Assigntment #1 - Evaluation of Reference

Evaluation of a Reference Work

Riedling (2013) recommends evaluating reference materials by the following criteria: scope, accuracy, presentation, relation to similar works, timeliness, diversity, cost (p.21). I suggest we might also consider curricular connections in this list. I have found, in my experience as teacher librarian, that use of reference materials is significantly increased if I provide teachers with access to the resource and indicate a variety of ways the resource may connect with the curriculum goals and the work already occurring in the class.

	Below Standard	Acceptable	Exemplary
Content Scope What is covered? How comprehensive is it? Does the resource accomplish its stated goals?	Resource does not fully cover the intended scope. References to individuals and organizations may be missing.	References covers the intended material with satisfactory information. Resource references an acceptable variety of individuals/organizations.	Resource fully covers the intended material with detailed information. Resource is comprehensive and includes references to a wide variety of individuals/organizations.
Accuracy, Bias, Authority Is the information up-to-date? Authority and bias of the authors? Reputation of the publisher?	Resource contains incorrect, out-of-date or heavily biased information. Author or publisher is of questionable repute.	Resource contains correct information corroborated by other resources.	Resource contains information corroborated by other resources. Authors and publisher are trustworthy and evidence strong authority.
Arrangement and Presentation Presentation and layout easy to read? Appropriate for intended audience? Good index? Current/appealing images?	Resource has unappealing visual presentation. Information is difficult to read or access through indexes. Resource binding, physical makeup is vulnerable or compromised beyond repair.	Resource presentation is dated but accessible. Layout may be confusing or unappealing. Binding, physical makeup may be compromised or easily damaged. Information is accessible through indexes.	Resource presentation is innovative and visually appealing. Content is ideally geared toward intended audience – includes multiple levels of text. Images are stunning.
Relation to Similar Works Will resource enrich current collection? How does resource correspond to similar works?	Resource does not enrich existing collection. Resource negatively deviates from the goals or varied perspective of the collection.	Resource is a good addition to the collection. Resource contains information already found in collection.	Resource is a valuable addition to the collection. Resource is connected to other high-quality resources and provides essential information.
Timeliness and Permanence Is information still up-to-date?	Resource publishing date exceeds 10 years.	Resource publishing date is within last 10 years.	Resource is new or published within last 1-3 years.
Accessibility and Diversity Reflect a variety of points of view? Linguistically, culturally, intellectually accessible to students? Reading level too high/low?	Resource is heavily biased or content is severely restricted by narrow focus. Resource is far too difficult/simplistic for target audience. Does not reflect varied perspective.	Resource can be adapted to meet the linguistic, intellectual, cultural needs of readers. Some text is too high/low for readers.  Resource reflects varied point-of-view.	Resource easily meets the linguistic, intellectual and cultural needs of a variety of readers. Resource is inclusive and reflects wide display of diversity and perspective. Contains content at an ideal reading level for target audience.
Cost Is resource expensive? Will resource be regularly used? Space required to house the resource?	Resource is highly expensive and will be rarely used. Resource takes up valuable shelf space from other higher quality resources.	Resource cost is reasonable, but resource will only be used for a few specific purposes. Resources requires a moderate amount of shelf space for storage.	Resource cost is reasonable. Resource will be used for a wide variety of activities. Resource requires minimal shelf space for storage.
Curricular Connections Does resource meet curricular needs of teachers and students? Engagement of curriculum Big Ideas and Core Competencies?  Cross-curricular connections? Fosters inquiry?	Resource is not well-connected to the goals of the curriculum; does not appropriately engage Big Ideas or Core Competencies. Resource does not support inquiry or deeper understanding.	Resource is connected to the curriculum, meets the requirements of Big Idea or Core Competencies. Resource does not engage inquiry or questioning or foster cross-curricular connections.	Resource engages curricular Big Ideas and helps generate Core Competencies. Resource encourages inquiry and questioning. Resource can easily be used for a variety of topics across the curriculum.

Part I: Evaluation of a Resource

For this project, I have chosen A Life Like Mine, edited by Amanda Rayner, 2002. As a young reader, books like this were a favourite of mine. I loved to look at all the different faces and learn about different ways of eating and living around the world.

This is a classic factbook, a “ready reference” (Riedling, p.37) that will “quickly answer basic questions” (Riedling, p.37) about a specific topic.

Based on the above rubric, A Life Like Mine rates as following:

Content Scope: Exemplary

This resource covers a vast scope of information about how children live around the world. The resource includes references to the basic rights such as food, water, education and love. The resource discusses how these rights effect the daily lives of 18 children from 12 different nations.

Accuracy, Bias and Authority: Exemplary

This resource is published by the reputable publisher DK Publishing in association with Unicef. The resource’s stated intention (bias) is to reflect the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and it does so openly and unapologetically. A donation from every copy of the book goes to Unicef.

Arrangement and Presentation: Exemplary

The resource is arranged in four categories (Survival, Development, Protection, Participation), each category is further divided along individual Rights of the Child – water, shelter, love, identity, education, etc. The resource contains multiple index cues such as a world map showing all the children to be discussed with page references “meet her on page 126” (p.6). There is also a comprehensive index at the back which includes access to information according to a wide variety of topics.

Relation to Similar Works: Acceptable

While this is an older book that does not get much use, it is a valuable compendium of information. As an addition to the collection, this resource provides a solid basic level of information to students while the remainder of the collection acts as enrichment. 

Timeliness and Permanence: Below Standard

This book was originally published in 2002, with a second edition in 2005. While some of the information may still be current, this is an older book which makes it less appealing to students as a potential resource.

Accessibility and Diversity: Exemplary

The text of this book is geared toward gr 2-5 readers with multiple levels of text on each page. Illustration titles, text boxes, paragraphs, bold print and multiple fonts make each page of this resource appealing and has some interesting facts for every level of reader. The resource itself is highly multi-cultural and highlights a vast quantity of diverse facts. Pages are large and thick which lends an ease of manipulation for a variety of physical abilities.

Cost: Acceptable

The cost and size of this book are acceptable: $16.99 Cdn and less than 1cm thick. This book would easily fit on any library shelf. However, the record data for this resource indicates that it is rarely removed from the library. The content is such that few students seek it out from curiosity. Also, it is better suited to traditional research projects than to current inquiry-style learning.

Curricular Connections: Acceptable

The nature of a factbook such as this is that it provides a wide breadth of information without significant depth. In some instances, this can be a benefit, such as in a traditional research project. However, inquiry and resource-based learning practices require students to think beyond surface information and move into deeper learning about subjects and issues. This resource may be a good starting place for inquiry, but it does not delve deeply into any of the topics covered. Also, this book does not contain images of children from Canada (although two from USA) and contains only a brief reference to North American Indigenous cultures. The new BC curriculum encourages students to examine issues such as immigration, local poverty, Canada’s indigenous experience and multiculturalism. While this book highlights multiple cultures, its focus is on the experience of the child in various cultures, rather than on building a multicultural community as the curriculum encourages.

Conclusions

It is easy to judge this book by its cover and assume the content. This resource looks dated and includes stereotypes – cover photos of African children in loincloths and an Asian woman in a rice-picking hat. A closer look demonstrated it was insightful about some topics such as rights of children and issues related to war and poverty. This book is a good first step in a traditional research project, but does not provoke inquiry the way other, more open-ended resources do. This resource is very good at answering simple questions and providing a narrow depth of information on a wide variety of topics.

However, the age of this book and its shallow depth make it a less-than-ideal resource for the library bookshelf. Much of the information can be gleaned online by simply searching trusted websites such as the Unicef.org website. Furthermore, many websites (such as unicef.org and metowe.com) offer not only similar information but opportunities for further engagement and social activism (such as Unicef’s Kid Power fundraising campaign for food).

This resource needs to soon be replaced. I suspect that a resource such as this – almost 20 years old and only moderately useful in scaffolding inquiry but not good at sparking inquiry, will overstay its time in the school library simply because there is not a newer edition or another factbook like it to replace it on the shelf.

Part II: Evaluation of a Replacement Resource

I have chosen The Way to School by Rosemary McCarney as my replacement resource.

 

This visually stunning book was published in 2015 by Canadian publisher Second Story Press in association with Plan International, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. The retail price is $18.95 Cdn.

This resource describes different and sometimes dangerous ways that children around the world get to school. The simple text on each page identifies struggles that students must overcome in order to journey to school – flooding, natural disaster, geography and poverty. This book addresses problems children face at school such as access to clean drinking water, necessary resources and travelling long distances.

The strength of this resource is in its photographs; readers get an on-the-ground view of children in real-life, real-time everyday situations. I have read this resource with students in grades 1 through 5 with great success. Students quickly begin asking questions about the various challenges displayed in the photographs and engage the locations and the situations with wonder and creativity.

Content Scope: Exemplary

This book neatly accomplishes that which it sets out to do: describe the challenges children around the world face in getting to school. In its few pages, it covers various journeys of children from 18 different countries around the world including nations such as Haiti, Ghana and Cambodia.

Accuracy, Bias and Authority: Exemplary

This book has an obvious bias, however both the author and publisher are trustworthy and the bias is expressed with honesty and sensitivity. The resource overtly claims its partnership with Plan International – an international and highly recognized organization dedicated to improving the lives of children. Author Rosemary McCarney is also a highly recognized and trusted author in her work with Plan International and her I am a Girl campaign. She is also the author of the popular Every Day is Malala Day based on the life and work of Malala Yousafzai.

Arrangement and Presentation: Acceptable

This book is geared toward grade 2/3 readers with simple text, few words to a page and restricted vocabulary. Pages, while photographically interesting, are simply arranged with neat, uniform print on or below large images. This book would be an excellent resource for an early reader as well as a second language learner or visually impaired reader who requires large, easy to decode images.

Relation to Similar Works: Exemplary

This is an excellent addition to a high-quality social geography library collection. Not only does this book provide excellent opportunity for developing inquiry and questions, it is a non-fiction resource that is easily relatable while it covers a large amount of ideas. A quick examination of the local Chapters or Kidsbooks stores shows that books such as this – focussed on real people in real situations are increasingly popular.

Timeliness and Permanence: Exemplary

As a new resource, published by an internationally recognized agency, this resource has trustworthy, up-to-date data and images about real life for people in other countries. It does not contain stylistic markers such as cartoons and fonts that will prematurely age the book due to changes in preferences of style.

Accessibility and Diversity: Exemplary

This resource touches on a wide variety of colours, genders, ages and people groups around the world. There is even a reference to Canadian Indigenous peoples in one of the photos. The reading level of this book makes it a ready resource for a variety of reading levels.

Cost: Exemplary

This is a reasonable cost for a book that will be enjoyed not only for its facts, but also for its fascinating photographic content and connection to multiple curricular objectives.

Curricular Connections: Exemplary

This is a wonderful resource for inquiry-based learning. The strength of this book is not so much in the information it provides, rather in the questions it provokes. This book would be an excellent accompaniment to the grades 3 and 5 Social studies curriculum to help students explore relationships between humans and the environment, shared aspects of life in the global community and discussions of human rights and the rights of the child. This resource could support teachers guiding students in ethical inquiry (“How do we experience our rights?”, “What rights matter most?”, “Why do these children want to go to school?”) and issues-based inquiry (“Plan a safe trip to school”, “How can we support children in these schools?”). Resources such as this foster empathy in readers; real faces, in real-life situations draw readers into questioning and challenges the reader to place themselves in the shoes of another.

Conclusion

This is an excellent resource and a great fit for any library collection. It can be read as a fact book or a read-aloud and engages readers to move outside of their own worldview. The resource is a strong match to the new BC curriculum, inquiry, problem-solving and resource-based learning and can be used across several grades.

The drawback to this book is that it is not a compendium of facts. While it contains some information, it is not designed as a research resource. For students engaged in genuine inquiry, this resource may provoke genuine inquiry questions but students will have to pursue other avenues to determine the answers. This resource is an excellent companion to more complete factbook resource about the experiences of children around the world (see Off to Class in the recommendations below).

Both A Life Like Mine and The Way to School can be used to foster learning and inquiry. But The Way to School is a stronger resource for inquiry practices such as applying knowledge to new situations, ethical participation and aesthetic growth, as per the AASL standards outlined in Riedling (p.9). The Way to School format is far less prescriptive than A Life Like Mine and lends itself well to wonder and questioning. Also, The Way to School offers glimpses into the lives of other children in a way that the fact-laden A Life Like Mine or as google search cannot.  It also encourages students to think critically about life experiences of others (“Why hasn’t anyone built a road for the kids to travel?” “Where are the parents?”) because it is not focussed on telling students “all about…” specific and limited details. It is also more effective at drawing students deeper into empathy by simply presenting a variety of childhood experiences thereby encouraging curiosity which leads, through inquiry to deep, transformational learning.

Note: Additional Resource Ideas

It is difficult, having worked as a teacher librarian and as a classroom teacher, to limit my recommendations to only one book. As a keen practitioner of resource-based learning, I can’t help but offer further recommendations! There is no perfect resource, and many resources work best when combined with others.  I have appended a few additional resources to support inquiry in the area of social geography, immigration, poverty, empathy and diversity. The following books are exemplary examples of quality resources for inquiry-based learning; books that offer provocations for empathy, wonder, questions and “outside the box” problem-solving.

	One World, One Day by Barbara Kerley, 2009 This stunning concept book illustrates the simple things children do daily across the world: wake up, wash up, go to school, play, go to bed. The book highlights the theme of global community, the many ways we are all the same, and is helpful in provoking issues-based  inquiry: “how does where we live effect how we live?”, “are we more different or the same than others?”, “how does our home shape who we are?”
	Off to Class by Susan Hughes, 2011 Another school-based book highlighting how students around the world attend school. Canadian author Susan Hughes highlights the cultural and environmental challenges students around the world face to get to school. The stunning photographic visuals, text boxes full of interesting information and easy to read text makes this an accessible book for many readers. This book provides more information than The Way to School and may be a more helpful resource for inquiry research. Hughes also has books about immigration and Canadian heroes.
	This Child, Every Child by David J. Smith, 2011 In a similar vein as Smith’s excellent If the World Were a Village, this is a statistical book that examines childhood experiences around the world. Following the recommendations from the UN convention on the Rights of the Child, this book highlights the ways in which children are the same but live in very different circumstances. This is an excellent book for discussing issues-based questions around poverty, access to resources, resilience and diversity. Conversations from this book can also include cross-curricular connections with math as students closely examine the percentages and numbers in the activities provided.

References

Riedling, Ann. (2013) Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips, (Third Edition). Linworth.
McCarney, Rosemary. (2015). The Way to School. Second Story Press, Toronto, ON.

Rayner, Amanda (2002). A Life Like Mine. DK Publishing,. New York, New York.

Rayner, A. (2002) A Life Like Mine. Image retrieved from https://www.amazon.ca/Life-Like-Mine-Children-Around/dp/1405314605/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1548807940&sr=8-2&keywords=a+life+like+mine

McCarney, R. (2015) The way to School. Image retrieved from https://www.amazon.ca/Way-School-Rosemary-McCarney/dp/1927583780/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1548800265&sr=8-2&keywords=the+way+to+school

Kerley, B. (2009). One World, One Day. Image retrieved from https://www.amazon.ca/One-World-Day-Barbara-Kerley/dp/1426304609/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1548784487&sr=8-1&keywords=one+world%2C+one+day+kerley

Hughes, S. (2011) Off to Class. Image retrieved from https://www.amazon.ca/Off-Class-Incredible-Unusual-Schools/dp/1926818865/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1926818865&pd_rd_r=f9a48d08-23ee-11e9-b4b4-51aa5e01cb40&pd_rd_w=JRZBM&pd_rd_wg=fw2KO&pf_rd_p=cda2b2aa-f379-4b98-b5ff-b78659186dbe&pf_rd_r=D23YF434XH7X6DPBMKEM&psc=1&refRID=D23YF434XH7X6DPBMKEM

Smith, David J. (2011) This Child, Every Child. Image retrieved from https://www.amazon.ca/This-Child-Every-Worlds-Children/dp/1554534666/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1554534666&pd_rd_r=2e71ecf7-2412-11e9-96f5-33801498f23a&pd_rd_w=zfh0O&pd_rd_wg=doz0z&pf_rd_p=f2db799a-cb6a-4ff5-b84b-b317891b94a8&pf_rd_r=XAMVMJ00ZEE9A0F95BDA&psc=1&refRID=XAMVMJ00ZEE9A0F95BDA