Some activities in this resource will be initiated in the classroom, others in the library. All will be concerned with the learning and curriculum experiences of the students.

The Topics Topics include scientific discoveries, technology and telecommunications, mathematics and research, weather and climate, and ecology. A special focus has been placed on Asia. Studies are made of the polar regions as well as the Ancient World, and students extend their knowledge of the planet and of insects.

The Activities
The Quiz is the major vehicle for developing information skills in this series. Some quiz questions seek specific information:
      What is radioactive material?
      What is a vacuum?
      Who was the Inca god of creation?

Other questions require more qualitative responses.
      Why and how do some animals hibernate?
      Why is helium used in airships?
      Why are scientists concerned about the ozone layer?

Crosswords and letter puzzles provide other stimulating settings for quiz questions.

Brain Teasers are the most challenging questions. They can be used to introduce topics. One way of using them is to have small groups work collectively on coming up with the answers. They are intended to be posed by the teacher. The questions ask students to seek out a range of information:

the significance of data:
      How can a glossary in a non-fiction book be helpful ?
      How does the concept of an ecosystem help us understand the environment?

note relationships:
      Why does the arctic fox have a white coat in winter but a brown coat in summer?

inquire into apparent contradictions
      Since radio is “free to air,” who pays for it?
      How are flies both harmful and helpful to human beings?

present the nature of differences:
      What is the difference between a table of contents and an index?

explain causes
      Why was so much effort put into road building by the ancient Romans?
      Why is a fractionating column used in the oil industry and how does it work?

Answers
Answers are provided for all questions. Some are shown as a short factual response. Others are more detailed and qualitative.

Answers as occasions for discussion
Answers should not be seen merely as scoring guides. They can become points for discussion to talk about an indicative response, to go beyond it and perhaps suggest answers that are more comprehensive. Indeed on many occasions the more wide-ranging the discussion the more educationally valuable the session will be. Students should become sensitive to openness of knowledge and to the fundamental importance of evidence.

Topics
There is no suggestion that topics should be followed in the sequence used here. Topic sequences will be the product of librarian and teacher preferences along with the interests of students. Some will extend students’ knowledge, others will introduce them to topics, while others may simply broaden knowledge.

Resources
The non-fiction shelves of the library will be central to much of the students’ work. General references such as encyclopedias are an essential resource. Now typically available on CD and some on the web, they provide varied responses to general questions.

The web is now an essential resource and may take research out of the library into the class or computer room or the home. Given that the web has little organization and less discipline, the informed use of search engines and the definition of searches has to be an integral part of students’ research skills. Each question contains key words that will help students to narrow their search for answers.

Particular use should be made of the favorites which librarians, teachers and students build up and categorize as well as review. Their exchange amongst all will broaden their usefulness and allow a local cyber library to be set up. The reality is that some order has to be brought to the web otherwise much time may be wasted.

Information Literacy
We live in an information age in which the availability of data is overwhelming. Information literacy seeks to make a constructive contribution to the correct handling of data. It may be defined as the mastery of strategies to solve problems. This program will strengthen students’ skills in access, judgment and directed reading as well as self-evaluation.

Download the Table of Contents page here.

Grades 3–6.