9-Step Process for Correlation Project

Step 1: Weed/Evaluate Your Collection

Assess your existing collection by first weeding dated material. Completing a collection analysis will also help avoid any dated resources from unintentionally being correlated to standards. This will ensure that you have quality resources for your teachers.

Before you begin, gather the following ILILE tools to aid in this process:

Another tool you may want to create using your library's collection is a matrix. ILILE created a sample matrix which was developed using *Karen R. Lowe's matrix model.

In addition, you will need:

  • Excel to create a spreadsheet of the existing resources that correlate to the standards. (Excel Template )

*Karen R. Lowe offers ideas and guidelines on how to assess a collection and develop a matrix in her book, "Resource Alignment: Providing Curriculum Support in the School Library Media Center."

Note: Using Lowe's suggested matrix model as a guideline, we adapted her concept to meet our specific needs. This matrix was not created until after the first round of steps was completed.

Step 2: Create a Spreadsheet for Books in Your Collection

After weeding, create an excel spreadsheet for the remaining books in your collection that correlate with the standards.

Begin by creating a spreadsheet for each subject and then dividing it by assigning each sheet a particular standard. Our spreadsheets included the following headings: standard, title, author, grade band (i.e. K-2) the resource covers, grade, reading level, benchmark and indicator, publisher, copyright date, ISBN, price, awards/honors and reviews (See Sample Draft).

You will refer to these spreadsheets as you fill out the Count of Resources Tool (see next step).

Step 3: Complete the Count of Resources Tool

The Correlation/Count of Resources tools were created from the ILILE Checklists to include all of the grades and indicators for each standard on one double-spread page.  They were created for your convenience when correlating/counting resources for a specific standard.  These tools serve two purposes:

  • To easily evaluate resources for each standard with all of the information for a particular grade band on one page.  This is especially helpful because there is a lot of overlapping within each grade band.  (Example_Step 3a) 
  • To count resources that have been correlated and identify weak areas of the existing collection

(See Sample Draft) 

If you are more familiar with ODE standards and you do not need the all of the information listed in front of you ILILE developed additional tools you may want to use. These can be found under library tools.

Step 4: Review Resources

Review resources using the following ILILE tools:

  • ILILE Correlation/Count of resources
  • ILILE Rubric
  • ILILE Sample Matrix developed using Karen R. Lowe’s matrix model
  • Your spreadsheet of your existing collection that correlates to your state’s standards.

Suggestion: Consider materials that have already been reviewed for you, such as the notables. For example: Science you will review the National Science Teachers Association's Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 and for Social Studies the National Council for Social Studies awards and publishes a yearly list of the Notable Trade Books for Young People. As your Correlation Committee finds the resources that best align to benchmarks and indictors for a given standard, add them to the Excel spreadsheet and eliminate those that are not relevant. Amazon.com is a great place to look for reviews. In addition, we also used Children's Literature Comprehensive Database.

Step 5: Sort Spreadsheet

Narrow your search to match your budget.

Note: You will sort and manipulate the headings to serve a variety of purposes. Sorting the database by grade, benchmark and indicator and then by title allows you to see if each benchmark and indicator has been covered (See Sample Draft). Combining all separate spreadsheets into one, and sorting by title, grade and then by benchmark and indicator will serve in stretching your budget because it allows you to see how books correlate with multiple standards (See Sample Draft).

**In our spreadsheet we put a space before the "K" in Kindergarten in the grade column so that it would sort first. Otherwise, kindergarten will appear on the bottom of the sheet.

Step 6: Tally What You Have

Once you have sorted your data you can then begin to again tally thereviewed resources using your spreadsheet and the Count of Resources Tool (See Sample Draft). This will give you a good idea as to the benchmarks and indicators you have covered and those that you still need to cover.

Step 7: Identify the Best Titles for Your Collection

Mark each resource that best correlates to the benchmarks and indicators. Our goal, in terms of addressing standards with our collection, was to find resources that met every standard, benchmark and indicator.

We first purchased resources that covered those benchmarks and indicators that were not being met at all in the existing collection and then looked out for those that had not been met yet by our reviews.

In some cases this means more than one title.

Step 8: Cataloging your Resources

Catalog the resources that correlate with the academic content standards by enhancing your MARC records using the **658 tag.

We have created a Checklist for Cataloging Correlated Books to help with the process (See Checklist).

**ILILE Graduate Assistants, Judy Crist and Lauren Gregory created step-by-step PowerPoints, which describe how to enhance a MARC record in SIRSI by inputting the 658 tags , as well as the award books 586 tags.

To view how a correlated resource displays as a record visit the Reinberger Catalog and type in "I Face the Wind," by Vicki Cobb.

Step 9: Labeling your Resources

Putting a label on your aligned resources is equally important. This will assist those who peruse the shelves. ILILE marked its resources by creating a color-coded label corresponding with the Ohio Department of Education’s Academic Content Standards manuals (for example, Social Studies is royal blue). This label on the spine will allow teachers to know at a glance which grade levels are covered by any given resource. Standards, benchmarks and indicators are displayed on the back of the resource. (See Image of Sample Labeling)

This final step is what will justify the process to administrators and make your hard work valuable to teachers.