Inquiry and the Common Core : Librarians and Teachers Designing Teaching for Learning

Practicing librarians and library educators demonstrate the power of inquiry to achieve the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and promote school librarians as key partners in implementing this type of critical teaching and learning in K-12 schools. With the adoption of the CCSS in most of the nation's schools, educators and administrators at K-12 schools have a pressing need to find the best ways to implement these rigorous and comprehensive standards that challenge students to understand informational text and digital content at increasing levels of complexity. This text provides faculty with much-needed support in achieving this critical goal, thoroughly describing inquiry learning and how it links to the CCSS. The authors-nearly 30 contributors total, comprising librarians, library media specialists, educational leaders, teachers from the kindergarten level to college professors, and administrators, each with direct experience and knowledge regarding the subject matter-explain how the standards' emphasis on in-depth investigation and evidence-based reading and writing skills dovetail perfectly with inquiry-based learning initiatives. Acclaimed thought leaders such as Jean Donham, Kristin Fontischiaro, Leslie Maniotes, and Barbara Stripling clearly define and illuminate the librarian's role in school initiatives today and share lesson plans that have been proven effective in actual practice. Features a foreword by Allison Zmuda, former public high school teacher, renowned education consultant, president of Competent Classroom, member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), and author of numerous publications about learning, including Breaking Free from Myths about Teaching and Learning Defines and elaborates on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as they relate to inquiry learning Describes the role of the school librarian in implementing the CCSS and inquiry learning in the school Introduces examples of inquiry-focused learning approaches, including guided inquiry design and project-based learning Provides lesson plans that will spark more practical ideas for inquiry-based instruction that address the CCSS