Craigholme Primary - Family history project
Introduction
Primary 7 at Craigholme Primary developed their abilities in using different sources for researching information.
Aims
The focus was on selecting and evaluating relevant sources of information as planning had already taken place with the class teachers.
The session also followed and built on a visit to the Mitchell Library, where pupils were shown various sources of information.
What we did
The librarian led a discussion on defining an information need. This was linked to the pupils' research questions from the planning session with their teacher.
Pupils worked in groups for the activity on sources of information. They were given various examples of sources and asked to discuss whether they might be useful and how/why. They also had to assess whether these sources were understandable, authoritative and current and how important each area was, for example being current might not be an issue when researching family history.
Pupils then worked in pairs to evaluate two websites relating to usefulness to their research questions and ease of use.
Primary 7 - Strategies for research
The focus was on the research cycle and the skills generally associated with each stage. Whilst there was a 'correct' answer, the focus for this session was on the discussion about skills and a sharing of ideas.
In groups pupils were asked to arrange the processes in order and to attach skills to each stage. Much discussion took place about research strategies with lots of sharing of ideas within the group. The activity worked well, with pupils able to see the processes from start to finish.
Project outcomes in relation to the four capacities
Successful learners
- The pupils responded enthusiastically to the task and were keen to take on board new skills and knowledge.
- They were able to apply these skills successfully, using ICT.
- They made reasoned evaluations of the task and outcomes.
- They were able to apply previous knowledge and skills to a new task.
Confident individuals
- The pupils worked as a group and all had a valued input to the discussion.
Effective contributors
- The pupils worked in groups and were able to communicate their ideas and opinions
- Pupils respected the ideas and opinions of the others in the group.
Evaluation comment
'The girls were very definitely confident in their understanding of what the sessions were about and have certainly used the information we discussed to tailor the sources they are using in their research. The first session was really helpful in clarifying the different importance of sources in relation to the chosen subject.
Regarding the websites they evaluated, they said they found the content quite difficult to understand. It may be an idea to look at a website without quite so much text as they felt it quite hard to answer the questions when they were not really sure of the text itself.'
Further information
Please contact:
Email: Donna Luc or Susan Cheyne
Address:
Craigholme Primary School
72 St Andrew's Drive
Glasgow
G41 4HS
Telephone: 0141 427 0375