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Enclosed is this month's free newsletter for SIRS Discoverer® and SIRS® Discoverer WebFind subscribers. This newsletter is designed to help teachers, librarians, and administrators stay informed about the latest changes to their subscription(s), while providing classroom resources and giving tips for using their ProQuest solutions in a variety of settings.
Check out our online archive for access to past issues.
In this issue:
- What's New @ SIRS
- Classroom Activities
- CultureGrams in Focus
- Bonus Curriculum Materials
- Top 3 Websites
- Free Online Training Courses
- Call for User Testimonials
- Email Service Information
WHAT'S NEW @ SIRS
Our product development team is constantly reviewing customer feedback and making changes to our learning resources to meet your needs. Several updates to our SIRS family of products were recently completed and we wanted to bring them to your
attention.
SIRS Discoverer Platform Launch Reminder
Our all-new SIRS Discoverer platform went live earlier this spring, with an impressive set of updates and tweaks! Just login to your subscription to view the newest changes and additions:
- Expanded results lists to include the Editorial Summary & Descriptors
- Increased results list from 500 to 1,000
- Preferences fully implemented
- Consistent results pages
- Maps are now indexed and searchable
- Added Ability to search on plural terms (e.g. searching for ‘dinosaur’ will return results with ‘dinosaurs’ in the article)
- Improved dictionary/thesaurus navigation
- Two columns of results for subject search (try searching on "history") and it provides a pageable list of results
- All graphics now display their captions
- Custom start pages now fully supported
- Page navigation changed from “next 25” to “1, 2, 3, …”
- Added ability to “Show/Hide” search results details
- Results provide for summary, descriptors, etc. as it does in SIRS Knowledge Source
- Added ability to sort by title and publication
- Added spelling suggestions, also known as Do You Mean? To see this in action, search for Nizxon. You’ll see: Did you mean Nixon?
- When emailing an article with pictures, the thumbnail images are embedded within the emailed article
- If an image is assigned to more than one article you get the list of articles to choose from on the picture display page.
Thank you for your continued interest in SIRS Discoverer!
Free Podcast Training via iTunes
Don’t miss this month’s SIRS podcast, focusing on our popular That’s
Debatable feature!
As you know, we offer robust, Flash-authored training files for all of our K-12 solutions. (Be sure to view many of our newly revised offerings!)
Beginning this month, we're proud to roll out a series of monthly video podcasts, along with smaller versions of our larger training files – all playable via iTunes.
Download your free copy of iTunes today, and subscribe to our free podcasts with a click of your mouse.
Maps of the World Feature
Don’t miss our recently updated Maps of the World feature. More than 3,000 detailed, printable maps are available as an online reference almanac. The maps include all 50 United States, the provinces and territories of Canada, as well as nations and regions of the world including Europe, Persian Gulf, Czech Republic, the Baltics, and Times Zones of the World. It also includes U.S. Historical, World Historical and Outline Maps.
Political Cartoons in Discoverer
Did you know that Discoverer now offers political cartoons geared for the younger researcher, from noteworthy sources including Junior Scholastic, Scholastic News, New York Times Upfront and Current Events?
Students can learn how to read and decipher political cartoons, as well as understand the writing devices employed in them (satire, irony, metaphor, etc.). In a hurry? The quickest route to all of our political cartoons is Database Features, Activities, Editorial Cartoons.
Here’s just a few timely examples to get you started:
Map Activities in Discoverer
Travel -- with Discoverer! We provide map activities geared for the younger researcher, from noteworthy sources including Scholastic News, Junior Scholastic, and Current Events.
With these new resources, your young students will learn how to read and decipher varied types of maps, and answer discussion questions based on their observations. Visit a sampling of the following articles to learn more:
Current Events
Our editorial team updates our SIRS products every day with new articles and resources. Here's a short list of the timeliest and most topical articles added to your product this month. Publication dates may vary due to the editorial selection process.
Suggested Research Topics
Tens of thousands of students mine SIRS resources for the latest information on the leading issues of the day. To help maximize their research time, our Suggested Research Topics feature offers instant access to relevant articles and resources on many of the most popular research subjects.
Here's this month's list of hot topics and timely issues in Discoverer:
Caffeine
Cloning Animals
Global Warming
Iraq
Ocelots
Phillis Wheatley
Stepfamilies
Synesthesia
Tennis
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
August includes several food-based observances like National Watermelon Day; Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night; National Catfish Month; More Herbs, Less Salt Day; and National Peach Month. Why not have students do research on the origins and nutritional values of these foods, as well as recipes that involve them?
Activity: Assign different students to one of the foods listed in the themes above. Using SIRS Discoverer, have them make oral reports on three topics relative to the food assigned:
- Where do these foods primarily come from and why?
- What is a recipe for using this food that you like and why?
- What type of nutritional value does this food provide?
- Type the name of the food in the Keyword/Natural Language box and Search.
- Select an article that answers the first question.
- Type the name of the food “and recipe” in the Search box (example: peaches and recipe).
- Select an article that answers the second question.
- Type the food source “and nutrition” in the Search box.
- Select an article that answers questions three.
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CULTUREGRAMS™ IN FOCUS
CultureGrams can help you broaden your students' understanding of the world and its peoples. The World Edition includes 190+ 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 70+ 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.
State:
Maine
Did You Know?
- Maine is the only state that has declared war on a foreign country. They declared war on England over a boundary dispute.
- A groaner in Maine is a foghorn that has one long tone; a grunter has two.
- The first lighthouse in Maine was built in 1791 by the order of U.S. president George Washington.
Resources and Economy
The phrase surf and turf is sometimes used to describe a meal of steak and seafood. It could also be used to describe Maine’s natural resources and economy. Because of Maine’s many forests, wood products such as paper, toothpicks, lumber, and wood pulp are a big part of Maine’s economy. In fact, forests cover more than 80 percent of the land. Lobster and shellfish are another large part of how Mainers earn their living. Millions of pounds of lobster are harvested there each year! What is less well-known is that Maine is a leading potato producer. Much of the soil is too acidic; however, a sandy soil (perfect for potato farming) is found in the northeast corner of the state. Maine also produces most of the country’s blueberries.
Protecting the Environment
Many Mainers are concerned about the environment. During the 1960s and 1970s, environmentalists sought to reform businesses by writing about their bad environmental practices in the newspapers. Like other states, Maine also has to balance protecting the environment with keeping its economy strong. But the state has worked hard to control such problems as pollution, overfishing, overcrowding, and destruction of forestland. Maine’s strong environmental laws have set a standard for other states to follow.
Cultural Note
Maine was the first state in the United States to connect all its schools and libraries to the internet. Access to the internet for all school-age children helps them to learn more about the world around them from their own classrooms. And there are efforts by Maine’s researchers to enhance the capabilities of computers even more. Some students and teachers at the University of Maine are working to create a computer that can think more like humans do.
To find out more about CultureGrams, connect to our website today.
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BONUS CURRICULUM MATERIALS
August is American Artists Appreciation Month. Students in elementary school are motivated by arts and crafts activities. eLibrary Elementary (get a trial) has hundreds of these activities and also information on famous artists that students will want to research and learn more about.
Activity: Topic search provides an easy way for students and teachers to connect to 20 curriculum-related topic areas. One of these is Arts & Crafts.
- Click the Topics tab > Arts & Crafts.
- Click Art Projects & Activities > Activities.
- Note the variety of website links and articles about activities for kids.
- Ask students to choose several activities that they could do in groups.
- Click the Arts & Crafts link to return to the major topic.
- Click Artists > Painters.
- Assign a different painter to each student to research and summarize in an oral report to the class.
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TOP 3 WEBSITES
Each month, our SKS WebSelect™ and 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.
Climate Change: I'm Alright Jack
Organization: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
"I'm Alright Jack is a game of dilemma and consequence to discover how environmentally conscious you are. In the four stages of Jack's life, you will be asked to make decisions about his lifestyle." (BBC) Make environmentally friendly choices at various stages of Jack's life.
Story Strips
Organization: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
"Like to make a scene? Here's your chance! Use characters and dialogue to create your own story." (PBS) Choose one of six situations, write your comic strip, and submit it to PBS.
What Happens During a Heart Attack?
Organization: The Cleveland Clinic
A heart attack is the result of a reduced or blocked oxygen supply to the heart. But how does it happen? This page briefly explains and illustrates heart attacks.
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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!
(Interested in Reading A-Z programs? Click here.)
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 your SIRS subscription do you and your students find the most useful? Have you recently used or are you planning to use SIRS 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
Your SIRS license agreement gives us permission to send you email about product upgrades, special offers, and new services. If you'd like to discontinue receiving these messages, you may unsubscribe. If you have any questions or are having difficulty, please send email to Tim McLain. Thanks for your interest in SIRS and ProQuest!
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