SIRS Discoverer gives you lots of great information. I like how you can sort the results by newspapers, magazines, graphics, etc. Your search results also tell you the reading level and if there are graphics. The teacher resources in country facts would be a great way to give students overviews of country facts. The flag, map, history, and other facts are included in a concise article. The outline maps would be a great way to study for geography lessons. I tried to look at the historical maps, but couldn't get any to open. In the "Database Features" I chose the Skills Discoverer. From there you can choose a topic such as art, math, language skills or others, and there are featured interactives such as games. I also clicked on the spotlight of the month link and found the financial wellness information to be very interesting.
SIRS Issues Researcher has a lot of leading issues to choose from. The topic overview gives you a multimedia piece along with the pro/con questions, global impact and additional resources. The timeline is a great feature. Since I have to be organized before I can start writing, I think the note organizer would be especially useful. I chose language arts under the "Curriculum Pathfinders", and it gives you lots of research ideas. There were links to full text plays and a guide for analyzing literature and so much more.
Great review of SIRS, librena! Thanks for your comments. We get good feedback from teachers about the Note Organizer for the very reason you mention. Though these are aimed at young people, I think there's plenty for adults to appreciate, too. Your map problem could be the result of browser or software version incompatibility. Try it on a different computer. If you still have trouble, please email me, and we'll troubleshoot. Thanks!
ReplyDelete