You Can Gather Information Every Day!

Gathering information means finding real facts about the world around you. You can gather information by using your senses, looking at books, or asking people you trust. This is one of the most important Making Observations skills you will use every day!

When you gather information, you look for things that are true and real. You do not guess or make things up. You find facts from reliable sources.

Your five senses help you gather information every day. You can use your eyes to watch and observe. You can use your ears to listen carefully. You can use your hands to touch and feel. You can use your nose to smell and your mouth to taste.

For example, you can go outside and feel how cold the winter air is. That tells you real facts about the weather! Watching how leaves change colour in autumn is another great way to observe and gather information.

A source of information is a person or thing that gives you real facts. Here are some great sources you can use:

A book has pages full of facts and pictures. A map shows you where places are, like Canadian provinces and cities. A sign uses words or pictures to send you a quick message. An Elder is a respected person in Indigenous and other communities who shares knowledge and traditions. You can also ask a teacher, a family member, or a farmer who knows a lot about their topic!

You can also use Asking Questions to help you find the right source of information.

Gather Information: Finding real facts by observing, listening, or asking. For example, you gather information when you look at a book about animals.

Observe: Using your senses to notice things around you. For example, you observe when you watch a bird or touch tree bark.

Five Senses: Your five senses are seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. You use them to learn about the world.

Source of Information: A person or thing that gives you real facts. Books, maps, Elders, and teachers are all sources of information.

Book: A book has pages full of facts and stories you can read to learn new things.

Elder: An Elder is a respected person in Indigenous and other communities who shares knowledge and traditions.

Map: A map is a picture that shows you where places are, like Canadian provinces and cities.

Sign: A sign uses words or pictures to send you a quick message, like a stop sign.

Reliable Source: A reliable source gives you information that is true and accurate, like a picture book written by a knowledgeable author.

Inquiry: Inquiry means asking questions and finding real answers. It is how you learn new things in social studies.

You can practice gathering information in many fun ways! Try walking around your school and looking carefully at everything you see. You can also listen to the sounds outside on your street. Ask a family member or Elder to share a story about your community.

You can look at a real Canadian flag to gather facts about its colours and design. You can also look at a map of Canada to find out where provinces and territories are. After you gather information, share what you learned with your class! Sharing is an important part of Expressing Ideas.

To gather information well, you need to use good Listening Skills. Listening carefully helps you learn from Elders, teachers, and community members. You also need to ask good questions, which you can learn more about in Asking Questions.

Using your senses is also very important. You can learn more about this in Making Observations. All of these skills work together to help you find real facts!

Gathering information connects to many other important skills. When you learn Asking Questions, you find out what information you need to look for. Good questions are always the first step in gathering information.

You also use Making Observations to gather information with your senses. Observing real things around you gives you true facts. After you gather information, you can use Expressing Ideas and Multiple Expression Methods to share what you found out with others.

Good Listening Skills help you gather information from people like Elders and teachers. You can also learn important words in Social Studies Vocabulary that help you talk about the information you gather. All of these topics help you become a great information gatherer!