Resources Challenge Week 3

Sirs Discoverer

Question 1:
I looked up koalas and found 128 articles. Looking further, I discovered that the resources are broken into smaller categories like magazines, reference, graphics etc. While the information is good, the reading levels are pretty high and the articles are not very attractive to look at. I looked at an article classified as “easy” but it has a Lexile rating of 940 which is above the upper end of 5^th grade. I can see students using this if they need another source, but many students would need help reading the articles, since Discoverer doesn’t have a read aloud feature like World Book Kids and World Book Students. I would use this resource sparingly and mainly with advanced readers.

 Question 2:

·         Country - I chose Mexico. There is a timeline listing major events in the country’s history, a list of facts like official name, capital, etc. There is also a map and an image of the country’s flag. I did the same search in World Book Kids and found more information, several pictures, a sound clip, and the ability to have the article read to the kids. As an elementary teacher with students who have a variety of reading levels, I would choose World Book Kids or Students over this resource.

·         Maps of the World – I looked at a map of South Dakota and noticed several things right away: the Black Hills are not on the map and neither are reservations or counties. Also, many of the cities in South Dakota are not listed. If I were going to do an activity with my students, I would have them explore Google Earth or other websites.

·         Biographies – I chose Thomas Edison. I found 8 articles. However, I’m concerned about the reading level ratings. The article I looked at was classified as “moderate” with a Lexile score of 750. The koala article I found on had a rating of 940, and was classified as easy. Hmmm, I’m wondering how reliable the readability ratings are.

Common Core Connections

Using Discoverer, the standard I would focus on would be grade 4 or 5, range of reading and level of text complexity:

10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

My main concern, however, is that the reading level of the articles on SIRS Discover do not meet the needs of all students in the average 4^th or 5^th grade class. I would use this site as an additional resource for students when working on research projects in their classroom. I would however be cautious of using it with all students because the reading level is too high and there is not a read aloud feature. When teaching students how to find online resources and articles, I would demonstrate Discoverer along with World Book Kids and Students and let students choose the appropriate resource for their needs and reading level.

 

 

Resources Challenge Week 2

Basic Challenge

Question 2:
I took a math assessment. I can see this information being useful, but I have a few concerns. If I were to use this resource with students, I would want an easier way for them to create accounts. Not all students have email addresses and I’m not comfortable having them use their email address if they do have one. Also, if I were to use this site with my fourth and fifth graders, I would want the assessments matched up to the Common Core Standards which is what most states are now going with.

Question 3:
I explored the resume writing section. Since I work with elementary kids, this component isn’t helpful for me in my job. However, I do have a son finishing college this spring and one just starting school, so these resources could prove valuable to them.

Question 4:
My son is interested in going in the Peace Corps when he graduates this May. I typed in Peace Corps and looked under tests, but all of the results had to do with becoming a police officer. I looked under e-books, and the results had to do with taking the military ASVAB test, so these results didn’t really give me what I was looking for. I did open up one of the e-books and they are very similar in format to other e-books I’ve used. I also tried retyping with Peace Corps in quotation marks and got the same results.

Common Core Connections
Under Elementary, there is only one e-book listed. It is titled Getting Ready for the Fourth Grade Assessments. It is a 214 page book and is written for parents. It is also very outdated and states that South Dakota students take the SAT 9. We have been giving the Dakota Step for at least 5 years and will be moving to a Common Core assessment in 2014. I would not use this resource with my students.

January 24th, 2013

Basic Challenge

Questions 1 and 2: I looked for information on koalas. Both World Book Kids and World Book Students had photos and a video clip. World Book Students had more information at a higher level as well as more media (there was a map and more pictures). I also discovered that when you use the “tiles” in Kids, students can access a “quick facts” sheet and an article. If you search in Kids using the search function, students only get the article. Both Kids and Students allow students to hear the article read aloud and also both have translation features for non-English speakers. World Book Kids also has a “compare animals” feature which puts two animals side by side. This is a wonderful feature. Lastly, I like the feature in World Book Students where you can pull up results from World Kids and World Book Students and see results side by side.

Question 3: I searched for information on Germany. On the left side, results were listed by specific category, and showed many categories including Encyclopedia articles, court cases, e-books, etc. The right side separated the results into two large categories, primary sources and e-books. I think the left side makes it easier for users to find exactly what they are looking for.

Because I am a K-5 teacher, World Book Advanced is too high level for my students. Anything elementary kids need to access can likely be found in World Book Students or World Book Kids.

Question 4: World Book Discoverer has a translation feature which allows text to be translated into virtually any language using the drop down menu. This makes the text accessible to learners who speak a variety of languages.  

Common Core Connections

I have been using World Book Kids with my second grade students to explore the 5 classes of vertebrate animals. Students are reading and listening to articles about each type of animal (mammal, fish, reptile, bird, and amphibian), recording two facts learned about each animal, and drawing a sketch of each animal. This activity covers the speaking and listening standard SL2.2 “Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media”.

Here goes....

Hi all. My name is Beth Bury and I am the Information Media Specialist (IMS teacher) at Wilson Elementary in Rapid City. While I've done blogging with students the past few years, having a personal blog is new for me. I've created this blog to share my thinking and learning as part of the South Dakota Libary Electronic Resources Challenge. I am new to my position this year and look forward to exploring and learning with you all!