Academics

Media Resource Center (Library)

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The image of a school library as a quiet room filled with shelves of dusty books has gone the way of the typewriter.

The Media Resource Center at Asheville Christian Academy is a bright and active space filled with more than 15,000 volumes, a small group lab with 16 computers, and a variety of resources students learn to use to access information.

Spacious tables and chairs, a cozy reading loft filled with pillows, and an array of electronic media greet students who visit the library regularly for class and study time. Students may participate in a variety of extracurricular reading activities such as two annual book fairs, the Middle School Battle of the Books team, the springtime Ice Cream for Reading contest, and the North Carolina Children’s Choice Books awards program.

Parents too are welcome in the Media Resource Center to use the computers, to assist teachers, and for a variety of school functions throughout the year.

You can access the Library webpage and search our card catalog here.

Academic Goals

K4: Familiarize students with the library by:

  • Exposing them to various types of books with varying lengths and authors
  • Familiarizing them with checking out a book and returning it on time
  • Preparing them to sit still through a story or two.

K5: Teach students the following library skills:

  • Properly caring for books
  • Choosing books from shelves using a shelf marker
  • Distinguishing between fiction and non-fiction
  • Recognizing well-known authors and illustrators, such as Laura Numeroff, Lillian Hoban, Eric Carle, Kevin Henkes, Jez Alborough and H.A. Rey
  • Identifying various parts of a book
  • Demonstrating the sense of a story
  • Developing listening skills through various types of media

1st Grade: Proficient in the above skills plus:

  • Locating the Easy Fiction and Easy Non-Fiction sections of the library
  • Identifying works of recognized authors such as Don Freeman, Peggy Parrish, Marcus Pfister, Jane Yolen, Don and Audrey Wood, Maurice Sendak and Doreen Cronin
  • Finding fiction books arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name
  • Distinguishing between real and make believe stories
  • Sequencing events when retelling a story

2nd Grade: Proficient in all above skills plus:

  • Recognizing Caldecott Medal books or other notably recognized books
  • Accessing the library card catalog
  • Identifying a biography and locating one in the library
  • Identifying the works of Bernard Waber, Gene Zion, Cynthia Rylant, Dr. Seuss, Tommie dePaola, Jeff Brown and Jan Brett

3rd Grade: Proficient in all above skills plus:

  • Identifying different genres such as folk tales, biographies, realistic fiction, informational books, poetry, historical fiction, and mysteries
  • Locating reference resources such as the dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas, newspapers, and magazines
  • Identifying the conflict in a story as well as the moral/lesson
  • Identifying a book’s components, such as the glossary, index, and table of contents
  • Locating nonfiction books by Dewey Decimal numbers
  • Recognizing Newbery Award winners
  • Finding books according to call numbers
  • Identifying works of authors such as Kate DiCamillo and Dick King-Smith
  • Accessing various websites from the library homepage

4th Grade: Proficient in all above skills plus:

  • Selecting reference sources from the most appropriate source of information (dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas, magazine, newspaper, almanac, databases)
  • Finding a book using the library card catalog
  • Respecting copyright law
  • Identifying the works of authors such as Andrew Clements and Beverly Cleary

5th Grade: Proficient in all above skills plus:

  • Understanding the Dewey Decimal System
  • Recognizing Coretta Scott King award winners
  • Identifying works of authors such as Gary Paulsen and Laurence Yep
  • Finding books in a series on the card catalog

Typical Library Use

K4 through fifth grade students may:

  • Participate in the birthday book club (book purchased for student’s birthday and donated to library in student’s honor)
  • Participate in two book fairs (fall and spring)
  • Use the Lion’s Loft to read a book or do homework

First through fifth grade students may also:

  • Participate in the North Carolina Children’s Choice Book Awards each year
  • Participate in the Ice Cream for Reading contest each spring (encourages students to read the most pages they can, in one week, helping their class to win an ice cream party in the library)

Middle School students may:

  • Come to the library during their study hall period or with a class
  • Come in small groups to work on research papers
  • Participate in the school’s Battle of the Books team
  • Participate in the school’s two annual book fairs
  • Use the computers for homework

Upper School students may:

  • Use the library during their study hall or teacher’s aide periods
  • Purchase beverages from the Cyber Café
  • Come as a class or small group to conduct research
  • Participate in the school’s two annual book fairs
  • Use the computers for homework

Parents may:

  • Use the library for small- to mid-size functions such as Parent Teacher Fellowship coffees and the Kindergarten Boo Hoo Breakfast
  • Use the computers, use tables as work space to help teachers, or chat with a friend.