SIRS

SIRS provides a wide range of options for searching – actually, it is pretty easy to get caught up in all the information and topics in SIRS.  The two minute video was helpful at introducing the data base.  I would recommend this video to those just beginning the use of SIRS.

SIRS Discoverer – the first thing that comes to mind with SIRS Discoverer is the fact that the subjects are listed with a graphic.  This is appealing and easy to read.  I think students would find that the graphics make their use of SIRS easier to navigate.

1. When searching for armadillos, I liked that there were options for narrowing down the search.  One can sort through the information by relevance, date, or Lexile.  Using the Lexile ranges would be helpful for a teacher who would like an article that is readable for the students.
2. The Country Facts section is a great section for a geography teacher.  There is a plethora of information provided on countries.  A student can find information for every country in the world. 
3. I selected several maps to look at in the “Maps of the World” section.  One that would be useful in geography is finding a time zone map when teaching about different time zones.  Other options in the map section would be using the earthquake hazards map of the U.S. and the Tsunami in the South Pacific map when discussing hazards that occur in the world.
4. I couldn’t select just one other area in the “Database Features” sections.  There were too many of interest.  The first one I looked at was the one on the Olympics.  This section gives current information and articles on the Olympics in Sochi.  It would be a great source for helping students find current information about what is going on in Sochi.  I also liked the Biography link.  This source would be helpful to our 6^th grade teachers who put on a Wax Museum event in which student research a person from history and then portray that person at the wax museum.  These teachers would find this site helpful.  They could use the Lexile readings to help students find articles that are appropriate for them.  I also like the “Science Fair Explorer” section and would love to share this with one of our teachers who helps with the elementary science fair.  She could share this site with parents as they try to find science fair projects for their child.  These extra features are a great help to teachers and parents alike.

 

SIRS Issues Researcher

1. I searched “Afghanistan” and found a great deal of information on this topic.  The topic overview provided a map of conflicts throughout the world – Afghanistan was included on this map.  There was a link to a political cartoon as well as a link to the pros and cons related to this issue.  This particular link gave information on both sides of the issue.  When you search for a topic, there is box that lets you know the number of articles on your topic.  This is helpful as one can search by type of source.  If you only want to search magazine articles, you can narrow the search to just find that.

2. Curriculum Pathfinders – My favorite subject is social studies and under social studies, I especially enjoy “geography”.  This was my chosen topic.  Searching in geography brings up 284 results.  But the search can be narrowed down by choosing “matching subjects”.  Under each course subject there were video links to help with a particular topic. 

I enjoyed looking through SIRS.  It was hard to stop searching and looking through this data base as there was so much to see.  I think if a person has a particular topic to research that this site would give them a lot of help.