I wrote 9 goal statements in my 2005-2006 annual report. Here are the results of those goals.

1. Create a working collection that supplements school curriculum
I exceeded my expectations for this goal.

This goal statement is very broad and at the end of the school year I'm not sure what it means. I think what I wanted to do is begin to create a collection that supplements the school curriculum. I want a library collection that is used by the staff and students; not a stagnant archive of old books.

I have begun this process. My goal was to have a collection with an average age of 1990. The collection inherited from Carl Ben Elementary had an average age of 1988 with 13,624 copies. As of the May 17 Titlewise Analysis, we have a collection age of 1991 with 15,275 copies.

1,544 copies were removed from our catalog from August 1, 2006 to May 22, 2007. 1,332 of those copies were weeded (i.e. withdrawn because they were old and outdated). The areas that changed the most were the 900s, and the Reference. I withdrew many history and biography books as I put books on the shelf for the first time. History and Geography went from an average age of 1988 to an average age of 1993. Biography went from 1982 to 1992. Reference went from 1986 to 1988. (1988 is still too old for reference, but we are gaining!) We may not have as many books on the shelf, but now we can see the good ones that are useable!

2. Discover the treasures in the Kennedy library collection
This goal has been met.

The activity that greatly helped me achieve this goal was putting the books on the shelves for the first time. I saw all 4000 picture books. I saw all of the nonfiction books and I saw the small collection of chapter books. It was while I was filing these books that I began to take note of not only what was here, but also what was NOT here.

All 3^rd grade classes did some kind of biography project. I ordered several biographies of authors and illustrators and I received several biographies of artists. I also purchased some very popular sports biographies (i.e. Tony Hawk, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming). I spent $3592.64 out of my $9,128 total budget on nonfiction books.

Folktales are popular books for lessons too. The average age of our folklore is 1985. I purchased a few folktales, but chapter books and biographies were a higher priority.

Poetry is another popular area and new books need to be purchased. We only have 243 books in this section with an average age of 1989, but again chapter books and biographies were a higher priority.

3. Present information about library policies to faculty. This goal has been met.

I presented information about library policies to the staff during the first workshop day of the 2006-2007 school year. I have attached the Powerpoint I used to this report. I did not intend to print each slide on a full page! Ooops!

The staff was very receptive to the policies I have created for the library and my mission as a teacher-librarian.

4. Collaborate with at least 3 classroom teachers on a standards-based research project This goal has been met.

There were several projects completed in collaboration with classroom teachers during this 2006-2007 school year! I have attached the lessons to this report. I'll give a summary of how the projects were implemented.

3^rd grade biography timelines

3 third grade classes have a "reading wheel" for their students to complete. The students read different types of books as specified by the classroom teacher. One type they all use is biographies. I incorporated the Social Studies standard of communicating chronological order with the information literacy research standards. The students use biographies to learn about timelines and how the library is organized.

4^th grade Caldecott/sentence/storytelling activity

This is still one of my favorite lessons. I begin by telling (not reading) Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. Then, we discuss the most important ideas of the story and we put those ideas in order. Next, I remind the students about the Caldecott Award and explain that they will write 6 - 8 sentences that summarize the story as well as draw a picture about the story. After the sentences and pictures are completed, we work on telling the story without the book. After they have told their Caldecott stories we carry on the same idea with folktales.

4^th grade North Dakota pioneers/adventures in wiki creation

The 4^th grade Social Studies curriculum is packed with activities for the students to learn about North Dakota. They were ready to learn about North Dakota pioneers at the end of the year and were quickly running out of time. I worked with Rachel Nikle on a project that incorporates primary resources, analyzing photographs and information searching while learning about the pioneers that settled in our state. We began by looking at photos in the American Memory Collection on the Library of Congress Website. We looked at 1 photo specifically and noticed the facts and what we thought was true. Then after I showed them a few searching techniques, they went to the American Memory website, selected their own photo and answered the same questions.

Next, we worked on developing good, general questions about their photographs (i.e. How did the students get to school, Why did the girls wear dresses all of the time, Where were schools built, What kind of machinery did they use). I selected 30 of the best questions and located 1 source where at least part of the answer could be found. Then, the students looked in that source and took notes relevant to the question. After they had their notes completed, they wrote 2 - 4 sentences that answered the original question and posted their question and answer on our ndpioneers wiki. You can see their work at http://ndpioneers.pbwiki.com/.

Due to time constraints, the students did not use the writing process like we would have liked them to, but most did construct good answers.

5^th grade Native American project

This represents another project that I really enjoy. We do this at the beginning of the year and it is a great review of note-taking, citing sources and synthesizing information. The lesson is attached to this report.

The big idea is for the students to understand the similarities and differences between the Native American tribes that lived in what is now the United States. We brainstormed questions that would help us to find these similarities and differences (i.e. location, environment, traditions, shelter). Then, they use library resources to find their information and write notes on their "note circles". After the information has been found, they arrange their notes under the headings in the classroom. They use the notes to answer questions about the tribes. (I do not have a copy of the questions.)

At the end of the activity, each student answers 3 self-evaluation questions.

5. Create (paper) bookmark with path to Elementary Resource webpage

This goal has been met.

The bookmark I created is attached to this report. I did not receive any feedback from students about whether or not they actually used the resources at home. This bookmark was distributed to many students and staff.

6. Continue to analyze test results to understand correlation between reading and writing. Increase NDSA reading and writing scores for all students.

This goal should also include "… correlation between reading, writing, and information literacy".

Throughout the year, my main focus was with the reading scores. The library can positively affect Standard 1 : Engage in the research process and Standard 2 : Engage in the reading process of the North Dakota State Assessment. Students in grades 4 and 5 took the NDSA 10/23/06. The 5^th grade results show that the school average for standard 1 is 84% correct, which is lower than the District and State average. The 5^th grade results show that the school average for standard 2 is 82% correct, which is the same for the District and State. The 5^th grade students did well comparing and contrasting texts (89% correct) and determining the elements of fiction text (88% correct). The scores are lower for using word recognition strategies for meaning (83% correct), using text comprehension strategies (80% correct) and responding to text: various genres/cultures (79% correct).

The current 5^th grade students did improve their average % correct from last year from 67% correct to 84% correct. We do need to realize that not all of the students at Kennedy came from Lewis and Clark and that is the 4^th grade data I'm using for this comparison. However, there are enough duplicate students that I think it does show growth among the class.

The 4^th grade results show the school average for standard 1 at 75% correct. That is actually higher than the District and State average. Positive areas for 4^th grade include identifying characteristics of expository text (96% correct), Using word recognition strategies for meaning (89% correct) and identifying characteristics of multicultural text (87% correct). Areas that need to be addressed include identifying accurate information (74% correct, but higher than district and state averages), reflect, respond to various texts (62% correct), identify the elements of a fiction text (79% correct).

We also have the MAP test as an assessment for grades 3, 4, 5. 2^nd grade students also took the MAP test in Spring 2007, but I'm looking at those scores as baseline data. The Reading MAP test assesses students in the areas of literary, informational genres and elements; phonics, word recognition, and vocabulary; comprehension reading strategies; interpreting reading strategies and literary techniques.

On the Spring 2007 MAP test, 36 fifth grade students improved their scores from the Spring 2006 test. 20 students didn't do as well as their Spring 2006 test. Generally, the 5^th grade students did very well in the purpose/literary technique goal area. They understand the author's purpose and figurative language. The top ½ of the 5^th grade students did well in the Literary, Informational genres and elements goal area. The bottom ½ did not do so well. Students scoring average or high in this goal area can differentiate characteristics of fiction and nonfiction and they can analyze elements of fiction text. Comprehension, interpreting and phonics are the areas that need quite a bit of improvement.

On the Spring 2007 MAP test for 4^th grade, 39 students improved their score from the Spring 2006 test. 6 students did worse and 1 received the same score. We do not have previous scores for 9 students. Comprehension looks to be the goal area that needs the improvement. These scores validate our decision to focus on comprehension as one of our school improvement goals.

These scores show the importance of reading; not just for assignments but also for fun. The students that score the highest are those students that enjoy reading and they read a lot! My job as a librarian is to not only keep these students interested in reading, but also to increase the desire to read for the reluctant readers.

7. Attend the NDLA Centennial Conference in Fargo

I did attend this conference and received some great professional development. I also enjoyed networking with other librarians from across North Dakota. The conference was held in Fargo September 20 -22. One of my 2 favorite sessions was learning how to navigate Census.gov and finding all of the "hidden" census information. The person that presented this information is available free of charge to do similar presentations when needed. My other favorite was learning about graphic novels.