Teaching Information Literacy and Reading Strategies in Fourth-Grade Science Curriculum with Inquiry Learning

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of inquiry-based instruction with infusion of reading strategies on students’ information literacy and science learning. The instruction was designed based on the Big6 model which includes stages of task definition, information seeking strategies, location & access, use of information, synthesis, and evaluation. The study was conducted in an elementary school in Taiwan and lasted for a semester. The data was gathered through participant observations, interviews, tests, and document analysis. The results showed that information literacy and reading strategies could be integrated into science inquiry using the Big6 model. The students performed well in the stages of information seeking strategy, location and access, and in use information and synthesis; however, students’ performance on task definition and reflection needed to be improved. Fourth-graders’ science performance was also improved through the inquiry learning.