Enclosed is this month's free newsletter for SIRS Knowledge Source® 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 SIRS solutions in a variety of settings.
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.
New Leading Issues Added & Handout
Our SIRS editors have added seven more Leading Issues topics to your SIRS subscription:
Freedom of speech
Freedom of the press
Genocide
Identity theft
Plastic surgery
Property rights
Religious fundamentalism
Our team has discovered that students are often searching for information on these topics via SIRS. By adding them to Leading Issues, it’s our goal to provide students with an overview, pro/con analysis and other valuable information for researching and writing a paper on this important topic. Look for more Leading Issues topics in the coming months!
Plus, don’t miss the new Leading Issues Topics Tool for Librarians and Teachers. This one page sheet (see above) lists all the Leading Issues topics, and includes a spot for librarians and teachers to add their school login and password information to give to students when preparing for a research assignment.
SIRS Newsletter Upgrades: August Relaunch
Over the past few months, our content and design teams have been working tirelessly to update our monthly newsletters. The result: all-new designs, new titles covering history and elementary topics, and more!
1. New, easier-to-read designs -- Next school year, all-new versions of our newsletters will arrive in your emailbox.
The new versions are designed to be a smaller, more concise, and easier to read, with clear links to “the full story.” That means much less searching, reading, and scrolling. We’ve also separated the solution-specific information from our generic content and other items to save you time.
2. Less email -- Each newsletter will only be sent 3-4 times during the year, instead of the current monthly cycle. Plus, SIRS ChallengeQuests and SIRS Spotlights will now be offered inside ProQuest Teachable Moments -- another step towards reducing the total number of messages you may receive.
3. New newsletters -- Interested in history or elementary-focused content?
Our new History Happenings and Explorations newsletters make it easy to tap into our history (Historical Newspapers, History Study Center, SIRS Decades, World Conflicts Today) and elementary-level solutions (eLibrary Elementary, SIRS Discoverer).
4. State-specific versions -- Instead of signing up for several newsletters that cover the two or more state-wide ProQuest CSA solutions you may currently receive, we’re offering a slate of state-specific newsletters that cover them all in a single message. This will also reduce the amount of emails you receive from us, while increasing the relevance and usability of each issue.
The state newsletters being developed currently cover Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Utah. More states will be added in the coming months based on how these initial offerings fare.
5. Fresh content and updates -- We’re also working hard to shake up our content offerings to ensure the usefulness and applicability of every article.
Don’t miss out! Connect to our newsletters subscription page and update your profile to add our fresh slate of newsletters which debut in August. To see the full list of newsletters and sign up someone who’s new to our newsletters, connect to this page.
Have a question, idea, or concern? Let us know by sending a message to tim.mclain@il.proquest.com today.
New Science Content: NYT Science Times
Our popular eLibrary Science solution now offers access to the New York Times – Science Times section. This material appears every Tuesday, offering topical science coverage in an easy-to-read format which is the perfect compliment to our academic peer reviewed journals.
School librarians were very vocal in their request for this material, and we’re proud to be the only K-12 science research solution providing access to this top-rated material.
All 2006 content is complete; 2007 is in our production que.
To find the material, login to eLibrary Science (or sign up for a free trial), select Publications browse, then click the Magazine icon. Once the content is complete, this material will appear under the Newspapers icon.
SIRS Podcast
When it comes to online research, our SIRS family of resources is truly second to none. Our editors work hard to provide access to only quality, hand-picked resources, and more.
In your rush to use our solutions for research, you and your students are likely missing out on some very popular, content-rich database features that are just a click away.
In this month’s SIRS podcast, we’ll take a look at five resources you may have overlooked in the past – That’s Debatable Poll, Today’s News, Maps, Focus on Terrorism and our all-new Spotlights page. Let’s get started...
To view this month's video, subscribe to a ProQuest CSA podcast channel today. Plus, don’t miss our free monthly Web training sessions, which are eligible for CEU credit!
Newest Articles & Graphics
Our editorial team updates SKS 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.
Our popular SIRS Leading Issues feature is dynamically updated daily with new content! New topics are added monthly along with "Your Top 10 Choices"--a list solely driven by end-user searches. Here's a list of some of our subscribers' more commonly accessed topics:
Our product trainers are standing by to help you get the most out of your SIRS 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 for continuing education credits.
Be sure to tell your trainer you’d 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 is the most multicultural country in the world?
The U.S. is currently the most multicultural country in the world. May is an opportunity to celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month, one of many monthly themes that Social Studies teachers can use to help students learn about and appreciate the value of diversity: Polish-American Heritage Month; Hispanic Heritage Month; Black History Month; etc.
Each of these times, students can research a variety of topics related to the specific history, culture, and accomplishments of these and other ethnic groups that have contributed to our “melting pot” tradition.
Activity: Mini-research activities with Researcher give teachers and students the resources to explore a variety of viewpoints about the Asian American population of our country. Within the phrase “Asian American” lies a whole spectrum of different peoples and cultures.
Type "Asian American" in the Subject Heading search box > click Search.
You will have access to more than 50 subject headings for articles.
Browse the list of subjects to determine the best ones to assign to your students.
Students can use the Tagged List tool to save the articles for their reports.
Assign a two-minute oral report that summarizes the contributions of the specific Asian American group being studied. Students should be able to cite at least three articles to support their summary.
Presentation skills are part of all state standards and are important for success in college, careers, and life. Oral reports provide an opportunity motivate greater effort because of the need to present to peers, not just an essay to an audience of one--the teacher.
Oral reports also help prevent plagiarism at a time when it is rampant. Build in some time for several audience questions of the presenter. With two-minutes for the report and another two minutes for questions and one minute for transitions, a whole class can benefit in three class periods.
PROQUEST PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: SIRS & ELIBRARY
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 SIRS and eLibrary 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!
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, Provinces Edition, and a States Edition, geared for upper elementary students. These editions include kid-friendly profiles of 70+ countries, all 50 states (including Washington, D.C.), and the Canadian provinces.
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: New Mexico
Did You Know?
One out of three families in New Mexico speaks Spanish at home.
Founded in 1610, Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States.
The largest chamber of Carlsbad Caverns is more than 10 football fields long and about 22 stories high.
Geography
New Mexico is the fifth largest state, with an area of 121,598 square miles (314,937 sq km). The state has four main regions: the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Plateau, the Basin and Range Province, and the Great Plains. The Rocky Mountains extend from Alaska clear down into northern New Mexico. A part of the Rockies, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the highest mountain range in the state. In northwestern New Mexico lies the Colorado Plateau. This region is made up of layers of sandstone, limestone, and shale (thin, splintery rock deposits). Wind and water have carved through the rock to create high cliffs, flat highlands, and deep canyons. The Basin and Range Province, which includes mountains and desert valleys, spans the central and southern parts of the state. This is where most New Mexicans live. The Great Plains are in eastern New Mexico. Much of the landscape in this region is flat and perfect for raising cattle. The state's main river is the Rio Grande, which flows southward across the state.
Anasazi
The Anasazi (a Navajo word meaning “ancient ones”) were one of the first groups to settle in the southwest. The Anasazi built homes of dried mud and stone in places like Chaco Canyon. These homes were like apartment buildings, with multiple levels and rooms. Thousands of people might have lived in a single settlement. The Anasazi grew corn and beans and made pottery and jewelry. The Pueblo are descendants of the Anasazi.
Lincoln County Wars
In 1876, conflict erupted between cattle ranchers, sheepherders, and lawmen in Lincoln County. Competition for grazing land and cattle markets was intense, and sometimes the competition resulted in theft or violence. Some of the ranchers hired gunslingers (highly-skilled gunfighters) to threaten others and to protect themselves. Billy the Kid (William H. Bonney) was one of the gunmen hired by the ranchers. The ongoing feuds between ranchers and others lasted until 1878. Billy the Kid, later a famous outlaw, was shot by Pat Garrett in 1881.
To find out more about CultureGrams, connect to our website today.
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.
"The United States is immersed more deeply than ever in the Muslim world's sectarian divide. A five-part series explores the split between Shia and Sunnis, from its origins shortly after the death of Muhammed in the seventh century to the modern-day upheaval in Iraq." (NPR)
"This exhibit explores how people relate to objects through their occupations of producing, selling, and repairing them. The 48 images on display were chosen from a collection of about 1,700 photographs taken by anthropologist Dr. Richard Lerner in 1968-70 and 1988-89. The three sections focus on artisans, merchants and service-providers. (PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY) View photographs of markets, merchants and artisans of India.
"In a four-part special series, News War, Frontline examines the political, cultural, legal, and economic forces challenging the news media today and how the press has reacted in turn. Through interviews with key figures in print, broadcast and electronic media over the past four decades--and with unequaled, behind-the-scenes access to some of today's most important news organizations, Frontline traces the recent history of American journalism, from the Nixon administration's attacks on the media to the post-Watergate popularity of the press, to the new challenges presented by the war on terror and other global forces now changing--and challenging--the role of the press in our society." (PBS) Watch the full series online.
“My teachers, students and I continue to be very pleased with our ProQuest database. One of the best search results I've had in the last year is a student in a biology class that was researching avian flu around the world."
"Each pair of students had a particular country to investigate. The example I use when explaining to parents, school board members, legislators and others how useful this tool is, is the students whose country was Romania. I always show the students how to use the advanced search screen, telling them what a sophisticated search strategy they're learning. These students put in Avian flu and Romania, connecting their terms with AND. They got 12 results, all of them trustworthy, reliable, etc. Number one on the list was a story less than 24 hours old from the BBC. Such a source would never have been available in the days of Readers' Guide!”
Ellie Goldstein-Erickson
Library Media Teacher
Berkeley High School Library
What features of your ProQuest CSA solutions 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 CSA 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.
Cordially,
Your ProQuest CSA 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 CSA!
Over the past few months, our content and design teams have been working tirelessly to update our monthly newsletters. The result: all-new designs, new titles covering history and elementary topics, and more!
Our popular 
Our popular SIRS Leading Issues feature is dynamically updated daily with new content! New topics are added monthly along with "Your Top 10 Choices"--a list solely driven by end-user searches. Here's a list of some of our subscribers' more commonly accessed topics:
What is the most multicultural country in the world?
State: New Mexico
