Using stories to promote information literacy

Purpose Over many years, experts have devised various models for teaching and learning information literacy skills. The underpinnings of most are unclear, however, and they can seem very abstract to students. The project discussed counters these problems by presenting a framework of information literacy principles derived from a fiction story familiar to the targeted children. Design/methodology/approach During the course of one academic year, the model was deployed in two separate independent learning projects undertaken by the same class. The paper outlines the resulting benefits and caveats that should be considered. Findings The children enjoyed working with the model, particularly as it encouraged them to emulate the heroine of the story on which the framework was based. It also gave context to the employment of information skills. The model did not, however, address every scenario that emerged in the children's work. Research limitations/implications Although the framework was twice applied in-context with students, only one class in one year group and at one school was involved. Practical implications The success of the project, albeit on a small scale, attests to the probability that practitioners elsewhere will be able to repeat the work with good results or devise similarly effective models. Originality/value The paper deals with an area rarely covered in information literacy studies. It is highly unusual for a teaching and learning framework to be derived from a work of fiction in the way proposed here.