Calling all School Library Media Specialists!

July 30, 2017 7:29 AM

I'm in the final two candidates for a School Library Media Specialist position (YAY!) and have to give a demo lesson on Wednesday. I've been tasked with giving a 20 minute demo lesson on digital citizenship to a class of 7 middle school special education students (8:1+2 students in special/lifeskills class.) I have very little background in teaching (my background is in libraries), so I'm floundering a little. Do any teachers, administrators, or library media specialists have any tips, tricks, ideas or, guidance that they can share? (I will have access to ipads that the students can use but probably can't download new apps, and can also use the classroom smartboard.) Thanks!
posted by firei to Work & Money (3 answers total)

Library media specialist here. Make sure you define your objective: what do you want kids to know or understand by the end of the lesson? For a 20 minute lesson, it's going to be a pretty narrow objective. Put that up on the interactive board or somewhere else that students (and your evaluators) can see. Be able to answer the question: How will you know if students have met the objective for the day? (It can be as simple as an exit slip or a class discussion.)

Take a look at Common Sense Media Digital Passport. You'll have to create an educator account for yourself to see the materials. Once you're logged in, click on Educator Materials. There are five different modules about a variety of aspects of digital citizenship. There are online games (which might be tough to get lined up on the iPads in 20 minutes) and worksheets you can print out. Also, YouTube is an invaluable resource. If you search for "digital citizenship for middle school," you'll find lots of short videos you can build a lesson around.

I would recommend that you not talk the whole time. Make sure there's an interactive component that really involves and engages the students. Is there a way to get the students to interact with one another in a controlled and non-chaotic manner? For instance, if you use a short video, before you show the video, ask students a thought-provoking question to answer after they've watched the video. Once the video is over, you can ask for answers in a discussion format. Or, you can have students turn to a partner and discuss their thoughts before opening up to the whole class (think-pair-share). That way, all students are talking, not just a select few.
posted by Barnifer at 8:18 AM on July 30, 2017 [6 favorites]

Something to consider is if you can take your lesson and include a how-to guide for teachers to do what you just accomplished with the kids. Your value as a librarian increases when you can make teachers' jobs easier. Pass said guide out to the evaluators so they can follow along.
posted by inviolable at 1:39 PM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Just as an update - I got the job! :D
posted by firei at 6:50 PM on August 31, 2017