Lesson 4: SIRS Issues Researcher and Discoverer

SIRS Discoverer
1. Look up armadillos (or your favorite animals) and discuss the results. Note if you find pictures and the various reading levels of the articles. (Remember, articles in SIRS Discoverer are selected, so you may not find something from yesterday's news.)


When looking up armadillos I found 94 total articles. These were also listed by tabs for newspaper, magazine, reference, graphics, and websites. There was also a key at the top of the page so I knew what reading level the articles were, whether or not they had graphics, activities, they were fiction, and also if it had a pdf version.
After opening the article, I found that the citation was easily located at the bottom of the article to copy and paste, and any pictures were easily accessed by clicking on the camera icon.

 2. Some of the most useful features in SIRS Discoverer are the "Database Features" located on the right hand side of the window. Explore this section by:

• selecting a country in "Country Facts" and noting the information located there.
• I found information about Finland. Discoverer listed the official name, capital,population, size, region, government type, government official, agriculture, climate, currency, language, holidays, major events, and an interesting "did you know?" fact.
• selecting a map in "Maps of the World" and discussing a potential use.
• I selected a map for Alaska. This could be used for a school report, or for a curious student who wants to see where a relative lives in Alaska.
• selecting one other area in "Database Features" and discuss the information located there.
• I picked the Science Fair Explorer. This tool could be very handy for finding interesting topics and information for middle school age kids participating in science fairs.

SIRS Issues Researcher
1. Select a leading issue and discuss the information located there, noting the topic overview, research tools and articles.


I chose "abused women" for my issue. The information I found was a variety of articles supporting the pros and cons of the issue. In this case it was whether or not the NFL should immediately penalize players for domestic violence issues. There was also a list of many other related articles from newspapers, magazines, references, etc. There were also research tools such as topic overview, timeline, global impact, statistics, my analysis, and note organizer.

 2. Select "Curriculum Pathfinders" on the right hand side of the window and mouse over the course subjects, noting the range of topics covered. Pick your favorite subject and discuss the information located there.


I picked statistics. The information I found was a list of magazine, newspaper, government documents, primary resources, reference, graphics, multimedia and web select sites. The information can also be sorted based on the type of statistic you are looking for, date, and lexile level.