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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 subscriptions, 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
- Reading A-Z: Building Young Readers
- CultureGrams in Focus
- 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.
Political Cartoons in Discoverer
Discoverer provides 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:
Subject Tree Updates
At SIRS, we’re continually reviewing the Discoverer and WebFind Subject Trees to provide a more comprehensive search function that reflects the carefully selected content available in the database.
Visit ACTIVITIES in the Database Features, to access articles and activities relating to Editorial Cartoons, Pro/Con discussions, and Maps.
Vocabulary Lesson Generator
ProQuest® LearningPage, home of Reading A-Z™, will be launching a new website in early 2006!
Vocabulary A-Z™ is an online vocabulary lesson builder that allows you to customize your vocabulary word lists and vocabulary exercises by dozens of topics and categories. Topics include English, math, science, and social studies; categories include word functions such as adjectives, verbs, and antonyms. Each lesson provides materials for a full week of learning.
The new site solidly supports the vocabulary pillar of No Child Left Behind and recommendations by the National Reading Panel. The vocabulary word lists are correlated to state curriculum standards. At last, educators can teach vocabulary through context and meaning and make vocabulary lessons match classroom topics!
It's easy to build customized vocabulary lessons--just:
- Pick a topic.
- Choose your vocabulary words.
- Generate lessons, worksheets, and games automatically.
- Download, save, and print!
Try out a free sample today, and purchase early at a discounted rate.
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
Groundhog Day, always celebrated on February 2nd, is based on a jocular folk tradition. Supposedly, if a hibernating groundhog surfaces and sees his shadow, he'll be frightened back underground—thus marking six more weeks of winter. If it's cloudy, the groundhog won't be frightened by his own shadow and will stay above ground to bring on spring.
Of course, there's no real truth to this tradition. But the people in Wiarton, Ontario, where the most famous Canadian groundhog used to live--Wiarton Willy--say their groundhog has been right 90 percent of the time. Taken from an ancient European tradition, the first Groundhog Day celebration in North America was held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, over 100 years ago. It's still celebrated there today where they use a groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil, who was featured in the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray.
Activity: Let’s learn more about groundhogs to celebrate Groundhog Day. Type Groundhogs in the Keyword/Natural Language Search box for your search. Summarize from at least two articles that provide information on groundhogs.
Here are some sample questions for teachers to use for the mini-research summary:
- What are some other animals that tunnel and why?
- What are some other animals that hibernate and why?
- Where do groundhogs mostly live?
- What do groundhogs eat?
- What are some threats to groundhogs?
- Would groundhogs make good pets? Why or why not?
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PROQUEST LEARNING PAGE: BUILDING YOUNG READERS
Learning Page salutes Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) who was responsible for the recognition that black history has attained. Born to former slaves, he worked in Kentucky coal mines and did not attend high school until the age of 20. He later earned a Ph.D. from Harvard and noticed in his studies that African Americans were mostly ignored in history books.
Dr. Woodson founded several organizations and publications to promote education about black history. In 1926, he began promoting Negro History Week to call attention to the contributions of African Americans in U.S. history. In the 1960s the commemoration became Black History Month.
Reading A-Z has these titles for Black History Month:
Riding with Rosa Parks
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jazz Greats
Up from Slavery
These books are just a fraction of Reading A-Z's nearly 1,600 printable books. The subscription website also offers lesson plans, worksheets, assessments, flashcards, and reader's theater scripts
--everything you need to teach reading at a very affordable price. Guided reading, phonics, alphabet, and so much more, all with just the click of a mouse and for only a few pennies per book!
Visit Reading A-Z to try 30 free books and subscribe today.
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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.
State:
South Dakota
Did You Know?
- Dakota is a Sioux word that means “allies” or “friends.”
- The faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet (18 m) tall. A billion pounds of rock were removed to build the monument.
- About 1,500 buffalo roam in Custer State Park. One buffalo can weigh 2,000 pounds (907 kg).
Climate
South Dakota has dramatic weather. Like other states in the middle of North America, South Dakota sometimes experiences huge temperature swings. These changes can happen very quickly. In Rapid City on January 10, 1911, the temperature dropped a total of 47°F (26°C) in just 15 minutes! In Spearfish in January of 1943, the temperature rose an entire 49°F (27°C) in only two minutes! Summers are usually pleasant, but they can bring temperatures above 100°F (38°C). Winter days are often far below freezing, and heavy blizzards may strike. Blizzard winds reach 70 miles per hour (113 km/h). During the summer, long dry periods called droughts can kill a season's crops. Both tornadoes and floods are common. It's no wonder people say you've got to be tough to live in South Dakota.
Wounded Knee
In 1890, the government was afraid that the Sioux would fight again, so they decided to arrest Sitting Bull in the hope of preventing a possible rebellion. But Sitting Bull was killed during the attempted arrest. The army soon captured Sitting Bull's followers and took them to Wounded Knee Creek. On the morning of December 29th, a shot was heard, and the soldiers opened fire on the captives. Twenty-five soldiers and close to 200 Sioux men, women, and children were killed in the tragic Wounded Knee Massacre.
Resources & Economy
Agriculture is the backbone of South Dakota. Farms and ranches cover about 90 percent of its land. The rich, black soil of the east produces some of the nation's leading amounts of hay, rye, wheat, soybeans, and corn. Ranches on the western grasslands raise beef cattle and sheep. Dairies, flour mills, and meatpacking plants turn these products into items you can buy at the store. South Dakotans also make farm and construction equipment to support their farms and ranches, and they export this equipment to all parts of the country. In addition to agriculture and its related industries, many people work in fields such as education, health, and tourism.
To find out more about CultureGrams, connect to our website today.
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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.
Communication Skills Make It a Dog's World
Organization: The Why Files
"So how do dogs manage to achieve first-class social status with an economy-coach mentality? It's simple. Dogs have good people skills." (THE WHY FILES) Although chimpanzees are closer to humans genetically, dogs have long been our best animal friends. Learn what researchers have discovered about the ability of dogs to "read" humans.
X-Rays: What Are They?
Organization: The Nobel Foundation
"X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, who received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. Several important discoveries have been made using X-rays. These penetrating rays are also used in many applications." (THE NOBEL FOUNDATION) A series of five slide shows explores the discovery, nature, and uses of x-rays.
The Healthy Heart
Organization: Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
"The heart is a powerful muscle, about the size of your fist. It is responsible for pumping blood to the entire body. In a healthy adult, the body contains about 2 gallons (5 liters) of blood that is circulated over and over through the body. The blood moves from the heart, into arteries, capillaries, and veins before returning to the heart." (FDA) Text and colorful animations explain the inner workings of the human heart.
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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.
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 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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