Promoting language skills in primary school through inquiry-based learning with biographies Inquiry-based learning with biographies makes the promotion of language skills in primary school possible in a special way. The pupils experience the connection between science and language. Reading, understanding and sharing what they have learned are the main elements that promote language skills. The natural sciences in particular provide children with reasons to talk about the things they have done or found out. Science teachers from Austria, Germany and Italy worked out nine biographical texts for primary school pupils about contemporary scientists and engineers. The texts tell how these people started out in their professions; sometimes the stories include funny moments in their lives, e. g. of a scientist studying ants or a chemical engineer. Each chapter is connected with experiments and proposals for projects, such as making a rotating LED disc or a walnut candle. Some texts are additionally included in a simple language.
