The purpose of Quizsheets

"The primary aim of interpretative material must be to intensify the looking and thinking during the actual experience. Ideally, all interpretative materials should be linked to the on site displays and exhibits. This avoids the litter bin approach, where children can answer questions at home with the aid of books."

Quizsheets should not be designed:

• to keep children busy and out of trouble for the day.
• to justify the visit to the Museum.
• to merely test the children's assimilation of information via a recall process.

Some underlying principles for writing effective quiz sheets

A question should aim to combine some of the following. It should:

• Guide, direct or provoke thought.
• Relate the exhibit to the child and the child's world.
• Consider human involvement with the exhibit.
• Draw attention to the form, function and some detail of the exhibit.
• Suggest the place of the exhibit in a chronology.
• Show contrast or similarity with another exhibit.
• Stimulate mental speculation, deduction, analysis and undirected thinking.

All quiz sheets have limitations in that they depend on words or drawings and are generally of a more closed nature. By writing your own you can include more open ended questions and other ways of recording information such as using a camera and/or tape recorder.

Quiz sheets Do's and Don'ts

Do's

• 'Quizsheet' sounds more inviting than worksheet.
• Have the children working in groups to encourage discussion and speculation.
• Ask for descriptions and opinions rather than right or wrong answers.
• Include some visual recording.
• Make sure the information gathered is followed up back in the classroom.

Don'ts

• Make the quizsheet too long.
• Design many questions which involve finding 'facts' (caption copying). i.e. questions to which there is only one right answer.
• Never ask questions which can be answered without coming to the Museum as they clearly don't involve any observation!