Library Skills: K – Grade 5

‘Scope and Sequence’ for Instruction in K-5 School Libraries

There are always new authors and new skills to learn, but here is a basic list from which to start designing your own scope and sequence. (* = Skills are listed in suggested teaching order, easier skills being listed before more sophisticated skills.)

Kindergarten


A. Literature

1. The student will be acquainted with these authors:
Judi Barrett
Norman Bridwell
Margaret Wise Brown
Virginia L. Burton
Pat Hutchins
Robert Kraus
Bill Martin, Jr.
David McPhail
Robert Munsch
Dr. Seuss
David Shannon
Rosemary Wells
Charlotte Zolotow
2. The student will be familiar with these types of literature:
a. nursery rhymes
b. fairy tales
c. familiar cultural patterns (alphabets, numbers, days,…)
d. rhyme-rhythm patterns

B. Skills
1. The student will know the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
2. The student will be able to identify these parts of a book:

a. cover
b. spine
c. spine label
d. dust cover
3. The student will turn pages of a book from the top corner rather
than the bottom so as to avoid causing tears in pages.
4. The student will be able to put picture books on the correct shelf by matching one letter on the spine with one letter on the shelf.

Grade 1


A. Literature

1. The student will be acquainted with these authors:
Jean de Brunhoff
Eric Carle
Paul Galdone
Robert Kraus
Robert Munsch
Margret and H.A. Rey
Dr. Seuss
Rosemary Wells
Gene Zion
Charlotte Zolotow
2. The student will be familiar with these types of literature:
a. nursery rhymes and fairy tales
b. wordless books
c. familiar cultural patterns (alphabets, numbers, days,…)
d. repetitive patterns
i. ‘Million of Cats’ by Wanda Gag
ii. ‘A House is a House for Me’ by M. Hoberman
iii. ‘The Chick and the Duckling’ by M. Ginsburg
e. chronological patterns
i. ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’by Eric Carle
ii. ‘The Mare on the Hill’ by Thomas Locker
iii. ‘The Giving Tree’ by Shel Silverstein

B. Skills
1. The student will know the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
2. The student will be able to identify these parts of a book:

a. cover
b. spine
c. spine label
d. dust cover
e. title page
3. The student will understand the meaning of these terms:
a. title
b. author
c. city of publication
d. publisher
e. copyright
f. call letter
4. The student will turn pages of a book from the top corner rather
than the bottom so as to avoid causing tears in pages.
5. The student will be able to put picture books on the correct shelf by matching one letter on the spine with one letter on the shelf.

6. The student will understand and use basic online safety procedures. 

Grade 2

A. Literature
1. The student will be acquainted with these authors:
Ludwig Bemelmans
Russell Hoban
Ezra Jack Keats
Steven Kellogg
Arnold Lobel
Robert Munsch
Peggy Parish
Patricia Polacco
Cynthia Rylant
Judith Viorst
Bernard Waber
Brian Wildsmith
2. The student will be familiar with these types of literature:
a. nursery rhymes
b. fairy tales
c. main character patterns
i. ‘Wallace’s Lists’ by Barbara Bottner
ii. ‘A Colour of His Own’  by Leo Lionni
iii. ‘Milton the Early Riser’ by Robert Kraus
iv. ‘Lovable Lyle’ by Bernard Wabers
d. cumulative patterns
i. ‘Cat Goes Fiddle-i-Fee’ by Paul Galdone
ii. ‘Henny Penny’ by Paul Galdone
iii. ‘Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears’ by V. Aardema
e. interlocking patterns
i. ‘Each Peach Pear Plum’ by Janet Ahlberg
ii. ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie’ by L. J. Numeroff
iii. ‘The Runaway Bunny’ by Margaret W. Brown
f. Caldecott winners

B. Skills
1. The student will know the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
2. The student will be able to identify these parts of a book:

a. cover
b. spine
c. spine label
d. dust cover
e. title page
f. flyleaf
3. The student will understand the meaning of these terms:
a. title
b. author
c. city of publication
d. publisher
e. copyright
f. call letter
4. The student will turn pages of a book from the top corner rather
than the bottom so as to avoid causing tears in pages.
5. The student will be able to locate picture books:

a. put picture books on the correct shelf by matching one letter on the spine with one letter on the shelf
b. find picture books by specific authors once reminded of the author’s surname
6. The student will have a basic understanding of the Dewey Decimal Classification System:

a. who created it
b. the purpose of creating it
c. there are 10 main classes
d. fiction books really belong in the 800s
e. folklore is in 398.2
f. wild animals and plants are in the 500s
g. pets are in 600s
h. sports are in 700s
i. poetry is in 800s
7. The student will be able to find the correct shelves for the 10 classes of the Dewey Decimal System.
8. The student will be able to take simple notes:*

a. be able to sort facts into categories
b. be able to generate categories for topics
c. be able to identify key words to use for notes
d. be able to write sentences using key words
e. be able to write topic sentences for categories

8. The student will understand and use basic online safety procedures. 

Grade 3


A. Literature

1. The student will be acquainted with these authors:
Tony Abbott
David A. Adler
Anno
Ann Cameron
Beverly Cleary
Coy Cowley
Sharon Creech
Johanna Hurwitz
Dick King-Smith
Suzy Kline
Leo Lionni
Arnold Lobel
Patricia MacLachlan
Jon Muth
Mary Pope Osborne
Barbara Park
Bill Peet
Thomas Rockwell
Cynthia Rylant
William Steig
Geronimo Stilton
Sarah L. Thomson
Chris Van Allsburg
E.B. White
Vera Williams
Jacqueline Woodson
2. The student will be familiar with these types of literature:
a. nursery rhymes
b. fairy tales
c. problem-solving patterns
i. ‘How Pizza Came to Our Town’ by D.  Khalsa
ii. ‘Peter’s Chair’ by Ezra Jack Keats
iii. ‘Loudmouth George’ by Nancy Carlson
d. realistic stories
e. humorous stories
f. animal stories

B. Skills
1. The student will know the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
a. distinguish between research books and story books
b. distinguish between anthropomorphic and realistic animal stories
2. The student will be able to identify these parts of a book:
a. cover
b. spine
c. spine label
d. dust cover
e. title page
f. flyleaf
g. verso (back of title page)
h. table of contents
i. glossary
j. index
3. The student will understand the meaning of these terms:
a. title
b. author
c. city of publication
d. publisher
e. copyright
f. call letter
g. reference books
4. The student will turn pages of a book from the top corner rather
than the bottom so as to avoid causing tears in pages.

5. The student will be able to locate picture books:
a. put picture books on the correct shelf by matching one letter on the spine with one letter on the shelf
b. find picture books by specific authors once reminded of the author’s surname
6. The student will have a basic understanding of the Dewey Decimal
Classification System:

a. who created it
b. the purpose of creating it
c. the 10 main classes
d. fiction books really belong in the 800s
e. folklore is in 398.2
f. wild animals and plants are in the 500s
g. pets and automobiles are in 600s
h. sports, art and hobbies are in 700s
i. poetry is in 800s
j. countries of the world are in 900s
7. The student will be able to find the correct shelves for each of the 10 classes in the Dewey Decimal System.
8. The student will be acquainted with World Book Kids Online:

a. be aware of the various categories on the home page
b. be able to conduct a simple search
c. be able to use the outline on the lefthand side of an article
d. know that the first paragraph of an article is easiest to read
e. know the purpose of the citation line at the end of an article
9. The student will be able to take simple notes:*
a. be able to sort facts into categories
b. be able to generate categories for topics
c. be able to identify key words to use for notes
d. be able to write sentences using key words
e. be able to write topic sentences for categories

10. The student will understand and use basic online safety procedures. 

Grade 4

A. Literature
1. The student will be acquainted with these authors:
a. Canadian:
Gordon Korman
Jean Little
Farley Mowat
Mordecai Richler
b. International:
Avi
Judy Blume
Betsy Byars
Beverly Cleary
Joy Cowley
Roald Dahl
Leo and Diane Dillon
Kirkpatrick Hill
Joanna Hurwitz
Dayal Khalsa
Dick King-Smith
Kathryn Lasky
Lois Lowry
Megan McDonald
A.A. Milne
Phyllis Reyolds Naylor
Barbara Park
Peter Reynolds
Cynthia Rylant
George Selden
Johanna Spyri
Jacqueline Woodson
Jane Yolen
2. The student will be familiar with these types of literature:
a. nursery rhymes and fairy tales
b. aboriginal folktales
c. biographies
d. humorous stories
e. realistic stories
f. historical stories
g. classics

B. Skills
1. The student will know the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
a. distinguish between research books and story books
b. distinguish between anthropomorphic and realistic animal stories
2. The student will be able to identify these parts of a book:
a. cover
b. spine
c. spine label
d. dust cover
e. title page
f. flyleaf
g. verso (back of title page)
h. table of contents
i. glossary
j. index
3. The student will understand the meaning of these terms:
a. title
b. author
c. city of publication
d. publisher
e. copyright
f. call letter
g. reference books
h. credibility
i. reliability
4. The student will turn pages of a book from the top corner rather
than the bottom so as to avoid causing tears in pages.

5. The student will be be able to find books on fiction and nonfiction shelves:
a. alphabetize three-letter call labels
b. match call labels on a card with call labels on the spines of books on fiction shelves
c. sequence three-digit numbers
d. match three-digit numbers on a card with call labels on the spines of books on nonfiction shelvles
e. find fiction books on the shelves given an author’s surname
6. The student will have a basic understanding of the Dewey Decimal
Classification System:

a. who created it
b. the purpose of creating it
c. the 10 main classes
d. fiction books really belong in the 800s
e. folklore is in 398.2
f. natural sciences are in the 500s
g. pets and automobiles are in 600s
h. sports, riddles, jokes, art and hobbies are in 700s
i. poetry is in 800s
j. countries of the world and biographies are in 900s
k. First Nations books are in the 970s
7. The student will be acquainted with World Book Kids Online:
a. be aware of the various categories on the home page
b. be able to conduct a simple search
c. be able to use the outline on the lefthand side of an article
d. know that the first paragraph of an article is easiest to read
e. know the purpose of the citation line at the end of an article
f. be able to copy the citation line when doing research
8. The student will be able to take simple notes:*
a. be able to sort facts into categories
b. be able to generate categories for topics
c. be able to identify key words to use for notes
d. be able to write sentences using key words
e. be able to write topic sentences for categories
8. The student will be able to write a basic bibliographic entry for a book:
a. author
b. title
c. place of publication
d. publisher
e. copyright date
9. The student will be aware of basic online safety procedures.

Grade 5


A. Literature

1. The student will be acquainted with these authors:
a. Canadian:
Pierre Burton
Alan Cumyn
Sean Cullen
Polly Horvath
Gordon Korman
Roy MacGregor
Kenneth Oppel
Kit Pearson
Eric Wilson
b. International
Eoin Colfer
Sharon Creech
Tony DiTerlizzi
Eleanor Estes
Erin Hunter
Brian Jacques
Dick King-Smith
Kathryn Lasky
Robert Lawson
C.S. Lewis
Patricia MacLachlan
Linda Sue Park
J. K. Rowling
Cynthia Rylant
Lemony Snicket
E.B. White
Laura Ingalls Wilder
2. The student will be familiar with these types of literature:
a. Newbery winners
b. historical fiction
c. adventure stories
d. mystery stories
e. realistic fiction
f. fantasy stories

B. Skills
1. The student will know the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
2. The student will be able to identify these parts of a book:

a. cover
b. spine
c. spine label
d. dust cover
e. title page
f. flyleaf
g. verso (back of title page)
h. table of contents
i. glossary
j. index
k. internet links
3. The student will understand the meaning of these terms:
a. title
b. author
c. city of publication
d. publisher
e. copyright
f. call letter
g. reference books
h. credibility
i. reliability
4. The student will turn pages of a book from the top corner rather
than the bottom so as to avoid causing tears in pages.
5. The student will be be able to find books on fiction and nonfiction shelves:*

a. alphabetize three-letter call labels
b. match call labels on a card with call labels on the spines of books on fiction shelves
c. sequence four-digit numbers (e.g. 398.2)
d. match three-digit numbers on a card with call labels on the spines of books on nonfiction shelves
e. find fiction books on the shelves given an author’s surname
f. find nonfiction books on shelves given a four-digit dewey number
g. shelve fiction books using the first three letters of an author’s surname
6. The student will have a basic understanding of the Dewey Decimal
Classification System:

a. who created it
b. the purpose of creating it
c. the 10 main classes
d. fiction books really belong in the 800s
e. folklore is in 398.2
f. wild animals and plants are in the 500s
g. pets and automobiles are in 600s
h. sports, riddles, jokes, art and hobbies are in 700s
i. poetry is in 800s
j. countries of the world and biographies are in 900s
k. First Nations books are in the 970s
l. Canadian history is in 970s
7. The student will be able to use World Book Kids and Student Online:
a. be aware key differences between the two sites
b. be able to conduct a simple search
c. be able to use the outline on the lefthand side of an article
d. know that the first paragraph of an article is easiest to read
e. know the purpose of the citation line at the end of an article
f. be able to copy the citation line when doing research
g. be able to find related articles
8. The student will be able to take simple notes:*
a. be able to sort facts into categories
b. be able to generate categories for topics
c. be able to identify key words to use for notes
d. be able to write sentences using key words
e. be able to write topic sentences for categories
9. The student will be able to write a basic bibliographic entry for a book:
a. author
b. title
c. place of publication
d. publisher
e. copyright date
10. The student will be aware of basic online safety procedures.
11. The student will be able to evaluate online sites:*
a. know the purpose of acquiring background knowledge
b. be aware of sites which are not considered reliable
c. know some key features of reliable sites
d. be able to use a questionnaire to evaluate websites

[This page may be copied for non-profit use if the following credit is provided: ©2011 Sophie Rosen.]

Online Safety Lessons: HERE and HERE

PDF: Library Skills K – 5

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