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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.
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.
Vocabulary A-Z Wins Coveted Award of Excellence
Technology & Learning's Awards of Excellence (AOE) program has been recognizing outstanding ed-tech curriculum products for 24 years.
We’re proud to announce that ProQuest LearningPage’s new Vocabulary A-Z learning solution has won a 2006 AOE! Take a moment to explore how Vocabulary A-Z can help you and your school generate thousands of custom vocabulary lessons, each with enough materials for weeks worth of instruction.
Try a free sample and subscribe today.
With a solid reputation in the industry as a longstanding, high-quality program, the AOE recognizes both "best of breed" and creative new offerings that help educators in the business of teaching, training, and managing with technology. All entries are given a rigorous test-driving by qualified educators in several rounds of judging, which takes place over several weeks at various computer labs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Join us in congratulating the ProQuest LearningPage team for their hard work in bringing Vocabulary A-Z to life.
Free Podcast Training via iTunes
Don’t miss this month’s SIRS podcast, focusing on Student Bibliographies:
A How-To Guide.
Whether student researchers use print or online resources to gather data, it’s important to properly cite each reference on a bibliography or works cited page.
This month, we’ll show you how to easily generate references to SIRS resources that can be copied and pasted into student research of all kinds. Welcome to this month’s SIRS podcast from ProQuest!
First, access your SIRS subscription and conduct a fresh search.
On the results page, note that each resource link starts with a check box. Be sure to check this box if you’re planning to use the resource as a reference in your research.
Once you’ve checked the boxes next to each resource you’re going to use, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Update Tagged List button.
The resources will be added to a fresh Tagged List. To access the list, at the top drag your mouse over the words My Research, then click Tagged List on the submenu that appears.
To generate citation information, click the boxes next to each resource again, then click the Create/Print Bibliography icon near the top.
Complete information is provided to create citations in both MLA and APA formats.
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 provide the most pertinent and safe content, SIRS Editors carefully research topics and issues each day to find age-appropriate materials that bring students to a better understanding of the topics taught in schools and classrooms across the U.S. and Canada.
Be sure to take a peek at some of SIRS Discoverer’s most searched topics and issues this month, including:
Pluto
Declaration of Independence
Computers
Bears
Dogs
Manatee
Brain
Haunted Houses
Math
Earthquakes
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DISCOVERER CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Students in grades 3-8 may be victims or know of classmates who are victims of child abuse in its many forms. Even bullying by peers can be included as domestic violence.
Research activities on this subject can help students understand what domestic violence is and how they can support efforts to reduce it or eliminate it in their communities.
Activity: Students should be assigned a two-minute oral report that includes the use at least two resources. Oral reports give students an opportunity to develop essential and standards-based skills. Oral reports also promote the sharing of ideas and information, possibly leading to post-report discussion activities.
Click “Social Issues” Subject Tree icon > click “Violence and Crime” subtopic. Students will find two subtopics that will provide the articles and/or websites to use for this issue: “family violence” and “school violence.”
Assign different aspects of violence to each student or group of students. Here are some examples: bullying in school; bullying after school; child abuse; prevention of violence; and domestic violence against women/mothers.
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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 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:
Missouri
Did You Know?
- The tallest man in history was St. Louis's Robert Wadlow. He was 8 feet 11 inches (2.7 m) tall.
- Missouri was the starting point for the Pony Express. Riders carried mail all the way to California in just a few days. They changed horses every 10 to 15 miles (16-24 km).
- In 1927, Charles Lindbergh, a Missouri pilot, completed the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in a plane called the Spirit of St. Louis.
Climate
Missouri is right in the center of the United States. This means that Missouri's weather is moderate -- sometimes it has the cold weather of the northern states and sometimes it has the warm weather of the southern states. During the winter, the average temperature in northern Missouri is 36°F (2°C). It snows, but the snow is usually not very heavy. In summer, warm air from the south brings temperatures above 90°F (32°C). Summer rainstorms can cause serious flooding when Missouri's rivers overflow. Missouri also lies in the middle of a region known as Tornado Alley. Missouri usually gets around 27 major tornadoes per year. In 1925, a tornado hit Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. It was called the Tri-State Tornado, and it killed almost seven hundred people. The Tri-State Tornado was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
Gateway to the West
In 1965, an incredible monument was completed in St. Louis. The Gateway Arch is 630 feet (192 m) tall and is the tallest monument in the nation. In fact, if the presidents on Mount Rushmore also had bodies to the scale of their giant heads, they could easily walk under the Gateway Arch -- with 100 feet (30 m) to spare! You can ride a tram up to the top of the Arch and see for 30 miles (48 km). The Gateway Arch honors the role that St. Louis played as the Gateway to the West. Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition at St. Louis, and thousands of early settlers passed through St. Louis on their journey westward.
Cultural Note
Few Missourians have achieved greater fame than writer Mark Twain. He grew up in Hannibal on the banks of the Mississippi River during the 1800s. His real name was Samuel Clemens, but he changed it to Mark Twain, which is a riverboat term. As a boy, he dreamed of becoming a captain of a riverboat traveling up and down the Mississippi. Twain finally got his chance when he met a riverboat pilot who promised to teach him the job. For almost four years, Mark Twain worked on the river and met many different characters. Mark Twain's childhood in Hannibal and his adventures as a riverboat pilot were the inspiration for his great books, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. These books describe what it was like to grow up in Missouri. Today, Missourians still celebrate Mark Twain's life with events like Hannibal's Tom Sawyer Days festival. People there compete in fence-painting and frog-jumping contests.
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.
Mote Aquarium
Mote Marine Laboratory
"Mote Aquarium hosts nearly 400,000 visitors a year in Sarasota, Florida, where a variety of marine life--from the smallest critters to apex predators--are showcased. The aquarium's many exhibits are designed to highlight the marine research performed by the scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory." (MOTE MARINE LABORATORY) On this site, learn about sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, and other marine animals.
Tudor Britain
The National Archives of the United Kingdom
“This website presents a selection of different types of historical evidence for students to examine, such as artifacts, inventories and wills, letters, maps and books. Students can examine these objects and consider how they were made, what they were for and who might have created or used them. They can discover facts about the Tudor period, see how evidence can be used to build up an historical picture, and think about what can be learned this way about the interests, values and preoccupations of people during Tudor times." (THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM)
Where Plants and Animals Live
Houghton Mifflin Company
"Where can you find plants and animals? A pond is one place. Think about the plants and animals that live in a pond. Remember that some of the animals might be hiding." (HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY) Find the plants and animals and click on them to learn more.
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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 SIRS or additional ProQuest solution course today!
(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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