Wells Elementary School Library

The Big6

The Big6 is the information problem-solving model we use at Wells and all Plano schools. What's an information problem? Here's two examples:

• having to buy a present for a friend's birthday
• needing to complete a project for school

1. Task Definition
   (What am I supposed to do?)

2. Information Seeking Strategies
   (What information resources can I use?)

3. Location and Access
   (Where can I find these resources?)

4. Use of Information
   (Look and Read, Look and Write.)

5. Synthesis
   (Put it all together!)

6. Evaluation
   (Did I do a good job? Go back to number 1! What was I supposed to do?)

Let's take a stage-by-stage look at the Big6 in action!

Big6 Stage	Buying a present	Completing a school project
Task Definition	Realizing you need to buy a gift for your friend's birthday tomorrow. You decide to spend $15.	The teacher assigns an animal report project, due in 10 days. You need to explain where your animal lives, what it eats, what its natural enemies are and how the young are cared for.
Information Seeking Strategies	Deciding to ask your friend's mom what they want for their birthday.	Deciding to use the encyclopedia to get information about your animal.
Location and Access	Looking up toy stores in the phone book.	Using the encyclopedia index to find out what volume and page to use.
Use of Information	Writing the prices of possible gifts at the toy store.	Taking notes from the encyclopedia article about the animal.
Synthesis	Buying the present, wrapping it and giving the present to your friend.	Making the project.
Evaluation	Realizing that your friend really liked their present and thinking that it was a good idea you asked your friend's mom.	Before handing in the project, looking it over to be sure you've explained where the animal lives, what it eats, what its natural enemies are and how it cares for its young.

Parents, educators and librarians can find more information about the Big6 here.