Anatomy of a Pathfinder: Aiding Your Students With Their Research
When I ask students what they think a pathfinder is, they don't know exactly what it is. "Take apart the word", I say, emphasizing path-finder. "Finding a path?", one student replies. "You're on the right track," I respond. A good library pathfinder is created by the teacher-librarian and provides the list of print and non-print resources necessary for a particular topic. Most of the time, resources that are available in that library are shared in the pathfinder. Not all pathfinders will look alike and have the same print and non-print sources. (See "Pathfinder Samples" on the page.) Teachers can request that a specific pathfinder be created to go along with the class curriculum, i.e. "Romeo and Juliet". That is a very specific pathfinder, as opposed to "Shakespeare". The Dewey Decimal number for the topic area should be listed so students know what area of the school or public library to find the book. (Make sure you have good signage.) Below you will find Buffy Hamilton's excellent video tutorial on how she creates a pathfinder.
