When you go to look at the resources, stronger readers and writers can pair up with those with weaker literacy skills. It may be helpful to take along a written description of the theme. Group members may need to make notes or lists of resources that they can’t take out that day, so take a notebook and pen. When each group has finished looking for resources, make an oral report about the resources you have found. Keep a group list of resources and add to it as the project progresses.

Check out other resources.

• Internet Research: if you have access to a computer lab, the whole group could check web sites. (You will find some web sites in the Useful Resources section.) Again, stronger readers can be paired with less strong ones to explore web sites.
• Phone Research: You may have to phone resource centres, museums or archives for catalogues or to order material. Again, write down the questions you want to ask and practice role-playing the phone conversation before the call.

Study ‘firsthand sources’ or physical items that relate to your topic.

Collect tools, pieces of clothing, games, photographs, carvings, drawings, drums, musical instruments, rocks, plants, animals or animal parts – skins, bones, or other objects. Use these to stimulate discussion on your theme. You can talk about the uses of objects and what it must have been like to live in ‘those days’. See History Workshop in the Building Language and Literacy Skills Through Oral History Projects section.)

Ideas for working with the research material.

One way of dealing with the research is to make a chart like this:

As your group watches videos, reads different materials, looks at tools and other objects, talks to people or listens to recordings, you will add more information to the ‘What We Already Know’ section and maybe you will add more questions to the ‘What We Want to Know’ section. Keep updating the chart. You can work as individuals or in small groups and bring the information to the whole group when all research sources have been explored. Or you can keep one big chart on the wall and the group as a whole can add new points that you find in the various resources.