Lesson 2 - SIRS Discover and SIRS Issues Researcher

After spending time exploring SIRS Discoverer in more depth than I had previously to this assignment, I found some neat features I was not aware of. When I searched for my "favorite animal," I selected the wolf, my school's mascot. The first article I examined contained not only a picture of a pack of gray wolves but also a graph showing how the gray wolf population increased from 1973 to 2007. The article included an explanation for the increase in the gray wolf population. I also noticed the reading level of the article was available.
When checking out the database features, when I typed in "Nepal" and hit the "Country Facts" link, I found information on the population, geography, wealth, government and history of this country. The feature "Maps of the World" can be used by students in my literature classes to discover information about a location that is the setting for the nonfiction selections we read.
I also chose to examine the "Activities" feature and selected "Reading, Writing and Language Arts" as my favorite subject since I teach classes in those content areas. I was surprised to find grammar activities and plays. I will probably use some of those activities in my middle school language arts classes.
I then examined closely SIRS Issues Researcher. I chose to pick the subject "online social networking" from the "Your Top 10" list. The topic overview included a one paragraph introduction, as well as two perspectives, one written from the viewpoint of someone discussing the pros of online social networking and one written from the viewpoint of someone discussing the cons of this issue. The research tools led me to many neat features; the one I think I will find particularly useful for my classes is the note organizer, where students can type in viewpoints, reasons and supporting evidence for both informative and persuasive essays. The note organizer also allows the student to enter this information in an outline view, which will be helpful for my students. The articles I examined were written by reputable sources. I also found a link to an "interactive" site, which was a video of an interview on the dangers of social networking and how to prevent those dangers.
When I examined the "Curriculum Pathfinders" feature of SIRS Issues Researcher, I chose the language arts option and then selected American literature, which I teach to juniors. There, I found a link to "American Passages: A Literary Survey" that is awesome! It includes 16 thematic based units, and each unit includes an overview, information about the authors, a video, discussion questions, project ideas, etc. I have already saved this link to my favorites and plan to spend more time examining this site before I incorporate some of the material into my American literature course.
I found this week's lesson on SIRS, particularly SIRS Issues Researcher, to be extremely useful. I had no idea that SIRS Issues Researcher included so much useful information for not only students but also educators.