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Enclosed is this month's free newsletter for ProQuest® Platinum subscribers. This newsletter is designed to help teachers, librarians, and administrators stay informed about the latest changes to their subscriptions, while providing classroom resources and giving tips for using their ProQuest solutions in a variety of settings.
Don't miss our online archive for access to past issues, and to make changes to your newsletter options.
In this issue:
PROQUEST EDUCATION SOLUTION UPDATES
Our product development team is constantly reviewing customer feedback and making changes to our learning resources to meet your needs. Several updates or content additions were recently completed, and we wanted to bring them to your attention.
Fresh Sample Searches: Live!
Conducting an upcoming training session? On the hunt for laser-focused sample searches to highlight the best content inside your ProQuest or SIRS subscriptions?
Look no farther than our all-new sample search collection. Connect to www.proquestk12.com, click the Training & Support tab at the top of any page, then select the name of your solution subscription. You’ll see a link to our new Sample Searches document!
New ProQuest® Historical Newspaper Titles:
Hartford Courant & Chicago Defender
The Hartford Courant
--the "oldest continuously published paper in the United States"--is an exceptional source for Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early American research.
You and your students can read first-hand accounts of the Boston Tea Party; the Stamp Tax; the campaigns of George Washington and the Continental Army; public reactions to the Declaration of Independence; early American issues such as Federalists versus Republicans and slavery; and much more.
This title, in combination with The New York Times, provides a definitive collection of original sources from the two leading newspapers of their times, spanning the years 1764 to 2002.
Years currently available span 1764 to 1922. The remaining backfile will be completed later in 2006. You can view sample articles from this new title inside a special PowerPoint presentation.
The Chicago Defender is also now available. This title, nearing completion, will cover the years 1905 to 1975. The Defender has been considered one of the most influential African-American newspapers since 1905.
Each issue provides perspective on the daily lives of African-Americans, and a deeper understanding of the black perspective on key historical events and enduring issues. View sample articles inside a PowerPoint presentation.
For pricing information, call 800-521-0600, ext. 3344, today, or visit our solution resource page for additional information.
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PLATINUM CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Everybody loves a good joke, so National Humor Month in April will certainly be popular with your students. Help them celebrate, learn, develop essential language arts skills, and digital information literacy skills, as well.
Activity: To locate information on humor in Platinum:
- Click the Topics tab.
- Type "humor" in the Search box and then click Find Term.
- Note the variety of topics:
Humor AND Television programs
Humor AND Comedians
Humor AND Politics
Humor AND Writers
Humor AND Motion pictures
Humor AND Psychology
Humor AND Advertising
Humor AND Stress
Humor AND Behavior
Humor AND Personal relationships
Humor AND Interpersonal communication
- Click on View Documents for the topic assigned to each student.
Assign each student to research a different subject from this list and find examples of wit and humor that they can share with the class in a two- to three-minute oral report. Students should also determine and explain the type of situations that create humorous situations and the importance of humor to health, well being, entertainment, and effective communication in business and society.
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CULTUREGRAMS™ IN FOCUS
CultureGrams can help you broaden your students' understanding of the world and its peoples. Our World Edition includes 187 country profiles, written for junior high students and older. CultureGrams also has a Kids Edition and a States Edition, geared for upper elementary students. These editions include kid-friendly profiles of 68 countries and all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.
CultureGrams goes beyond mere facts and figures to deliver an insider's perspective on daily life and culture, including the history, customs, and lifestyles of the world's people.
Country:
Mexico
- Capital City:
Mexico City
- Population: 104,959,594
- Area: 761,602 square miles (1,972,550 sq km)
- Real GDP per capita: $8,970
- Adult literacy rate: 93% (male), 89% (female)
- Infant mortality: 22 per 1,000 births
- Life expectancy: 70 (male), 76 (female)
Did You Know?
- There is a long line of advanced Indian civilizations in Mexican history. The accomplishments of these people rival those of the Egyptians and Europeans.
- After fútbol (soccer), bullfighting is the sport that draws the highest number of spectators in Mexico.
- Mexico City is one of the world's largest cities.
Land & Climate
Covering 761,602 square miles (1,972,550 square kilometers), Mexico is about three times the size of Texas, or one-fifth the size of the United States. It shares its northern border with the United States and its southern border with Guatemala and Belize. Mexico is rich in natural resources, including oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and coal. The north is generally dry and hot, and there is a large desert region. Humidity is higher in the southeast, where tropical jungles are found, and along coastal areas. Rain falls mainly in the summer. Mountains, including some volcanoes, cover two-thirds of the country.
Language
Spanish is the official language, and is spoken by most people. However, as many as one hundred indigenous languages are still spoken in parts of Mexico, including Tzotzil and Tzeltal (Mayan dialects), Nahuatl (Aztec), Otomi, Zapotec, and Mixtec. Most people who speak an indigenous language also speak some Spanish.
Gestures
Mexicans typically stand close to each other while talking, sometimes touching their friend's arm. They often use hand and arm gestures in conversation. Indigenous peoples generally are more reserved and often touch their mouth or cheek when they speak. Tossing items is offensive; one hands items directly to another person. If someone sneezes, a person may say ¡Salud! (Health). If passing between conversing individuals is unavoidable, one says Con permiso (Excuse me).
Dating & Marriage
When dating, a young man often meets the young woman at a prearranged place rather than picking her up at her home. However, parental approval of the activity and of the boyfriend is important. In some rural areas, it is considered a mark of poor character for a young woman to go out alone after dark, so a young man may call on her at home. Many people marry first in a civil ceremony and then in a church, following Catholic traditions. Wedding celebrations include music, dancing, games, and food.
To find out more about CultureGrams, connect to our website today.
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TOP 3 WEBSITES
Each month, our SIRS® WebSelect and SIRS® Discoverer WebFind editorial teams scour the Internet for top-quality sites that help teachers teach and students learn. Although no Internet site can supplant a quality research database, these vetted resources offer unique resources that are sure to be of interest.
Ad*Access
Organization: Digital Scriptorium, Duke University
Ad*Access contains images and database information for more than 7,000 advertisements printed in Canadian and U.S. periodicals between 1911 and 1955. Search or browse the database for ads, or use the timeline for a chronology of historical events.
Ready Kids
Organization: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
"Are you ready to put your planning skills to good use? Are you ready to help your family get prepared for the unexpected? Your family can use this Web site to create a plan that will help you be ready for many different kinds of unexpected situations!" (DHS) Learn to prepare for natural or manmade disasters through careful planning.
The Essentials of Music
Organization: Sony Music Entertainment
The Essentials of Music, produced in conjunction with book publisher W.W. Norton, explores the history of European and American music from medieval times to the present. The site features brief sketches of each historical period, genre, and seminal composers. Researchers will also find a comprehensive glossary of musical terms and instruments.
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FREE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Our ProQuest product trainers are standing by to help you get the most out of your subscription--and learn more about our other digital learning resources! We offer a wide variety of online training sessions each month.
Plus, all attendees can easily obtain a Certificate of Attendance (right) for any of our online courses! The certificate documents the course name, amount of class time, date, and verifies attendance. You can use the certificate to document attendance in the class and submit it along with the additional documentation your school district requires to award you with continuing education credits.
Be sure to tell your trainer that you would like to receive a certificate via email at the start of each class. They’ll be glad to help!
You can download three ready-to-print versions of forthcoming training dates and times in PDF format.
Our training sessions cover after-school hours within several time zones. Best of all, there's no cost to participate. All you need is a computer with Internet access, a phone, and one hour.
Register for a course!
You may also sign up for a timely enewsletter to receive training dates each month via email as soon as they're available.
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CALL FOR USER TESTIMONIALS
What features of Platinum do you and your students find the most useful? Have you recently used or are planning to use it as part of an assignment or student research project? How do you and other curriculum leaders in your institution use your ProQuest educational resources?
Share your experiences with peers working in schools across the country and around the world--through an upcoming Product News Bulletin! We're waiting to hear from you. Please send your ideas and stories to: tim.mclain@il.proquest.com
If we choose your submission, we'll contact you for additional information and permission to use your story in a future issue.
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FORWARD TO A COLLEAGUE + EMAIL SERVICE INFORMATION
Increase the usage of your digital learning resources! Our forward-to-a-friend service makes it easy to instantly send this product bulletin -- and all the great ideas and information it contains -- to others in your subscribing institution with a click of your mouse.
Also, be sure to encourage them to sign up for our SIRS, CultureGrams, ProQuest, ProQuest Historical Newspapers, eLibrary, eLibrary Curriculum Edition, and additional enewsletters as appropriate.
To change your email address, sign up for additional newsletter titles, or modify your subscription settings, click here.
Cordially,
Your ProQuest K-12 Team
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