ELEMENTARY

RESOURCES

DESCRIPTION

WEBEX

WORLDBOOK ELEMENTARY


New interface; same content covers elementary and standard screens.  World Book includes encyclopedia information as well as graphics that can be saved and used in PowerPoint.  Allows for Boolean searching and also assists in building a search. Contains a dictionary (just highlight the word) and a map collection. Also includes 360 degree tours of cities and landmarks.

 

 

Y

 

 

PROQUEST
ELEMENTARY

 

ProQuest Elementary allows uses to toggle between natural language (MARCO POLO) and Boolean operators (polo AND italy = 213; polo AND italy NOT china = 127).  Search results can be sorted by format (newspapers, magazines, books, maps, images, scripts).  The default is to have all formats checked (you can deselect all formats on the left). Displays 25 hits at a time.  Pictures can be downloaded (SAVE PICTURE AS) but have a watermark. There are 50 audio clips (not MLK). Students can drill down by TOPIC (tab at top) to explore. The Reference desk limits the resources to reference books, almanac (encyclopedia, dictionary). Recommended websites must be copied and pasted. Lexile measures.

 

 

 

Y

 

 

 

 

SEARCHASAURUS

 

 

 

 

Ebsco Searchasaurus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ebsco Searchasaurus.

Searchasaurus = elementary version of EBSCO’s Student Research Center with nine components:

Y

Primary Search. Does allow for multiple term searches. Marco Polo returns only hits for Marco Polo and not polo (the sport), whereas a search on “polo” brings up hits for both topics. Students can also drill down by topic, but there are no icons. Allows search to be limited by Lexile level, which is a convenient way to eliminate articles written at an inappropriate level.  Hamsters = 21 hits

 

 

Y

Encyclopedia of Animals. Same interface as Primary Search. Students can use key word searches or drill down by topic. A search of dogs will return a list of breeds, so students can select the appropriate name. There is no way to limit search, as in Primary or Middle Search.

 

 

Y

General Encyclopedia. (Funk and Wagnall’s): will accept multiple key words (Marco Polo).  Keywords are highlighted (bold) in the selection. 4-1+

 

Y

Dictionary.  (American Heritage Children’s Dictionary).  Limited dictionary of 282 words which may not provide any hits.  To view the list of words, leave the search box empty and click on SEARCH.

 

Y

Picture Library. Can search by key word or topic. King = 952 images. Print or SAVE PICTURE AS.

Y

Tutorial.  Will allow upper grade students or parents at home to learn the functions. Appropriate for mini-lessons in the LMC.

Y

Fun Facts.  A feature that changes regularly.

Y

Help. The Help is function-specific within a search (related to whatever screen is active) or as a searchable function by itself.

 

Y

 

TEACHINGBOOKS

TeachingBooks provides links to author websites, video interviews with authors and talks by authors, and authors and celebrities reading from the works of authors.  There are slide shows, videos, audio programs, and links to purchase materials; readings are just selections, not entire works.

 

 

Y

 

NETTREKKER

 

A search engine of curriculum-related databases kept current by Thinkronize with approximately 200,000 websites that can be searched by subject (drill down to specific topic) or by T.E.K.S. (drill down to specific grade and objective). There are links to bilingual sites. Nettrekker has three levels: elementary, middle and high school.

 

 

 

Y

MAPS101

Maps in a variety of forms, including outline maps of countries, states, and many cities.  Can be printed. Interactive maps differ on exactly how they interact.

 

Y

INFOBITS

 

InfoBits allows students to drill down by icon/topic (animals/bugs and worms/roaches/). Hits are sorted by format (tabs at the top of the hit list (reference books, magazines, newspapers, images, etc). Students can search by key word; results are reported by clusters: worm (animal), worm (computer), intestinal worms, Worm (Concordat), etc. Advanced search is available that allows the choice of “easy” or “more difficult.”  Lexile measures.

 

 

 

Y

 

 FACTS FOR LEARNING

  

This is a unique resource, as there are articles from magazines and reference works written on the 2nd and 3rd grade reading level. None of the other resources go down to that level at this time.  Sorts can be done by reading level.

 

 

Y

NEW BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE

NBK has most of the same functionality as World Book plus resources like “Projects and Experiments” and an e-zine “NBK News”.  Key word is highlighted for easy scanning. Has a browse function that emulates looking at a volume by letter of the alphabet. Articles are short. Currently there are links to virtual museums.

Y

NEW BOOK

OF POPULAR SCIENCE

Divided by area of science.  Emphasizes how to cite information appropriately.  Includes projects and science biographies. Has an online query that will be answered at random by a staff science expert. Also includes a Teacher’s Guide.

N

 

LANDS AND PEOPLES

Similar to MS Culturgrams but more encyclopedic in content; for the stronger reader. Covers climate, culture, geology, exploration, history, time zones, economy, and environment with links to related articles. Atlas features more limited that Maps 101; has city street maps (including Dallas).

N