source: The Social Studies Skills Matri (htt!:""www#georgiastandards#org"socialstudies#as!)
Collection Evaluation
Since I had limited access to the media center records and to the students, most of the collection
evaluation techni3ues that I used for this proAect were collection$centered measures. The first techni3ue that I
used was chec,in lists. ;rom TitleBave, I was a2le to pull up the Supplemental 5ists for Te!t2oo,s for the
two te!t2oo,s used at Nahunta Elementary for the social studies classes. Both the 4
th
and '
th
rades use 2oo,s
pu2lished 2y /arcourt School 9u2lishers, respectively titled $arl% &nited States and The &nited States in
Modern Times. (f the "# supplemental 2oo,s recommended 2y /arcourt for these two te!t2oo,s, I found that
the media center had %" =or 2#)> of the 2oo,s. The averae year of pu2lication for the 2oo,s on the list 2elow
is %--# ma,in the averae 2oo, %' years old. Bhile all of these 2oo,s are still relevant, the media should
consider updatin some of the titles that are older and in need of repair with more recently pu2lished editions.
/oo8s Recommended %& 9arcourt Pu%lisers in te )aunta Elementar& #edia Center Collection
*utor Title :ear of
4
Pu%lication
Berleth, :ichard !amuel;s Coice %--0
Brenner, Bar2ara If :ou 1ere Tere in 14<= %--C
Cherry, 5ynne * River Ran 1ild0 *n Environmental 9istor& %--2
Collier, Fames #& /roter !am is Dead %-"4
6avis, Genneth Don;t 6no" #uc *%out te 2- !tates 200%
6avis, Genneth Don;t 6no" #uc *%out te Pil$rims 2002
;erris, Feri 1at *re :ou Fi$urin$ )o">0 * !tor& a%out /en?amin /anne8er %-CC
;or2es, Esther Jonn& Tremain %-C"
;rit8, Fean *nd Ten 1at 9appened( Paul Revere> %--&
;rit8, Fean !@ 1e;re 1ritin$ te Constitution %-C"
;rit8, Fean 1& )ot( 4afa&ette> %---
/est, .my 1en Jessie Came *cross te !ea %--"
5awrence, Faco2 Te 3reat #i$ration0 *n *merican !tor& %--#
:eeder, Carolyn !ades of 3ra& %-C-
Sattler, /elen Te Earliest *mericans %--#
Speare, Eli8a2eth Te 1itc of /lac8%ird Pond %--#
Bhelan, <loria )eAt !prin$ an 5riole %-C"
The other three collection evaluation techni3ues that I used to measure the value of the collection were
e!aminin the collection directly, ae analysis, and one use$centered measure, a circulation study. E!aminin
the collection directly proved to 2e much more difficult than it should have 2een since there were two separate
sections of the li2rary. (ne section was e!clusively for .ccelerated :eader 2oo,s. The other section was for
2oo,s that were not part of the .ccelerated :eader proram and were shelved 2y the 6ewey decimal system. In
the non$.: section it was easy to locate titles pertainin to 1.S. /istory. There were '0# titles in the -00s
section. The circulation records show that these titles have 2een chec,ed out 2-& times this year. .lso, of these
2oo,s, a TitleBave analysis shows that 200 are considered aed or have copyriht dates older than %' years.
There were 3uite a few titles with copyriht dates from the late %-"0s and the early %-C0s. The two oldest
2oo,s I found were from %-&#.
Bhen e!aminin the collection, I found that the maAority of the titles pertainin to 1.S. /istory were
found in the -00s and the #00s sections with a few relevant titles scattered in the '00s and &00s. (f course,
there were also many historical fiction titles shelved in the fiction section. (verall, 2esides the ae issue, the
collection was in ood physical shape. The maAority of the 2oo,s were still tihtly 2ound and in ood
condition. There were a handful of titles that I found that were in poor physical condition and that needed to 2e
weeded from the collection 2ased on this fact alone. In the .: section of the li2rary, the titles were e!tremely
'
hard to locate. Bhile they were supposed to 2e shelved accordin to the 6ewey decimal system, I found them
to 2e all mi!ed up. . student loo,in for a certain title would have to spend a reat deal of time searchin the
shelves of this collection. Bhile I was 2rowsin the shelves, a student as,ed for help locatin titles on a certain
topic. I located the 2oo,s usin the (9.C, 2ut when I searched the shelves, I could not find the 2oo,s
anywhere. .lso, 2ecause of the way the media specialist catalos the .: 2oo,s, it was impossi2le to pull a
circulation usae report on Aust one section, such as the .: -00s, in the system. Since all these 2oo,s are
la2eled with .: 2efore the 6ewey code, the .: 2oo,s are all rouped toether on the circulation report the
media specialist ave me. I am sure you could o 2oo, 2y 2oo, in the system to chec, their circulation history,
2ut I did not have this access to the system. The two 2iest wea,nesses of this collection were the ae of the
titles and the lac, of orani8ation in the media center. Bhile there were many ood and relevant titles, the
collection is in desperate need of new and updated 2oo,s.
#aterials 5rder/Consideration File
.ttached is my consideration file for materials that should 2e added to supplement the current 1.S.
/istory collection at Nahunta Elementary School. The maAority of my 2udet was spent on 2oo,s for the
collection with many multicultural items on the list as well as some 2oo,s in Spanish for the ES(5 student at
the school. I spent one$fourth of my 2udet on 676s and videos. The media center currently has %4 videos
pertainin to 1.S. /istory, several of which are outdated. I have also supplemented the collection with some
2oo,s on C6 and some software that I thin, would 2e of reat interest and use to the students and teachers as
they study and teach the social studies curriculum.
&