Lesson 4: Sirs Discoverer, Sirs Researcher

Sirs Discoverer:  This has been my favorite database this year.  I like the new features with the non-fiction books, current events, activities, etc. I have been using this with both elementary and middle-school students.  For the third grader I would use the advanced search and search by Lexile levels. I also checked the easy level so the easiest articles would be returned with Lexiles from lowest to highest. With the search of the solar system I received some very easy basic articles and gradually rose in lexile level.  There were reading comprehension questions and activities or lessons with most of the articles.

I also just noticed the export to Easy Bib feature.  Although our kids usually use Word to create their bibliographies I like the feature.

When searching for maps and images of volcanoes, I entered volcanoes as my search term and then clicked on the graphics tab; I had 141 images containing pictures, maps, charts and so on.

I also tried clicking on pictures in the database tab and then typing in my search. I received 109 results this way. I'm not sure why the difference but both bring a lot of relevant results.

Sirs Researcher:

When I use Sirs Researcher I usually look at the leading issues to determine if I can find my topic there. I think this is a good beginning point and gives me an overview of what the database has on the topic.  I then read the overview or At Issue summary, then the perspective or pro & con perspectives.  Then I look for relevant articles on the topic.

For the suicide topic I also noticed an interactive link in the corner and I clicked on that. There were all kinds of links and resources for both teens and parents. There was also an interactive flash titled Why Me? available.

I've always liked the SIRS products and encourage my students to use them. I do use google for quick overviews of things, but when I'm conducting research I usually go to the databases. When I googled teen suicide prevention I had to wade through a few sites before getting to the same information that I found on Sirs Researcher.  Much of the time with google, there are so many yahoo or ask.com sites that are just not releable. I'm glad we have so many resources at our fingertips.

In the case of the drought and water issue I found the leading issue of Water Use. I read through the summary and the pro/con feature articles, plus the articles found below.  Many of those articles could be used. I also searched for water use, drought, and water prevention. I always make sure I notice the subject descriptors under the articles. That way I found water policy, water conservation, water pollution law and legislation, etc.