On SIRS Discoverer, I searched for related material on pandas. I found 190 articles all together including 65 pictures. While exploring under pictures, I found the "pictures" includes activities for small children as well as professional photos of pandas. Each article is labeled with reading level: general, easy, moderate, or challenging. In addition, next to the title of each article students/patrons can see what features are included in each article such as pictures or activities. An icon tells the user about the subjects, as well as whether or not the piece is fiction or about people. I enjoyed exploring the reference section specifically the current events and spotlight of the month (Historic and Mysterious Places) pages.
Under Database Features, I searched for Mexico. The information included is a good snapshot of Mexico including geographic, economic, and historical statistics, as well as a map of the area.
"Maps of the World" could be used by students in geography, obviously, but also in history classes, as well as by patrons planning to travel or discussing current events.
Under "Educator's Resources," I looked up information on lexile reading levels as I was not familiar with them and discovered a wonderful chart that explained it nicely.
Thanks for reporting your observations, MCRC! I'm glad you checked out Educator's Resources and found the Lexile chart. The Resources also include printable worksheets to help students learn information literacy. A few notes on maps: the US Historical maps include Revolutionary War & Civil War battlefield maps. The World Historical maps include WWI and WWII battlefield maps. You can also search maps for something such as "earthquakes" and get interesting results. One science teacher thought of using the Outline Maps for her students to draw weather patterns. There are a lot of creative uses for all of Discoverer's features!
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