Defining – Level One

1. Identifies the main idea of a discussion
2. Participates in discussions on a given topic in response to an audio and/ or visual stimulus.
3. Uses prior knowledge and experiences to brainstorm ideas and vocabulary to answer questions and contribute to a group list about what is already known.
4. Asks simple questions relevant to topic.
5. Expresses ideas about why things are so and gives reasons.
6. Is keen to explore and discover.

Locating – Level One

1. Knows layout of school and resource centre.
2. Knows location of picture books and information books.
3. Understands picture books are shelved in a special order.
4. Knows Resource Centre borrowing procedure
5. Draws information from own experiences.

Selecting – Level One

1. Uses pictures, objects, live specimens etc to extract relevant information orally.
2. Listens, observes and views to gain information.
3. Responds to teacher-led discussion relating to pictures, objects, etc
4. Selects appropriate print resources by scanning cover and illustrations
5. Uses other people as information source.
6. Makes simple decisions and justifies actions.

Organising – Level One

1. Organises oral / pictorial information in sequence.
2. Retells experience or story in sequence
3. Sorts objects according to given criteria
4. Sorts objects according to own criteria and can explain these.
5. Begins to identify patterns and relationships between ideas.
6. Suggests simple headings for groups of related ideas or objects.

Presenting – Level One

1. Creates a response to a task / topic which uses information selected for the purpose.
2. Shares information with other children and adults
3. Presents information in simple oral and visual sequence.
4. Presents a solution to a problem using a range of media.
5. Enacts role play / puppet presentations
6. Draw objects, people and places they have investigated and display or describe their drawings

Assessing – Level One

1. Assesses their product against original intentions
2. Discusses work giving simple reasons for choices made
3. Develops concept of peer evaluation by giving and receiving feedback.
4. Shares this information with parents
5. Respects the rights and opinions of others.
6. Acknowledges and celebrates personal and group achievements.

 Defining – Level Two

1. Identifies the main idea of a discussion, and makes relevant contributions.
2. Uses key ideas to formulate focus questions for particular investigations using teacher-modeled examples
3. Formulates questions beginning with where, when, what, why, which, who and how and organises these as a concept map or other graphic format.
4. Poses questions to get information and clarification from other children and adults.
5. Sorts similar questions and statements into groups.
6. Listens to explanations and revises own.
7. Chooses a topic from a list of ideas.

Locating – Level Two

1. Understands difference between fiction and non-fiction and that the two are shelved separately and differently..
2. Is aware that fiction is shelved in alphabetical order of author’s surname and can find given titles.
3. Locates reference materials, periodicals, and other materials in the library with assistance.
4. Understands the purpose of use specialist reference books such as dictionary, atlas, encyclopedia and telephone directory and can locate needed information in these.
5. Able to use OPAC to locate fiction books and perform keyword searches for non-fiction books.
6. Uses primary sources (experience, people & objects) as sources of information.
7. Uses secondary sources (books, audio-visual materials) as sources of information
8. Brainstorms possible sources of new information, relevant to needs
9. Compares different pre-selected resources, and selects those appropriate to needs by scanning cover, title and illustrations.
10. Contributes to and follows a simple search plan with assistance.

Selecting – Level Two

1. Selects books appropriate to interest, need and ability level.
2. Understands purpose of a resource's front cover, title, contents page,  page numbers, chapters, headings, topic sentence, illustrations, maps, tables, graphs, captions, glossary, index and publication date.
3. Begins to select information by using keywords to scan contents and index pages of non-fiction books.
4. Uses knowledge of alphabetical order to  find information in an encyclopedia.
5. Identifies main ideas and keywords, and a sequence of ideas
6. Can extract basic information from illustrations, maps, graphs and tables.
7. Records relevant information by listing keywords under main ideas, and arranging ideas, events and facts in sequence from oral, pictorial and written sources.
8. Constructs oral sentences using identified keywords.
9. Seeks information from people with specialist knowledge.
10. Develops skimming and scanning skills.

Organising – Level Two

1. Organises oral/ pictorial/ written information in sequence.
2. Participates in teacher-led discussion to categorise information into lists, can group similar ideas together and suggest appropriate headings.
3. Constructs a basic concept map to assist in  organisation of ideas, and
4. presentation of these.
5. Participates in group discussions to propose a solution to a problem.
6. Understands ideas are more readily accepted if supported by sound reasoning, data and other evidence
7. Verifies results of experiments using modeled examples.
8. Compares information from difference sources and identifies discrepancies in factual information.
9.  Can follow a simple time-management plan.

Presenting – Level Two

1. Creates an appropriate response to a task/ topic which uses information selected for the purpose.
2. Links ideas and relates them to the main idea of the topic.
3. Presents information in simple oral and written sentences.
4. Uses logical structures such as timelines, grids, graphs and models.
5. Understands concept of ‘audience’.
6. Speaks to audience using clear voice and eye contact
7. Understands the concept of intellectual property and constructs a basic bibliography comprising title, author, format, publisher and publication date.

Assessing – Level Two

1.       Assesses their product against original intentions and identifies areas of personal need.

2.      Reflects on how well they worked through the process.

3.      Assesses personal involvement in the team and/ or problem.

4.      Shares this information with parents

5.      Gives and receives objective feedback.

6.       Acknowledges and celebrates personal and group achievements.

Defining – Level Three

1. Uses knowledge and experience and needs to initiate and plan investigations.
2. Clarifies own knowledge and identifies information and issues to be considered and how these might be investigated.
3. Generates keywords and poses focus questions to plan research and observations and clarify ideas
4. Uses graphic organiser to identify what is known and what needs further investigation.
5. Understands different types of questions may be needed to elicit required information.
6. Sorts ideas and organises focus questions into general headings
7. Analyses core task and has clear understanding of what is expected
8. Uses a model to devise a time-management strategy to meet given deadlines

Locating – Level Three

1. Suggests ways of undertaking investigation including data collection and its use.
2. Determines types of resources (primary and secondary sources) most appropriate to topic, including those beyond the school.
3. Understands difference in purpose and coverage of magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, films, specialist reference materials, CD-ROMs, web searches, and e-mail
4. Identifies strategies for specific purposes including surveys, debates, questionnaires, interviews, comparisons, persuasive arguments.
5. Prepares and follows a simple search plan based on purpose, key words and likely resources
6. Locates and uses a variety of print and non-print media, including the Internet and email
7. Uses OPAC and call numbers to locate resources in library.
8. Modifies search terms and plan to meet needs.

Selecting – Level Three

1. Finds and records information systematically which answers focus questions, using simple note-making strategies.
2. Uses appropriate equipment and techniques to elicit information and accurate and reliable results.
3. Scans resources for suitability and uses tools such as search function, hotlinks, index, headings, and captions.
4.  Understands purpose of range of print and electronic reference tools and uses these competently
5. Distinguishes between fact, generalisatons and opinion, and different perspectives.
6. Assesses information for relevance, accuracy, currency and authority.
7. Identifies information that may be influenced by racism, sexism, stereotypes, political viewpoints or other biases and takes these into consideration when selecting or discarding the information.
8. Verifies information using at least one other source.
9. Elicits factual information from fiction sources.
10. Records sources fully and accurately and complies with copyright requirements.

Organising – Level Three

1. Understands the conventions of the selected presentation method and organises information to suit these.
2. Connects similar ideas and arranges information in logical manner, using headings and sub-headings.
3. Recognises when more information is needed and the type required.
4. Understands that what is left out is as important as that which is used.
5. Creates, use and interpret diagrams, graphs, tables and databases.
6. As part of a group, proposes a solution to a set problem based on prior knowledge and information gathered, and justifies this with reasoning based on evidence.
7. Interprets and synthesises information to construct new information, draw simple conclusions and make generalisations.
8. Creates and adheres to a time-management plan and meets commitments and deadlines.

Presenting – Level Three

1. Identifies the audience who would most likely use the information to be presented.
2. Presents information using an approach to suit the purpose and audience.
3. Creates a response which links ideas coherently, shows cause and effect and future directions.
4. Creates presentations which incorporate drawings, illustrations, graphs, models, drama, video, audio or electronic elements
5. Presents a position making some attempt to justify ideas, where appropriate
6. Demonstrates an ability to consider and present multiple viewpoints and understands the need for sound reasoning when challenged
7. Understands there can be alternative solutions and that data can be interpreted differently and respects the rights and opinions of others.
8. Understands that the presentation is just the end-product of a series of learning sequences and these are as important as the product.

Assessing – Level Three

1. Identifies and considers factors that influence confidence in a conclusion
2. Evaluates conclusions in relation to other evidence and sources
3. Assesses own process and product in relation to original task.
4. Reflects on significance of what has been learned and how it has influenced personal ideas, feelings, attitudes and actions.
5. Develops ability to have faith in own judgment and point of view.
6. Identifies questions and issues arising from decisions and actions that need further investigation.
7. Analyses audience response to presentation and accepts feedback from peers, carers and teachers.
8. Meets requirements of evaluation rubrics and can interpret grade awarded using this.
9. Uses strategies such as learning logs and journals to review learning strengths and weaknesses through self-evaluation and identify skills which need practice or refinement, and can create a learning-path to improve these.
10. Shows evidence of having worked to improve a previously-identified weakness.
11. Acknowledges and celebrates personal and group achievements.

Defining – Level Four

1. Negotiates an independent research task or hypothesis for investigation.
2. Demonstrates clear understanding of the task and its required search strategies.
3. Reviews existing literature to determine current thinking and perspectives about an issue,
4. Identifies key elements in task by designing questions to clarify the issues involved such as trends, causes, effects, opinions, predictions, advantages and disadvantages.
5. Poses questions that bring out strengths and weaknesses of different positions on an issue.
6. Understands different types of questions may be needed to elicit required information.
7. Re-defines problem if necessary.
8. Devises a time-management strategy to meet given deadlines which incorporates other commitments.

Locating – Level Four

1. Devises, follows, refines and adapts search plans.
2. Modifies terms and combinations of keywords used during a search until appropriate resources are located.
3. Understands difference in purpose and coverage of all types of communications technologies
4. Locates appropriate resources using sophisticated electronic search resources and strategies.
5. Locates resources which provide a variety of points of view.
6. Understands organisation of resources in school and public libraries.
7. Uses specialist print and non-print reference resources
8. Evaluates resources and discards those which are unsuitable

Selecting – Level Four

       1. Finds and records information systematically using a variety

      of note-making strategies that meet own needs and learning style.

      2. Compares information from different sources for opposing viewpoints,

      biases, accuracy and currency and assesses credibility of each.

      3. Recognises need for adequate information and data and seeks extra if

      necessary.

      4. Records sources fully and accurately and complies with copyright

      requirements.

      5. Understands use of quotations and footnotes.

      6. Looks for information on the lines, between the lines and beyond the

      lines.

Organising – Level Four

1. Interprets, compares and selects information after examining and evaluating it for logic, bias, prejudice, consistency and contradictions.
2. Synthesises information to make and substantiate judgements and to construct generalisations.
3. Draws inferences from evidence.
4. Recognises when more information is needed and the type required.
5. Engages in reflective thinking and group discussion to clarify a problem.
6. Organises information using a variety of strategies including flow charts, time lines, spreadsheets, graphs and databases.

Presenting – Level Four

1. Selects the most appropriate method of presentation according to the purpose and audience.
2. Creates presentations which synthesise information and offer solutions to original problem.
3. Delivers presentation efficiently and effectively.
4. Is sensitive to audience’s mood and response and deals with dissent appropriately.
5. Has sufficient background knowledge to explain, profile, discuss and debate issues, solutions and future directions.
6. Modifies ideas and incorporates new perspectives to create a better solution.
7. Is willing to consider other viewpoints and change perspective or conclusions if justified.

Assessing – Level Four

1. Identifies and considers factors that influence confidence in a conclusion
2. Evaluates conclusions in relation to other evidence and sources and their implications.
3. Assesses own process and product in relation to original task and future directions.
4. 4. Analyses audience response to presentation and determines effectiveness and efficiency of product.
5. Reflects on significance of what has been learned and modify attitudes and values if appropriate.
6. Places faith in own judgement and point of view and ability to support and sustain these.
7. Identifies questions and issues arising from decisions and actions that need further investigation and implementation.
8. Acknowledges and celebrates personal and group achievements.