Steps+for+Creating+a+Subject+Guide

=Introduction= This page is includes some essential guidelines for creating subject guides at the elementary or high school level.

=Getting Started= Research shows that subject guides are more effective if teachers and teacher-librarians collaborate. Teachers will probably be more than happy to collaborate with you if you tell them you are creating a subject guide for their students. If you don't have a procedure in place for scheduling these collaborative meetings, you might be interested in the online tools described in this blog post, Five Tools to Help You Schedule Meetings.

However you decide to proceed, it's not a bad idea to keep a record of your collaborative efforts. Data can be used for year-end reporting and promoting the school library program. If you're looking for a way to keep track of your efforts, the Saskatchewan School District has created a collaboration log.

Also, you'll want to model the research process as much as possible in the design of your subject guide. The following documents might be helpful. A teacher's guide to implementing inquiry-based learning. Published by Alberta Learning. A framework for inquiry-based learning in classrooms and school libraries developed by the BCTLA Info Lit Task Force.

How to do Research - An Interactive Map was developed by the folks at Kentucky Virtual Library and walks students through the research process.

=Choosing a Platform= Research shows that a consistent format benefits both students and teacher-librarians. Students will be able to navigate through the subject guides easier if they are familiar with the look and feel of them. Teacher-librarians will be able to update and maintain subject guides easier if they are consistent.

You should choose a platform to host your subject guides. Consider one of the open-source or commerial options listed on the page, @Resources for creating subject guides. Then, decide on the look and feel of your subject guide. Follow the tips for @designing subject guides.

=Promoting your Subject Guide= After your subject guide is complete, //**promote it**//!
 * Give it prime real estate on the library's homepage.
 * Ask the classroom teacher to link to it from his/her class webpages.
 * Support students while they use it.
 * Catalogue it.
 * Use your imagination!

=Obtaining Feedback= Find a way to get feedback from students and teachers. This will help you create more effective subject guides. You can create and obtain online feedback using SurveyMonkey or Poll Everywhere. Either of these can be used to create polls or surveys. Wikispaces supports Poll Everywhere which I've used to create a one-question poll below.

=Take the poll!= media type="custom" key="12813000"