South Dakota State Library Lesson 5

I browsed the NetLibrary, first with the keyword cooking. Many children enjoy looking and learning about cooking and I wanted to see what they had to offer. All the books I saw were aimed at adults or high school aged children. There were quite a selection to choice from and it may be interesting to share some ethic food or reasons about their food from the books on NetLibrary.

I looked up U.S. constitution and found a few titles I felt would be easier to read and are informative to older students. The titles are as follows: "Representing Popular Sovereignty: the Constitution in American Political Culture", "The Bill of Rights: A Bicentennial Assessment", "The Illustrated Dictionary of Constitutional Concepts". The last title help define terms and concepts and is written in alphabetical format. Looking over the text of the three titles; the vocabulary is geared toward higher grades and may need to be looked up to understand the concept.

I chose to search for Nebraska history. I found some interesting titles and information that could work in reports. One book that was written in simple-to-the-point words was called "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Old West" In this book students can learn about cowtowns and what being a cowboy was all about. It put things in a humorous light and made for easy reading. Another book I came across was "America View Thier Dust Bowl Experience" This book had insight to what was happening at that time and what the emotions were. A book about Lewis and Clark caught my eye. The 3rd grade teachers have a unit on Lewis and Clark. Although the book is advanced, I feel some of the maps could be used to show the trail taken. Also, some facts about what type of animals they saw and fish they caught in the Midwest is a great connection for kids. The last book I read is called "The Changing Image of the City: Planning Downtown Omaha 1945-1973." This was an interesting read because I've been to Omaha and it gave me perspective to then and now. How population and business change over the years is interesting to say the least. All good books to retrieve data from.

NetLibrary has some good resources. The students I work with would not be able to use them due to the advance writing, but teachers can pull some data and facts out to share with students. I will have to spend some more time searching for topics of interest. :)

South Dakota State Library Lesson 4

I selected Endangered Species. I looked up the Aye-Aye. Did you know that there are only 2 thousand left in existence? They live in Madagascar. They are an interesting and unusual primate that young readers love to read about. They also have big eyes. I have a book that only offers a little bit of information on this critter. This site gives quite a bit of details. The read aloud feature is wonderful for those that struggle with reading and for young readers too. It has facts, pictures (like the one shown) and easy text. I certainly can find a use for this.

I searched for the "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" on the basic search. I chose this topic because I am familiar with the book and my oldest son read this book five years ago, when he was in the 4th grade. Before he read it I explained that the context, language and "way of thinking" is from a different time period and at that time, the language and way of thinking was acceptable. He enjoyed the book. He learned a lot about that time period and was able to enjoy a timeless Classic Novel. I am still surprised that so many schools and libraries have it banned. I was always one to make sure I read any book that the schools banned--out of curiosity. Regarding "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", I chose to read several critical essays and read both opposing and conflicting sides. I can see both parties opinions, yet I still feel books should not be banned, just because of how a few people interpret them--otherwise all Grimm's fairy tales would be banned! ( Anyways...Great resources for a "persuasive speech or written report on opposing views")

I also signed up for a e-bulletin from Gale Virtual to keep up-to-date on what is out there.

South Dakota State Library Lesson 3

Proquest is a useful tool for finding articles that give an opinion. I think it is too complicated for elementary students, but Middle and High school might find it helpful in getting a wide variety of points of view. I looked up heart health and most of the periodicals were very technical. I narrowed my search to medical robotics and found some interesting articles on surgery using robotics. Technology of robotics has lessen hospital stays and doesn't require big incisions like typical surgeries. The tool for making the selection more specific is great. It allowed me to narrow down the topics and I easily found what I was looking for.

I played around with publications and located some magazines on libraries. I created RSS feed on one magazine called Teacher Librarian. All in all, I like Proquest and will use it to scan articles of interest.

South Dakota State Library Lesson 2

I enjoyed searching through the topics found in SIRS Discover and Researcher. I would use the Discover site more due to the age level I work with. I typed in armadillos and found several interesting magazine articles. I even found one explaining how you can get leprosy from these hard-shelled critters. ( YUCK) The articles were geared toward young children with fun facts, descriptions, and pictures. I would definely show this site to children to get magazine references on topics they are researching. This is an interesting and cool site for learning and reading about non-fiction. Kids love to read and see things that are real. Definitely a keeper!

In SIRS Researcher I looked up topics and people that were in the past and present. The information is very detailed and aimed for higher readers. I think this site would be a good site for teachers to get more information about a certain topic or individual and then share it with their students. I looked at how you can match them up with the curriculum and what resources where available. Although the printouts were geared for higher grades, I feel you can pick and choose facts and topics to work into the lower grade levels.