November-December 2010
SIRS Discoverer & eLibrary Elementary from ProQuest
Greetings from ProQuest. This month's update email newsletter is designed to be a quick read, filled with short bits of information to fill you in on what's new with a minimum of clutter.
As always, don't miss our full set of support resources for your subscriptions at proquestk12.com, free webinars, lesson-rich newsletters, videos, and more.
SIRS Discoverer
Math & Spotlight of the Month
Math + Help = SIRS Discoverer
Have a problem? SIRS Discoverer can solve it! Basic facts, problem solving and critical thinking challenges are offered through math content and features in SIRS Discoverer.
SIRS editors carefully select and compile content in support of homework help, classroom instruction and test-taking practice in all curriculum areas—including math!
Access interactive math games, engaging lesson plans and activities in SIRS Discoverer's Skills Discoverer math section, or search Subject Heading Mathematics, Problems, exercises, etc. Math content can be used in the classroom, in the library, and at home!
SIRS Discoverer's Spotlight of the Month
This feature showcases SIRS up-to-date newspaper, magazine and website content.
- November Spotlight: Native American Heritage Month. A unique, curriculum-related topic is presented every month. This timely feature encourages further research and exploration.
- A fact a day! Events Calendar presents notable birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries daily! Click on any day of this month to see special events.
- November's In the News: Goodbye Iraq. Updated monthly, In the News highlights an important current issue in a student-friendly format. Interactive multiple choice question and a political cartoon ChallengeQuest inspire critical thinking surrounding the issue.
Lessons & Student Research Activities
National Adoption Month
November is National Adoption Month. Adoption is a lifelong, life-changing journey for all members of the adoption triad: birth parents, adopted people, and adoptive parents.
Adoption, the legal transfer of parental rights from one parent to another, provides children with love, nurturance, and stability, and promotes their well-being and their opportunity to become healthy, productive adults.
Assign students to use SIRS Discoverer and eLibrary Elementary to answer these essential questions:
- Why would birth parents agree to lovingly place their children for adoption?
- Why do adoptive parents seek a child to adopt?
- What qualities must, by law, adoptive parents have in order to qualify for adoption rights and why?
- What qualities should biological parents have in order to qualify for bringing their children into the world?
- Should there be any real difference in qualifications between biological and adoptive parents before bringing children into their homes through traditional and legal (adoption) means?
- What happens to children who are not adopted, and what can be done about this?
This activity includes examples of essential questions for critical thinking that you can use to guide your students to think critically about the topic. Tap into our hands-on instructions for copying this BookCart learning activity into your local collection for students to use.
Current Events, Political Cartoons, Maps & More
Every day, our editorial team updates SIRS Discoverer with new articles and resources.
Below is a short list of the timeliest and most topical articles added to your product in recent weeks.
- Election 2010: The Voters Speak
- A Race to Help Haiti
- Where's the Gulf Oil? In the Food Web, Study Says
Hands-on Research Activities—Spotlights & Challenge Quests
It's National American Indian Heritage Month. What a perfect time to celebrate the contributions and legacy of Native Americans!
SIRS helps researchers honor Native Americans and further cultural understanding in this month's Spotlight activity.
Public safety issues confront Native American tribes. Native American women suffer from violent crime at a rate more than three times higher than the national average.
Our SIRS ChallengeQuest asks: What was the name of the law passed in this summer that's expected to decrease violence against women in Native American communities by increasing prevention, law enforcement, and persecutions?
Each month, our SIRS team scours the Internet for top-quality websites for classrooms and libraries. Dive into this month's selections: First Thanksgiving, JFK, Soliders.
Grab this funding feed for your webpage!
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