Enclosed is this month's free newsletter for eLibrary® 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.
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.
New Content @ eLibrary Vault
ProQuest is always on the lookout for fresh content of all kinds. Whether it’s a new publication, newspaper collection, or photo source, our content acquisition team is on top of it. In the past few months, we’ve added more than 205 new sources to our overall ProQuest vault, along with 8.2 million documents. Wow!
Monthly Content Load: eLibrary
Source: Documents Added (4/06)
Newspapers & Newswires: 1,209,980
Magazines & Journals: 356,177
Pictures: 90,488
TV & Radio Transcripts: 12,703
Reference & Non Fiction Books: 53,278
Video: 235
Total Added: 1,722,861
Highlights: New or Updated eLibrary Feeds
American Heritage Spanish Dictionary
Reference and Non Fiction Books
Hutchinson Encyclopedia Collection
Reference and Non Fiction Books
News, The; Maple Ridge, B.C.
Newspapers & Newswires
Scarborough Mirror, The
Newspapers & Newswires
Knowledge = Power: Spring Training Videos
Spring is in full swing! It’s time for Mother Nature -- and our trainers here at ProQuest -- to show off a little.
Along with the new flowers, leaves, and warmer temperatures, we’re proud to present an extra-large virtual bouquet of fresh, up-to-date training videos for more than half of our popular K-12 learning solutions.
These videos are presented in Flash, sporting quick load times and larger formats for easy viewing. Here’s a list of our newest offerings -- look for the rest of our popular library to be updated in July:
Let’s face it--no matter how many times we visit our favorite online learning resources, we’re bound to miss a feature or two. This month, we present one of the least-known but most useful feature sets of your eLibrary subscription: Spanish-language resources.
Did you know that your subscription provides access to thousands of current, Spanish-language articles that students can use? The best way to locate these resources is to check the Emphasis On: Spanish box in the Advanced Search section, then enter your Spanish keywords in the search box.
This would be a great resource for your Spanish classes to practice their skills in translation while learning more about the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. Immigrant students could also use it to maintain some connection to their previous home countries.
As we announced last month, our product developers also recently added a Spanish-to-English and an English-to-Spanish dictionary. If you're reading an article in Spanish, highlight the word and then click the Reference tab to view the dictionary definition. This would support students taking Spanish as a second language.
More importantly, if you have Spanish-speaking immigrant students who are challenged by English immersion programs, then they can highlight an English word that they don't understand, click the Reference tab, and get a Spanish definition plus related examples.
Below is a list of publications that provide Spanish-language articles. You can do a publication search and browse each of them by date:
Newspapers/Newswires
Agence France Presse Spanish
AP Spanish Online
Arizona Daily Star (some articles in Spanish)
Inter Press Service Spanish News Wire
La Prensa
La Prensa Panama
Santa Fe New Mexican
Books
Britannica Spanish Encyclopedia
American Heritage Spanish to English Dictionary
American Heritage English to Spanish Dictionary
Magazines
People en Espanol
We also have several model BookCarts with Spanish-language resources, including La Vida en Cuba Desde 2000, La Guerra Contra el Terrorismo, and Dias de Fiestas Culturales. You can copy them to your local collection using the Teacher Edition. Click BookCart Admin, then type PQ BookCart in the Author box and Foreign Language in the Subject box to view these BookCarts. Click the Select box and then click the Copy button.
ProQuest has more than 425 model BookCarts for you to copy to your local collection to support librarian-teacher collaboration. You can view the collection here in PDF and Excel, plus learn how to copy them to your local collection.
Now you’re in the know! We hope this month’s tip and trick bring you closer to being a true eLibrary power user.
New tools in eLibrary help disadvantaged learners achieve greater learning, language arts achievement, and success in school.
Good news for students and teachers! eLibrary has added the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary to the Reference tool. As our Hispanic immigrant student population continues to grow, Spanish-speaking students will need English translation support while using learning tools such as eLibrary. Now these students who are encountering difficulty reading and understanding English language articles can get a Spanish definition of the word.
Activity: Ask your students to open a document from a simple search and use the new American Heritage Spanish Dictionary:
Type “global warming” in the Search box
Open an article of interest
Browse the article to find a word that Spanish-speaking students may not understand
Highlight the word with your mouse
Click the Reference tool and select the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary
Try several other examples
Good news for these students and others who have difficulty in spelling the key words in a search. eLibrary Spell Check comes to the rescue to provide support and success instead of frustration, poor or no results, and failure.
Type the key words “golbal warming” in the Search box (purposely misspelled)
Click the Search button
Note the message “Did you mean: global warming?”
Click the message link
Note the improved and expanded Results list
Type “socer” in the Search box and click the Search button
Note that students may get results and not realize that the results are inadequate
Click the message “Did you mean: soccer?”
Notice the improvement in the Results list
Good news for these students and others who have difficulty in reading! eLibrary Lexile reading score come to the rescue to provide support and success instead of lack of understanding, frustration, and failure.
Lexile scores for eLibrary articles (nonfiction) range between 700 and 1800. The lower the Lexile score, the easier an article is to read and understand (click Help > Lexile Reading Level link for more information). Teachers can help students to select articles that are within their Lexile reading range to improve understanding.
All eLibrary documents can be searched for directly by their Lexile scores. But the easiest way is to search and then Sort by Lexile Score (Pictures have a score of 0).
PROQUEST® PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: ELIBRARY & SIRS
Our professional development training program is a complete package that delivers the key processes to ensure successful program implementation, and the content to support ongoing use and customization across the entire curriculum.
The CEU-eligible program provides educators with research-based technology integration strategies and tools for customizing instruction and assessment using our eLibrary and SIRS online learning solutions. Schools receive the materials they need to build professional development and instructional models that can maximize teacher efficiency and effectiveness, and improve student achievement.
Educators receive rubrics, assessments, activities, and content designed to spur students' information literacy skills, critical thinking, and reading and writing abilities, while increasing their own technology usage. Plus, our flexible model ensures that all instructional staff in a school or system will benefit from the lessons learned.
Our fresh support for our line of SIRS solutions will train your teachers to fuse four types of literacy using SIRS resources with state and national learning standards. Find out more about this new program today--just in time for your spring training dates!
I use Reading A-Z's guided reading books daily, and the students love having their very own books. We can highlight words they are having difficulty with, and the children can take ownership in their books when they color the pages. The students can then bring the books home so that they have their own library with books they can read independently or to a parent. Janice McNulty; Kindergarten Teacher; Bridlewood Elementary; Flower Mound, Texas
This month, Reading A-Z features books about trees, animal moms and babies, a puppy's adventure, American sports legends, and a sightseeing trip to the Far East. We also have stories about monsters making music, a wordplay mystery, a boy who learns to fish in Singapore, a fantasy visit to the Land of Oz, and a mouse who finds a very imaginative use for oatmeal. A collection of ocean poetry rounds out our April offerings.
This month's additions bring the total number of books on our website to more than 1,650, with thousands of accompanying lesson plans, worksheets, and activities.
Imagine having instant access to all the books you need for students at different reading levels, books they can take home and keep for repeated reading. Now you can. And it only costs between $49.95 and $74.95 per teacher annually (depending on the type of license purchased). Nowhere else can you get so much for so little. Sign up today!
May is Physical Fitness and Sports Month. Physical fitness and sports go together and help elementary students form the habits that will keep them fit and active for a lifetime. Many schools have expanded their elementary Physical Education programs to include more of an emphasis on lifetime individual sports such as golf, tennis, swimming, hiking, and bicycling vs. the traditional approach of competitive team sports. Student participation in competitive team sports often fades as students get older because of the difficulty of getting enough participants, lack of ability, and the fear of injuries as factors. Competitive sports also do not provide the inherent fitness component that is part of the individual sports listed above.
Activity: Students need to expand their view of sports to include the variety of individual sports that provide recreation as well as fitness through participation.
Click the Topics tab
Click the topic Sports and Gym
Click the subtopic Sports
Assign each student a different sport to research and present to the class. The sports assigned should be individual sports that combine recreation with fitness, for example:
Kayaking
Rowing
Swimming
Golf
Inline Skating
Students should summarize information about the sport, mention something special or exciting about the sport, and indicate how the sport contributes to fitness.
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:
China
Capital City: Beijing
Population: 1,298,847,624
Area: 3,705,820 square miles (9,598,032 sq km)
Real GDP per capita: $4,580
Adult literacy rate: 95% (male), 87% (female)
Infant mortality: 25 per 1,000 births
Life expectancy: 69 (male), 73 (female)
Did You Know?
China is only slightly larger than the United States, but it has more than four times as many inhabitants.
Of some 50,000 Chinese characters, only about 8,000 are in use; knowledge of 1,500 is necessary for basic literacy.
China seeks to provide an elementary education to every citizen; nearly 100 percent of first-grade-age children are enrolled.
Language
Standard Chinese (Putonghua), or Mandarin, is based on the Beijing dialect and is the national language. It is taught in schools, so most Chinese can read, write, and speak Mandarin. Many people also use the dialects or languages of their geographical region. These include Wu, Min, Yue (Cantonese), and Kejia.
Recreation
Favorite pastimes include eating, karaoke, and imported movies; the average Chinese attends more than 10 movies each year. As incomes have increased in recent years, traveling to other parts of China has become popular. Most cities have sports facilities. The country's favorite sports include soccer, table tennis, swimming, and badminton. Chinese play table and board games in homes and parks. Majiang is the most popular table game; most people know how to play it. Wei qi is a strategy game played in more educated circles. Chinese chess is another favorite. Parks and courtyards are often filled in the morning by those practicing taijiquan, a traditional form of shadowboxing that provides exercise and therapy.
Government
In the People's Republic of China, national policy is determined by a 20-member Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and, more importantly, its 7-member Standing Committee. The president (currently Hu Jintao) is chief of state, chosen by the 2,985 members of the National People's Congress. Hu is also the general secretary of the CCP, considered the government's most powerful position. The premier (currently Wen Jiabao) is head of government and is nominated by the president and confirmed by Congress. Members of Congress are indirectly elected at local levels. In about half of all villages, local leaders are elected rather than appointed.
Health
While malaria and cholera are problematic in China, people are generally healthy. However, the system of guaranteed care is being replaced by an insurance-based system where patients are required to pay for part of their care. Since rural Chinese often lack money, health conditions are declining and disease is spreading. Unlike many developing countries, Chinese health care concentrates on prevention. An extensive network of programs emphasizes immunizations, prenatal care, pediatrics, and sanitation. Facilities are simple, but the system has greatly improved basic health--especially in urban areas. Still, water is usually not potable and open sewers are common. Traditional Chinese medicine (use of medicinal herbs and acupuncture, among other things) is combined with Western medical techniques in treating illness and injury.
To find out more about CultureGrams, connect to our website today.
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.
"Kidnappings. Suicide bombers. Beheadings. Roadside bombs. The Iraqi insurgency continues to challenge the most highly trained and best-equipped military in the world. FRONTLINE peels back the layers and gets beyond the propaganda to take a complex look inside the multi-faceted insurgency in Iraq." (PBS) On the companion site, consider if the insurgency can be defeated, read interviews with U.S. military commanders and journalists, find a timeline of attacks, and view a map of Iraq's ethnic and religious makeup.
"Hercules was the Roman name for the greatest hero of Greek mythology--Heracles. Like most authentic heroes, Heracles had a god as one of his parents, being the son of the supreme deity Zeus and a mortal woman." (JOEL SKIDMORE) The story of Hercules is told here with illustrations. In Greek and Roman mythology, Hercules was a son of Zeus, the greatest of the Greek heroes, and the only hero ever to become a god.
It All Adds Up
Organization: National Council on Economic Education
"Welcome to It All Adds Up, a site for teens who want to get a head start on their financial future. Play online games and simulations to learn about credit management, buying a car, paying for college, budgeting, saving and investing. Click one of the images...to get started." (NATIONAL COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATION) Learn about personal finance in these five modules: Getting and Using a Credit Card, Buying a Car, Budget Odyssey, Saving and Investing Blitz, and You're Going to College.
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.
What features of eLibrary 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.
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.
ProQuest offers a growing family of K-12 classroom-focused,
subscription-based online research tools. Many of these education solutions offer reading level-linked
(lexile) content, support
21st-century information
literacy skills, and help schools differentiate instruction across all curriculum areas.
Learn more about all of our tools here, tap into our training resources and videos, and don't miss our new eLibrary research tool (more). We also have a pair of special resource pages just for teachers (with lesson plans) and librarians.
Spring is in full swing! It’s time for Mother Nature -- and our trainers here at ProQuest -- to show off a little.
Did you know that your subscription provides access to thousands of current, Spanish-language articles that students can use? The best way to locate these resources is to check the Emphasis On: Spanish box in the Advanced Search section, then enter your Spanish keywords in the search box.
Country:
