1. I searched for aramadillos and got a total of 78 results. Of those, the first 13 were the most relevant. Most of the results had a reading level on moderate, a few were easy, and very few were challenging. There were also quite a number that were considered a general reading level. I did not see a good description as to what this meant.
There were also pictures and activities included with some of the articles. It is nice, especially for the K-9 group, that all articles are in full text.
2. The databases feature, which the challenge blog states is one of the most useful features, is not very prominent on the homepage. It is a section that unless directed there, I would have probably overlooked.
· The country information contains some teacher resources on country facts. The worksheets come in 3 levels: easy, moderate, and challenging. The page also contains information on the population, economy, government, geography and history as well as a picture of the flag and a map of the country.
· In Maps of the World, first I tried to open to open the Bull Run 3-D map, but all I got was the little red X and no indication of how to open it. I thought that it would have been really cool to look at, especially since I used to live 5 minutes from there and have been to the battlefield many times. It’s a great way to learn history. Since that didn’t work, I decided to try an outline map of the US. This one had only outlined of the states and stars where the capitals were located. This would be good for determining ones knowledge of where the states are located and what their capitals are.
· I selected the Biographies area for my third search and found an entry for Jesse James, the stagecoach robber, but not Jesse James, the modern day motorcycle builder. However, there are entries for other “modern” stars. There is an entry for George Harrison, but none of the other Beatles. There was entry for Alexander Hamilton, but not for Aaron Burr. It really made me wonder how it was decided who to include.
SIRS Issue Researcher
I browsed through a few Leading Issues. The Research Tools include a topic overview, a timeline, global impact and statistics. Centered on the page is a pro/con Issues section with 3 articles listed on both sides of the topic. There are also articles from newspapers and magazines, reference articles, viewpoint articles and various web and video resources.
For the Curriculum Pathfinder, I chose Health. It included an interactive portion distortion quiz. There were sections on Adolescent, Family, and Personal Health, Community and Environmental Health, Healthy Eating, Wellness Resources, and information on certain Diseases and Conditions.
Hi, Timmi, thanks for exploring the SIRS databases. Keep in mind that SIRS editorial staff selects articles with curriculum in mind, so you are more apt to find Jesse James, the outlaw, than the modern-day motorcycle builder. Also, the editors read, read, read young people's periodicals. If none of these publishes an article about Jesse James, the SIRS editors can't include it. I did find anomolies with the Biography database feature. If you search for individual Beatles or for Aaron Burr in the regular search box, you do get results. I agree that you can hardly talk about Alexander Hamilton without talking about Aaron Burr, or mention one Beatle without the others. We are checking with the vendor on the map question. They have some added with *** that we can't pull up. The other maps are very good, but you're right, if you can't access it, it shouldn't be there. 3-D of Bull Run would be very cool. Thanks again for your comments.
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