Ancient Rome

The teacher librarian and her colleague deliver a lesson that forms part of a year 7 unit on Ancient Rome. The librarian brings to the collaboration an understanding of appropriate print and digital curriculum resources suitable to the task. She also recognises the importance of information literacy and how this needs to be taught to students. Following a classroom demonstration, she and her colleague support students in a group note taking activity using a wide range of selected resources. These include a digital translator that is used by a student with limited English vocabulary. The teacher librarian then meets with the teacher to evaluate the lesson and discuss future interventions to ensure students can meet the desired learning outcomes.

Mercy Diocesan College is located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It has approximately 600 students enrolled in years 7 to 12. There are 48 cultural backgrounds represented with 58 per cent of the student population having language backgrounds other than English. The students and staff have access to the library during the school day as well as before and after school. The Information Centre offers three learning areas for classes to utilise to satisfy their information and reading needs.