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SIRS Discoverer

Educators Guide Online

Fifth Edition
SIRS and SIRS Discoverer are registered trademarks of ProQuest Information and Learning
2006 ProQuest Information and Learning
All rights reserved.
ISBN 0-89777-254-7
The World Almanac for Kids 2006.
Copyright 2005 by World Almanac Education Group Inc.
The World Almanac and The World Almanac for Kids are
registered trademarks of World Almanac Education Group, Inc.
Comptons by Britannica
Copyright 2006 by Encyclopedia Britannica.
American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition
Copyright 2003 Houghton Mifin Company.
All rights reserved.
Rogets II: New Thesaurus
Copyright 2003 Houghton Mifin Company.
All rights reserved.
Proquest Information and Learning
5201 Congress Ave., Suite 250
Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.proquestk12.com
Revised 11/06
discoverer.sirs.com
Preface ........................................................................................................................................1
How to Use the Educators Guide ...............................................................................................1
What Is SIRS Discoverer? ...........................................................................................................2
Using SIRS Discoverer As a Research Tool ................................................................................6
Subject Tree Searching .............................................................................................................. 6
Subject Headings Searching ...................................................................................................... 8
Keyword Searching .....................................................................................................................9
Guide to Student Workbooks ..................................................................................................... 11
Using SIRS Discoverer to Fit Your Needs .................................................................................16
Answer Key for Elementary Workbook. .....................................................................................19
Table of Contents
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Preface
Before using this guide and assigning the workbooks to
your students, it is strongly suggested that you become
familiar with SIRS Discoverer. The program was designed
to be easy to use. If instruction is desired, SIRS Discov-
erers on-screen Help provides chapters on all major
functions and features. In addition, a tutorial is available
online. You will likely nd that you can master the program
simply by exploring it on your own. Once youre comfort-
able with the program, start sharing its treasures with your
students.
The workbooks that accompany this Educators Guide
may be photocopied freely.
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How to Use the
Educators Guide
This guide has been designed as a companion to the
student workbooks to help you, the educator, help your
students develop strong research, reading, writing and
language skills using SIRS Discoverer. The philosophy
behind the program and an explanation of the contents of
every worksheet in each workbook are provided.
There are two editions of SIRS Discoverer Student
Workbooks Elementary School and Middle School. The
Elementary School edition targets 1st-6th grade skill lev-
els while the Middle School edition targets 5th-9th grade
levels. Workbooks are available on the Web for download
as Portable Document Format (PDF) les and as HTML
les.
While some parts of some worksheets can be completed
without using SIRS Discoverer, most of the questions can
only be answered while using the program.
Because research is subjective, students answers to the
worksheet questions will vary greatly. SIRS Discoverer
and the Educators Guide are designed to allow students
to explore on their own. For those worksheets requiring
specic answers, however, refer to the Answer Key at the
end of this guide. (Note: Only worksheets in the El-
ementary School workbook have answers provided.)
Enjoy discovering the wonders of SIRS Discoverer!
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What Is SIRS Discoverer?
What follows is an overview of SIRS Discoverer. The
programs philosophy and objectives, along with its many
special features, are explained.
SIRS Discoverer is an interactive program for elementary
and middle school students that aims to make learning
intuitive and fun. The program is a reference tool designed
to develop reading, writing and language skills. Its multi-
faceted features can be used in every subject area.
SIRS Discoverer offers a database of easily retrievable
full-text articles, often with accompanying graphics, with
full printing and saving capabilities. The program features
reading levels, article summaries, Subject Tree, Subject
Headings and Keyword Searching, an on-screen diction-
ary and thesaurus, and source information. The database
also includes The World Almanac for Kids, Comptons by
Britannica, Spotlight of the Month, Current Events and
Maps of the World .
Why Was It Created?
SIRS Discoverer was created to ll a gap in elementary
and middle school libraries and classrooms. Reference
material is rarely developed for younger students. Rather,
they must make use of sources aimed at older students.
This often makes their research experiences difcult and
frustrating.
SIRS Discoverer has been designed to change the re-
search experience for younger students. Filling its data-
base with articles primarily written for and about kids, this
database invites users to discover their own world, from
their own point of view. By incorporating such exciting fea-
tures as graphics, a dictionary and thesaurus, a Subject
Tree and colorful icons, SIRS Discoverer makes learning
productive and enjoyable.
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The Full-Text Articles Database
The Full-Text Articles database of Discoverer consists of
articles reprinted, with permission, and without editorial
changes, from approximately 1,600 newspapers, maga-
zines, online sources and U.S. government documents.
Articles are geared toward a young audience and have
been carefully selected for educational content, interest
and level of readability.
Within Subject Tree Search, the articles are divided into
15 major categories:
Animals
Arts
Countries
Cultures
Drugs & Alcohol
Environment
Health & Human Body
History & Government
Kids Corner
Notable People
Personal Growth
Science
Social Issues
Sports
Technology
Each category reects the content of its articles, as well
as the interests and curricula of elementary or middle
school students.
All categories are divided into topics and subtopics,
creating a Subject Tree. Articles can be found on Subject
Tree branches at the topic, subtopic or articles-only level.
Because articles are indexed by all of their major themes,
the same article may be found at the end of several differ-
ent branches.
The Almanac
SIRS Discoverer includes The World Almanac for Kids.
This database provides facts and information on a variety
of topics including animals, environment, history, the solar
system and more. This database is searchable by key-
word and an electronic table of contents.
The Encyclopedia
The Comptons by Britannica includes approximately
17,000 entries which can be searched by keyword or
alphabetical browse.
Spotlight of the Month
This feature provides the user with articles selected as a
sampling from the SIRS Discoverer database to encour-
age research into the current topic. Although these articles
can be found by searching the full-text database at any
time, they will remain linked from this page until the end
of each month. An archive with Spotlight of the Month
articles is also available for the duration of the calendar
year.
Current Events
This feature is updated daily with national and interna-
tional news articles selected to encourage research and
awareness of current events. Articles remain listed for 30
days and can also be found in the SIRS Discoverer full-
text database.
Maps of the World
Nearly 3,000 detailed maps are available as an online ref-
erence almanac. The maps include each of the 50 United
States and the provinces and territories of Canada, as
well as nations and regions of the world including historic
and outline.
Extras
SIRS Discoverer also features:
Biographies of famous and notable people. All
articles that are people proles are marked p for
people.
Photo Essays depicting social issues and global
concepts through visuals accompanied by brief text.
Activities such as puzzles, arts and crafts proj-
ects and science experiments. All articles that are
activities are marked with an a for activity.
Reading Levels
Every article is assigned a reading level relative to the
SIRS Discoverer database. Using the Flesch Reading
Ease scale, each article is assigned a raw score based on
its readability. It is then judged for content, and placed in
one of three reading levels: Easy (1st-4th grade), Moder-
ate (5th-7th grade), and Challenging (8th grade and be-
yond). General interest articles The World Almanac for
Kids, Comptons by Britannica, and Photo Essays are
assigned a general reading level.
The reading level is indicated by the color of the summary
and source icon:
Easy = Green
Challenging = Red
Moderate = Blue
General = Purple
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Articles of mature subject matter, which may contain
material unsuitable to younger readers, will be found only
in the challenging reading level. Users can select reading
levels of articles to include in their search. General articles
will always appear if they contain the search term.
Lexile scores are also offered on all articles. Lexile scores
match reader ability and text difculty, allowing individual-
ized monitoring of student progress.
Article Summaries
Every article in the Full-Text Articles database has been
briey summarized to help you assign articles appropriate
for your students and to facilitate your evaluation of their
work. Article summaries are written by the SIRS editorial
staff with educators and students in mind.
To access the summaries, click on the book icon when-
ever it appears on the screen.
Searching the Full-Text Articles Database
Users can search articles on the SIRS Discoverer Full-
Text Articles database three ways: Subject Tree, Subject
Headings or Keyword Search.
Subject Tree searching is highly visual, and helps to
develop logic and association skills. Users create Sub-
ject Tree branches by beginning with one of the 15 main
categories and then working their way through topics and
subtopics until they nd the articles most relevant to their
search.
For example, users researching elephants would create
a Subject Tree branch beginning with the category
ANIMALS, moving to the topic Mammals, the subtopic
elephants, and nally to the article titles most relevant to
their subject.
Subject Headings Search also helps develop logic and as-
sociation skills. Users locate articles related to a particular
topic by using a subject index. A subject heading is rst
entered. The computer searches the subject headings on
the database. A list of subject headings that match the
search term will be returned. When the user selects one
of these subject headings, a list of titles for full-text articles
that have been indexed with that term appears. From
this list of titles, the user can access the full text of each
article.
For example, users researching elephants would type the
word elephants. A list of subject headings with the word EL-
EPHANTS would be returned. The user would then select
one of these subject headings to nd a list of articles about
ELEPHANTS.
Keyword Search (Text Search) also helps to develop logic
and association skills. Users nd articles relevant to their
research subjects by asking the computer to search for
specic words or word phrases. They can further specify
their search by using the AND, OR and NOT logical op-
erators between key words, and by truncating words.
For example, using Keyword Search (Text Search) to
research elephants, users would tell the computer to look
for all articles containing associated words, such as EL-
EPHANT, or PACHYDERM and AFRICA. Truncating the
word elephant as eleph* prompts the computer to provide
a list of variations of the word, beginning with the letters
typed in, such as elephant, elephantine, elephantiasis
and so on. This broadens the search.
Phrase Search
Phrase Search allows you to search article text for key-
word phrases. The phrase must be enclosed in quotation
marks to ensure that multiple words appearing next to
one another in a specied order will be found within article
text.
Advanced Search Fields
There are two advanced search elds that you can use
when submitting a Keyword Search. Just click on Ad-
vanced Search from the Keyword Search screen to ac-
cess these elds.
Title Search
The Title Search eld is useful when you already know
the title of the article that you are searching for and you
want to quickly access that article and/or determine if it is
included on the SIRS Discoverer database.
Author Search
The Author Search eld is useful when you want to locate
articles on the database written by a particular author.
Searching The World Almanac for Kids
Database
The World Almanac for Kids can be searched by two
methods: Keyword Search and Table of Contents.
Keyword Search in The World Almanac for Kids oper-
ates the same as Keyword Search in the Full-Text Articles
database. It is important to note, however, that Keyword
Search in the Almanac ONLY searches for key words in
the Almanac database. It does not search the Full-Text
Articles database.
The Table of Contents lists chapters covered in The World
Almanac for Kids. Under each chapter are subchapters or
topics. This search method operates on the same prin-
ciples as the Subject Tree Search method in the Full-Text
Articles database.
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Searching Comptons by Britannica Database
Comptons by Britannica can be searched by two meth-
ods: Keyword Search or Alphabetical Browse.
To search by keyword, type in the keyword(s) or title(s)
you wish to search for and click on Search. Results are
returned by relevance.
To view a listing of encyclopedia titles, click on the link
Browse an alphabetical listing and select the section of
the encyclopedia you wish to browse.
Search Multiple Databases
In the Advanced Search window of the Keyword Search,
check boxes are provided to perform a keyword search
across Articles, Almanac and Encyclopedia.
Graphics
Many articles in the database have one or more accom-
panying graphics. These include photos, illustrations
or maps. If an article has accompanying graphics, the
Graphics icon (camera) will appear.
The Picture Title list can be accessed from the Sub-
ject Tree screen and searched alphabetically or by title
search.
Graphics are replicated with permission, in their original
form. They can be printed in color, or black and white. Be
aware that some graphics take a while to print out.
On-Screen Dictionary and Thesaurus
American Heritage Dictionary and Rogets II Thesaurus
are included to assist users in dening words, checking
spelling, choosing the perfect word and more. See the on-
screen Dictionary/ Thesaurus Users Guide for a complete
overview of all features available.
Source Information
Complete bibliographic information is provided for every
article. By clicking the book icon whenever it appears, us-
ers can immediately retrieve bibliographic information and
print it out or copy-and-paste into another document.
E-mail
Users may e-mail articles and graphics from Discoverer
on the Web to their personal e-mail address. Once the
full-text of the article is accessed, the e-mail option ap-
pears at the top of the screen. Simply type in your appro-
priate e-mail address and submit your request. Depending
on your e-mail provider, the time it takes for the article to
reach your in-box may vary.
Note: E-mail transmission of SIRS articles, or portions
thereof, is limited to SIRS subscribers and to their per-
sonal e-mail addresses. Any other e-mail transmission of
SIRS articles, or portions thereof, is prohibited by law.
Conclusion
SIRS Discoverer is a simple yet multi-faceted application.
Its uses are endless! This guide provides many sugges-
tions about how to use it in your library or classroom, but
the ideas do not end here. What creative uses for SIRS
Discoverer can you think of?
If you have any suggestions for lesson plans using SIRS
Discoverer that you wish to share with other educators,
please send them to:
SIRS Discoverer Suggestions
5201 Congress Ave., Ste. 250
Boca Raton, FL 33427
OR
contact us using an online form at
http://www.proquestk12.com/contact.shtml.

If we add your ideas to this Educators Guide during our
updates, we will credit the author.
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1. Article titles will appear in blue. The color of the book
icon indicates the reading level of the article: green (Easy),
blue (Moderate), red (Challenging) or purple (General).
2. Also, look for symbols. Topics and subtopics will have
a < or > before them. A > indicates there is another level
under that category, topic or subtopic, while a < indicates
the end of the level. In other words, > directs you to go
forward to the next level, while < directs you to go back.
Subtopics:
To open a subtopic window, select a topic. Most topics are
further divided into subtopics. In most cases, article titles
will appear to the left of the subtopic list. You can visually
distinguish between them as described above.
Using SIRS Discoverer As a Research Tool
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SUBJECT TREE SEARCHING
To search for articles in the Subject Tree, you create Sub-
ject Tree branches. Branches can consist of all four levels
of the Subject Tree: categories, topics, subtopics and
articles. The goal is to nd the articles that are most rel-
evant to your research subject. Articles are located at the
topic, subtopic and articles-only levels of the Subject Tree.
As the categories become increasingly subdivided, the
articles become more focused: the most specic articles
are found at the ends of the branches, under subtopics, at
the articles-only level. The Subject Tree worksheets in the
student workbooks direct students to create Subject Tree
branches by selecting categories, topics, subtopics and
articles. It is important that students understand the differ-
ences between these levels.
Categories:
The Subject Tree consists of 15 major categories Ani-
mals, Arts, Countries, Cultures, Drugs & Alcohol, Environ-
ment, Health & Human Body, History & Government, Kids
Corner, Notable People, Personal Growth, Science, Social
Issues, Sports, Technology. The categories appear as
buttons.
Topics:
To open a topic window, select a category. All 15 catego-
ries are subdivided into a number of topics. In most cases,
article titles will appear at the end of the topics list.
Visually, you can distinguish topics from articles in two
ways:
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Example:
An article called Mold-ing a Cure can be found at the
end of all of the following branches. Notice that the
article appears at the subtopics level in three branches,
and at the articles-only level in the other two:
DRUGS AND ALCOHOL Prescription Drugs
Antibiotics Mold-ing a Cure
HEALTH & HUMAN BODY Medicine prescription
drugs Mold-ing a Cure
NOTABLE PEOPLE Scientists Mold-ing a Cure
SCIENCE Scientists Mold-ing a Cure
TECHNOLOGY Medical Technology treatments
& cures Mold-ing a Cure
You may also view bibliographic source and summary in-
formation for any article by clicking on the icon. The color
of this icon shows the reading level of the article.
Each article in the SIRS Discoverer database is assigned
a raw score based on readability. It is then judged for con-
tent and placed in one of three reading levels:
Easy (grades 1-4)
Moderate (grades 5-7)
Challenging (grade 8 and beyond)
General interest articles
If one or more graphics, such as a photograph, illustration
or map, is available, click on the icon to retrieve a list of
accompanying graphics.
When viewing the graphic(s) available list for an article,
a thumbnail (reduced) graphic will appear next to the
graphic
(s) title. Click on the thumbnail to access the full-size
graphic.
Subject headings related to each article may be viewed by
clicking on the icon.
The following labels, which may appear to the right of the
article title, also provide more information about the type
of article it is.
a = Activity The article is an activity or suggests some-
thing for the reader to make or do.
f = Fiction The article is ction.
p = People The article contains information about a
famous or notable person.
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Articles-Only:
To open an articles-only window, select a subtopic. Only
articles appear following subtopics.
Once you reach an article you want to read, open it and
the article is retrieved.
Example:
Your research subject is marine ecology. A Subject
Tree branch would be as follows:
CATEGORY: Environment
TOPIC: > Ecology & Ecosystems
SUBTOPIC: > coastal & marine
ARTICLE: After the Spill
The Subject Tree worksheets direct your students to write
branches in Subject Tree branch form. When they nd an
article relevant to their research subject, they are directed
to end the branch at that point.
Example:
CATEGORY Topic or subtopic article
Following the format above, the branch appears like this:
Environment Ecology & Ecosystems
coastal & marine After the Spill
Browsing through the Subject Tree, youll notice the same
articles might appear several times at the end of different
branches. This is because each article is carefully indexed
according to all of its main points.
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SUBJECT HEADINGS SEARCHING
Subject Headings Search can only be done in the Full-
Text Articles database, not in the Almanac nor in the Ency-
clopedia. In Subject Headings Search, you use a subject
index to locate articles related to a particular topic. Articles
on the SIRS Discoverer database have been indexed ac-
cording to Library of Congress Subject Headings.
Step 1:
Type in the subject heading that you are looking for and
submit your search.
This tells the computer to search the list of subject head-
ings on the SIRS Discoverer database. A list of the subject
headings (not articles) that matches your search will be
returned.
(You may use Phrase Search, Truncation, and Logical
Operators in your Subject Headings Search. However, be
aware that by doing so, you may either greatly narrow or
expand the results of your search. For best results with
these features, use Keyword Search.)
Step 2:
Click one of the subject headings to display a list of full-
text articles that have been indexed with that term.
Step 3:
From the article titles list, you have the option to access
the full text of each article by clicking the article title.
Sometimes when you select a subject heading, instead of
(or in addition to) a list of article titles, you will get a cross
reference to a related subject heading term. These cross
references appear as See . . . or See Also . . .
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KEYWORD SEARCHING
Text in the Full-Text Articles database, The World Almanac
for Kids database and Comptons by Britannica database
has the Keyword Search option. From the Main Menu,
Keyword Search provides an Advanced Search option to
also search in the World Almanac for Kids and/or Comp-
tons by Britannica. Check boxes are provided to custom-
ize Keyword search.
Keyword Search leads you to articles containing words
that relate to your topic of interest. Keyword Search is
best used when the student has a well-dened topic. The
more specic the key words, the more targeted the article
selection will be.
The Keyword Search strategy involves choosing words
(single words or phrases) that are directly related to the
subject being researched. The user directs the computer
to search for articles containing various combinations of
different key words.
Type in any key words or keyword combinations that re-
late to your subject and click the Submit Search button.
A listing of articles containing your key words will appear.
When conducting a Keyword Search, articles can be
returned in either relevance or date order.
You may also deselect one or more of the assigned three
reading level categories to exclude articles in that reading
level from your search results. If you do not deselect any
choice, articles found in all reading levels will be returned.
Example:
To nd articles that contain the key word pets that are
not challenging, deselect the check box marked chal-
lenging so that only articles found in easy and moder-
ate reading levels are provided.
There are several different methods of searching available
from the Keyword Search screen. These methods include:
Logical Operators
Truncation
Phrase Search
Natural Language Search
Advanced Search Fields
After you submit your search, a list of the article titles that
contain your key words and/ or phrases will be returned.
Key words are bolded in the text. From that list of article
titles, you have the option to read the full-text of each
article by clicking on the article title.
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Logical Operators:
Logical operators AND, OR and NOT are used to
establish relationships between key words and keyword
phrases. These logical operators can be used to expand
or narrow a search.
The AND operator locates articles that contain all of
the key words or phrases.
Example:
A search such as girls AND sports will return only
those articles that contain both key words.
The OR operator locates articles that contain at least
one of the key words or phrases.
Example:
A search such as cats OR dogs will return those arti-
cles that contain one or both key words.
The NOT operator is used to eliminate articles that
contain certain key words or phrases.
Example:
A search such as animal NOT pet will return all arti-
cles that contain the word animal but not the word pet.
Example:
Florida AND Hurricane NOT Miami will return
articles that contain the words Florida and hurricane
but not the word Miami. This is an example of how to
locate references to the various hurricanes in Florida,
excluding those in Miami.
Use AND and OR together to expand your search,
AND has higher precedence than OR, so you must
enclose the OR words in parentheses.
Example:
health AND (kids OR children) will return articles that
contain the words health and kids, or health and children.
When using NOT and OR together in a search, you
must also enclose the OR words in parentheses.
Example:
(hurricane OR tornado) NOT Florida will return ar-
ticles that reference hurricane or tornado, except those
that also reference Florida.
See also Phrase Searching.
Note: The AND operator is implied between each key word
or phrase in a search that does not contain logical operators.
Logical operators must be entered in UPPERCASE letters.
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Truncation
Truncation is a shortcut used to include alternate word
endings in your search. This is a quick and easy way to
include plurals, tense variations and alternate spellings.
To use Truncation, type an asterisk (*) after the root of
your key word. For example, the search farm* will return
those articles that contain the words farm, farmed, farmer,
farmers, farming, farmland, farmhouse, farms, etc.
Phrase Search
Phrase Search allows you to search article text for key-
word phrases. The phrase must be enclosed in quotation
marks to ensure that multiple words appearing next to
one another in a specied order will be found within article
text.
For example, entering the phrase space walk will return
articles that contain the phrase space walk. Articles that
contain either space or walk separately will not be re-
turned. Similarly, the search San Francisco will only re-
turn articles that contain the phrase San Francisco, rather
than articles that may include either word separately such
as San Antonio, San Andreas Fault, Anthony Francisco
Giacossa, etc.
Note: When conducting a Phrase Search you must en-
close the phrase in quotation marks.
Natural Language Search
A Natural Language Search is a way of searching for ar-
ticles in simple language without having to use logical op-
erators. For instance, if you are looking for articles about
life on other planets, you can conduct a Natural Language
Search by typing Is there life on other planets?
Your query will search the database for articles that
contain most of the words that you entered. The follow-
ing predened set of stop words are eliminated when a
Natural Language Search is performed:
Is, the, of, to, and, in, that, for, by, as, be, or, other, if, but,
upon, this, which, with, at, an, from, under, such, there,
where, these, when, whether, also, than, after, within,
before, because, without, however, between, those, since,
into, out
When a Natural Language Search is submitted, the
search engine automatically deletes all stop words and
searches only for the remaining key words. In the ex-
ample above Is there life on other planets the search
engine automatically disregards the words is, there and
other, and searches only for the words life, on and plan-
ets.
Advanced Search Fields
There are two advanced search elds that you can use
when submitting a Keyword Search. Just click on Ad-
vanced Search from the Keyword Search screen to ac-
cess these elds.
Title Search
The Title Search eld is useful when you already know
the title of the article that you are searching for and you
want to quickly access that article and/ or determine if it is
included on the SIRS Discoverer database.
To conduct a Title Search, enter the title (or a portion of
the title) that you are searching for. For example, type The
Lady with the Lamp in the Title Search eld. The search
engine will only return article titles from the database con-
taining the words entered in the title line.
Author Search
The Author Search eld is useful when you want to locate
articles on the database written by a particular author.
To conduct an Author Search, enter the name of an author
for whom you are searching. For example, type Judy
Kauffman in the Author Search eld. The computer will
search for articles written by Judy Kauffman.
If you enter only the last name of an author as you search
(for example Smith) the Author Search will return articles
on the database written by all authors with either the rst
or last name of Smith.
Advanced Search can be used independently or in con-
junction with a Text Search. For example, if you want to
search for articles on the database about how to draw
that were written by Judy Kauffman, you would enter the
key word draw on the Text Search line and Judy Kauff-
man on the Author Search line of the Advanced Keyword
Search screen, then click the submit button. The article
list returned will include only those articles written by Judy
Kauffman that contain the key word draw.
Note: It is important to remember that both the Title and
Author elds will search only the title and author lines
(respectively) of the articles on the database. The full text
of articles on the database will not be searched for any
terms entered in the advanced search elds.
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Both the Elementary School and Middle School editions of
the Student Workbooks contain worksheets designed to
help your students learn to use SIRS Discoverer and per-
form research as efciently and productively as possible.
Workbook Ability Level
Elementary School grades 1-6
Middle School grades 5-9
An outline of the worksheets follows. Please refer to this
guide when assigning students work.
An answer key to some of the Elementary School
workbook worksheets can be found on page 19. The
worksheets included in the answer key are marked with
an asterisk (*). There is no answer key to any of the
Middle School workbook worksheets due to their subjec-
tive nature.
Elementary Workbook
Worksheet One*
Introduction to Discoverer
Directs students to analyze where to look for information
using SIRS Discoverer. Note: This worksheet can serve
as a pre- and post-research evaluation tool.
Worksheet Two
Graphics
Directs students to view graphics, use scroll buttons to
view images on the screen, and write the capital and state
names they locate on maps.
SUBJECT TREE WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Three
Subject Tree Categories
Directs students to circle the categories in which they will
nd relevant information about selected research sub-
jects.
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Guide to Student Workbooks
Worksheet Four
Subject Tree Categories
Directs students to write the names of categories in which
they will nd relevant information about selected research
subjects.
Worksheet Five
Subject Tree Categories
Directs students to think of a research subject and circle
the Subject Tree categories in which they will nd relevant
information.
Worksheet Six*
Subject Tree Branches
Directs students to create a Subject Tree branch by
selecting a category, topic, subtopic and article title about
the research subject birds.
Worksheet Seven
Subject Tree Branches
Directs students to create a Subject Tree branch by using
the Articles database to nd a category, topic, subtopic
and article about a sports gure, documenting their path
along the way.
Worksheet Eight*
Subject Tree Topics
Directs students to circle the topics that belong in each of
ve selected categories.
Worksheet Nine
Subject Tree Topics
Directs students to write three topics that belong in each
of ve selected categories.
Worksheet Ten*
Subject Tree Subtopics
Directs students to circle the subtopics that belong in each
of four selected topics.
Worksheet Eleven
Subject Tree Subtopics
Directs students to write two subtopics that belong in each
of ve selected topics.
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KEYWORD SEARCH WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Twelve*
Key Words
Directs students to select three key words from a list of
words related to ve selected research subjects.
Worksheet Thirteen
Key Words
Directs students to write three key words related to ve
selected research subjects.
Worksheet Fourteen*
Key Word Match
Directs students to match research subjects with groups
of related key words.
Worksheet Fifteen*
Key Word Scramble
Directs students to unscramble key words grouped by
research subject.
Worksheet Sixteen
Keyword Searches
Provides students with examples of key words. Includes
logical operators.
SUBJECT HEADINGS SEARCH
WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Seventeen
Subject Headings Search
Directs students to type in a term and write the number of
subject headings found, select an article title, view the full
text and write the title.
Worksheet Eighteen
Subject Headings Search Phrases
Directs students to type a phrase, write the number of
subject headings found, count the number of articles found
under a particular subject heading, select a title of interest,
view full text, and type other two- or three-word phrases.
Worksheet Nineteen
Subject Headings Search Truncation
Directs students to type a part of a word to nd subject
headings and articles and to write an article title. Provides
students with truncated words to enter.
Worksheet Twenty*
Subject Headings Search Cross References
Directs students to type a term, select a particular subject
heading, write the cross reference (See . . . or See
Also . . . ), count the number of articles found and view
the full text of the article.
DICTIONARY WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Twenty-One
Using the Dictionary
Directs students to look up words in the dictionary using
two methods the copy and paste function and typing the
word in the Search term box. Also directs students to write
the words denitions.
Worksheet Twenty-Two
Using the Thesaurus
Directs students to type words in the thesaurus, count the
synonyms and write the number found.
SUMMARY AND SOURCE
INFORMATION WORKSHEET
Worksheet Twenty-Three
Summary and Source Information
Directs students to select articles, open and read the sum-
maries, then open the Source Information window and
write that information in the format provided. Also directs
students to read text and write something learned.
ALMANAC WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Twenty-Four*
Using the Almanac (Table of Contents)
Directs students to select and write the appropriate chap-
ter or topic in the Table of Contents to nd information on
various subjects, read portions of text, view graphics and
answer related questions.
Worksheet Twenty-Five*
Using the Almanac (Keyword Search)
Directs students to type a key word, write the number of
topics found, write the name of the topic, read portions of
text and answer related questions.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA WORKSHEET
Worksheet Twenty-Six*
Using the Encyclopedia (Text Search)
Directs students to perform successful text searches and
includes use of logical operators.
Middle Workbook
SUBJECT TREE SEARCH
WORKSHEETS
Worksheet One
Subject Tree Branches
Introduces students to Subject Tree search strategy,
explains Subject Tree branches and directs students to
create branches based on examples.
Worksheet Two
Subject Tree Branches
Directs students to create Subject Tree branches starting
with a subject category they select on their own.
Worksheet Three
Subject Tree Searching
Directs students to complete a Subject Tree search based
on their own research subject and write the results of their
search.
Worksheet Four
Subject Tree Searching
Directs students to follow examples and nd article titles
using the Subject Tree search method.
Worksheet Five
Subject Tree Searching
Directs students to perform a complete Subject Tree
search based on their own research subject, list catego-
ries, topics, subtopics and article titles.
KEYWORD SEARCH WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Six
Keyword Searches
Provides students with examples of key words to use to
perform successful Keyword Searches. Includes logical
operators.
Worksheet Seven
Key Words & Keyword Searching
Directs students to brainstorm key words or two-word
phrases and try Keyword Searches using some of those
words.
Worksheet Eight
Truncation
Explains truncation, provides examples, asks students
to truncate words, perform keyword searches and write
number of articles found.
Worksheet Nine
The AND Logical Operator
Explains the AND logical operator, provides examples and
directs students to use AND in keyword searches to nd
articles that relate to their own research subject.
Worksheet Ten
The OR Logical Operator
Explains the OR logical operator, provides examples and
directs students to use OR in keyword searches to nd
articles that relate to their own research subject. Directs
students to write key words, the number of articles found
and the titles of the articles most appropriate to research
subject.
Worksheet Eleven
The NOT Logical Operator
Explains the NOT logical operator, provides examples and
directs students to use NOT in keyword searches to nd
articles that relate to their own research subject. Directs
students to write key words, the number of articles found
and the titles of the articles most appropriate to research
subject.
Worksheet Twelve
Keyword Searching
Directs students to locate article titles by performing
Keyword Searches based on examples that incorporate
truncation and logical operators. Also directs students to
write titles of interesting articles and to determine which
operators return more or fewer articles.
Worksheet Thirteen
Keyword Searching
Directs students to locate articles by performing Keyword
Searches that incorporate truncation and logical operators
based on their own research subject. Also directs students
to write titles related to research subject and to determine
which operators return more or fewer articles.
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SUBJECT HEADINGS SEARCH
WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Fourteen
Subject Headings Search
Directs students to type in a term and write the number of
subject headings found, view full-text article, write the title
and perform other subject heading searches using words
and phrases that are provided.
Worksheet Fifteen
Subject Headings Search Phrase Search Truncation
Directs students to use phrases and truncation in Subject
Headings Search to locate articles for a research topic.
Examples to try are provided.
Worksheet Sixteen
Subject Headings Search AND, OR, NOT Operators
Directs students to use logical operators in Subject Head-
ings. Search and locate subject headings to match the
search terms. Also directs students to write the number of
subject headings found.
BASIC REPORT FORMS
The basic report forms in your students workbooks are
designed as generic report forms to be used at your dis-
cretion. They direct students to write reports, the content
of which you select to meet your instructional needs (see
page 16 for ideas).
Students should have a clear understanding of how to
conduct research using Subject Tree, Keyword Search
and Subject Headings Search methods before attempting
to complete the assignments.
Worksheet Seventeen
Summary & Source Information Form
Directs students to select articles, open and read the sum-
maries and then open the Source Information window and
write that information in the format provided.
Worksheet Eighteen
Basic Bibliography Form
Directs students to write a bibliography based on the
source information they collect from an article of their
choice. An example of a bibliography is provided.
Worksheet Nineteen
Research Fact Sheet (Subject Tree Search)
Directs students to locate an article using the Subject Tree
search method, read it, write three facts they learned and
include its source information in bibliographic form.
Worksheet Twenty
Research Fact Sheet (Keyword Search)
Directs students to locate an article using the Keyword
Search method, read it, write three facts they learned and
include its source information in bibliographic form.
Worksheet Twenty-One
Article Summary
Directs students to write source information, read and
summarize an article of their choice.
Worksheet Twenty-Two
Research Report Form
Provides space for students to write a brief research re-
port (you guide the content) and a bibliography (a sample
is provided) based on one or more articles the student
selects.
LANGUAGE & WRITING WORK-
SHEETS
The language and writing worksheets in your students
workbooks are designed to build their language, vocabu-
lary and writing skills.
All of the worksheets direct students to select a few unfa-
miliar words from an article and use the on-screen diction-
ary to dene them.
Worksheet Twenty-Three
Dictionary Denitions
Directs students to select three words from an article of
their choice and use several methods to look up words in
the on-screen dictionary to learn the words denitions.
Students can then read the article.
Worksheet Twenty-Four
Dictionary Denitions & Context Clues
Provides a brief lesson in contextual clues, then directs
students to take educated guesses at the meanings of
three words from an article of their choice, based on how
the words are used in context. Students look up the words
in the on-screen dictionary and compare their denitions
to the actual denitions. They can then read the article.
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Worksheet Twenty-Five
Dictionary Denitions & Synonyms
Directs students to dene and nd synonyms using the
on-screen thesaurus for three words selected from an
article of their choice. Also directs students to use each
word found in an original sentence, and then to read the
article.
ALMANAC WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Twenty-Six
Using the Almanac (Table of Contents)
Directs students to select and write the appropriate chap-
ters, subchapters or topics in the Table of Contents to nd
information on various subjects, read portions of text, view
graphics and answer related questions.
Worksheet Twenty-Seven
Using the Almanac (Keyword Search)
Directs students to brainstorm keywords, perform a key-
word search, answer related questions, then review using
logical operators in keyword searches.
ENCYCLOPEDIA WORKSHEETS
Worksheet Twenty-Eight
Using the Encyclopedia
Directs students to perform successful text searches and
answer related questions.
Worksheet Twenty-Nine
Using the Encyclopedia
Directs students to brainstorm keywords, perform a text
search, read and summarize an article, then review using
logical operators in text searches.
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Using SIRS Discoverer As a Reference Tool
1. Choose a subject for your students to research. Write
the specic branches for them to follow in a Subject Tree
search.
2. Write the specic key words, truncation and parameters
required for your students to do a Keyword Search on an
assigned subject.
Using SIRS Discoverer As a Language Arts
Tool
1. Modify language and writing worksheets so that you
select the words you want your students to learn.
2. Have your students write sentences, paragraphs, or
stories using new words.
Using SIRS Discoverer As a Writing Tool
1. All of the basic report forms will give your students
experience in writing reports.
2. For more creative writing, take advantage of the Fiction
subcategory in the KIDS CORNER Subject Tree category.
Your students can write continuations of stories
using the same characters as the ones in the
stories they read.
They can write poems imitating the style of poems
on the database.
They can write completely original stories to
submit to magazines in which other kids stories
appeared.
Students can write travel brochures or ctional
What I Did on My Summer Vacation stories
about Places to Discover found in the Subject
Tree under the topic ENVIRONMENT.
3. Ask your students to nd articles in the PERSONAL
GROWTH category under the topic Kids Speak Out!
Those articles, mostly written by kids and published in
newspapers or magazines, can inspire your students to
write editorial-style papers.
Activities
1. Under the Database Features you will nd the Activities
button. Articles contain complete instructions on how to do
a variety of projects, including art projects, recipes, plays
to perform, science projects and more.
2. You can create entire class lessons around many of
these activities. Have your class prepare delicious peanut
butter balls by following the recipe in the article Play With
Your Food: Fun Kitchen Projects Not Only to Eat or have
your class act out the play Treasure Island.
3. Your class can explore the Clubs and Collecting &
Hobbies tree branches under KIDS CORNER to cultivate
your own class or school clubs. One hour per week, your
students could meet in their designated clubs to practice
their hobbies. Or maybe the clubs will grow to school-wide
proportions and meet after school!
Using SIRS Discoverer to Fit Your Needs
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General Suggestions
1. In SIRS Discoverer you will probably nd articles for
every curriculum in your school. For example: a Science
teacher can go to the SCIENCE category, nd articles
about OCEANS, print and copy them to use as a class
handout to accompany a lesson on oceans. A History
teacher can go to HISTORY & GOVERNMENT, NOTABLE
PEOPLE or to Biographies under the Subject Tree for
articles about the president, and assign students to write
their own biography of the president.
2. To add twists to assignments, here are more sugges-
tions:
Students can present research reports orally to
the class. Younger students may want to dress up
to reect their report subject.
Students can make models, mobiles, posters,
timelines, dioramas, poems, songs and more to
complement reports.
Classes can create story books. Students can
write creative stories based on one theme found
in the KIDS CORNER/ Fiction category, or any
other category, and compile the stories in a book
that each student can keep.
SIRS Discoverer helps revolutionize parent
career day. Students can present brief reports
on what their parents do using the Careers in...
subtopics in many subject branches. Then, the
parent is presented to answer questions.
Used as a tool to enhance eld trips, SIRS Dis-
coverer can encourage critical thinking. Ask each
student to formulate ve or six questions related
to the subject of the eld trip. Upon returning from
the trip, students can research answers to these
unanswered questions on SIRS Discoverer. For
instance, your class visits an aquarium. A student
sees a sh that seems to glow in the dark. Her
question might be How do some sh glow in the
dark? A Keyword Search for sh AND glow
would produce the answer to this question.
Graphics can be printed and handed out to com-
plement lesson plans. Many maps are available;
they are perfect for classes in Geography, History
and Current Events.
Geography Tips
Maps on SIRS Discoverer can be used to teach
the four concepts of geography: location, place,
movement and regions. The study of literature,
science and history can also be enhanced with
the maps of all the individual countries of the
world, as well as the world map, continental maps
and regional maps found on the database.
Students can create their own atlas and then pro-
vide standard information on each country, which
they can research using the database.
Students can design a country. By researching
two or three countries, students can create their
own country and then draw a map that displays
the features of their country. Maps on SIRS Dis-
coverer can be used for reference.
While studying literature, students can identify on
a world map the locations of some of their favorite
books and book characters.
Students can create map puzzles.
To study the concept of place, students can cre-
ate a postage stamp or a postcard. Each student
can be assigned a state or country. The students
would then research that country/state and design
a postage stamp to be used by its citizens. Physi-
cal features, landmarks or people for which the
country is known could be on the postage stamp.
Perform a Keyword Search for SIRS Country
Facts to nd articles about individual countries.
To study the concept of movement, students can
search for the origin of products and indicate on
maps what percentage of those products are
made in each state, country or continent. Stu-
dents will discover which products we depend on
from all over the world.
The concept of movement can also be taught by
asking students to nd out about their familys
roots. The maps on the database can be used for
reference and for tracing the migration of families.
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SAMPLE UNIT PLAN
WESTWARD EXPANSION
CONCEPT: Wagon trains carried rugged pioneers across
U.S. territories in the mid-1800s.
OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
1. Recognize the struggles and hardships faced by pio-
neers as they traveled west.
2. Understand the reasons pioneers moved west.
3. Appreciate the hardiness and courage of travelers.
4. Research the lives of early pioneers, explorers and
Native Americans who had an impact on westward expan-
sion.
5. Experience pioneer food, games and crafts.
ACTIVITIES
Articles on SIRS Discoverer such as Going West, A
Step at a Time: The Oregon Trail, Space Limited in a
Covered Wagon, Fruit Trees by Wagon Train and The
Ways West provide an overview of what life was like for
pioneers traveling west. Graphics are included with Fruit
Trees by Wagon Train and Space Limited in a Covered
Wagon.
1. The teacher can read books to the class describing
pioneer life. If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon by
Ellen Levin, Aurora Means Dawn by Scott Russell Sand-
ers, Bound for Oregon by Jean VanLeeuwen and The
Josena Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr are excellent books.
Other books about the frontier can be found in the article
What Kids Did on the Western Frontier on SIRS Discov-
erer. Older students can read the books independently
and participate in small group discussions.
2. Students can create a story using rst person point of
view about their adventures traveling west. They can draw
pictures or cut photographs from magazines to illustrate
their stories.
3. Students can write skits about an incident that could
have occurred on the Oregon Trail. Information about
pioneer clothing and supplies is provided in the article A
Step at a Time: The Oregon Trail.
4. Students can research historical people who played
an important role in westward expansion such as: Daniel
Boone, Davy Crockett, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark,
Zebulon Pike, Sacagawea, Tecumseh, Sam Houston, Kit
Carson, James Bowie, James Bridger, James Beckwourth
and Marcus Whitman. SIRS Discoverer has full-text
articles and encyclopedia articles on these topics. Stu-
dents could write a report or do a project on one of these
people.
5. Students can experience games played by pioneer chil-
dren. SIRS Discoverer articles Play Yesterdays Games
Today and What Kids Did on the Western Frontier have
ideas of games to play.
6. Students can sample pioneer food. A recipe for johnny-
cakes is included in the article Where Did Bread Come
From? on SIRS Discoverer.
7. Students can make crafts that pioneer children made.
Samplers of Yesteryear provides instructions for mak-
ing a simple cross stitch design. Directions for making a
cornhusk doll are found in Cornhusk Characters. Both
articles are on SIRS Discoverer.
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Note: Many of the worksheets are subjective in nature,
but the following key is provided.
Worksheet One
1. b. Keyword Search icon
2. c. Subject Tree Search icon
3. b. Subject Headings Search icon
4. a. Encyclopedia icon
5. d. The World Almanac for Kids icon
Worksheet Six
1. b. Animals
2. d. Birds
3. d. Canaries
4. a. Parakeets, Canaries and Cockatiels can make great
pets
Worksheet Eight
1. dogs, birds, cats, sh
2. artists, baseball players, presidents, astronauts
3. skiing, soccer, in-line skating
4. rainforests, garbage, hurricanes, pollution
5. experiments, sound, planets, ocean
Worksheet Ten
1. runners, gymnasts, swimmers
2. basketball, tennis, volleyball
3. hurricanes, oods, tornadoes
4. galaxies, planets, moon
Worksheet Twelve
All answers are acceptable.
Worksheet Fourteen
1. f
2. c
3. b
4. h
5. d
6. l
7. j
8. e
9. g
10. i
11. m
12. a
13. k
Worksheet Fifteen
Pets
cats, dogs, birds, snakes
Baseball
pitch, home, safe, inning
Family
brother, baby, mother, sister
Saturn
planet, rings, solar system, space

Worksheet Twenty
1. Queens
3. See Also Children of presidents
Worksheet Twenty-Four
1. Nations
2. Nations of the World
3. 193
6. 3
Worksheet Twenty-Five
2. 51
3. United States History Time Line
5. 11,000 B.C.
6. Anasazi
Worksheet Twenty-Six
8. Herring often travel in large schools.
Answer Key for Elementary Workbook
19