Feel EmPOWERed @your Library  

Professional Development Day: January 20, 2005

Audience:

5 th and 6 th grade teachers

Objectives:

Teachers will

Review Latest Features on POWER Library Databases:

•  Novelist / Access PA Readers' Advisory Interlibrary Loan Services

•  SIRS Discoverer / Searchasaurus Magazines / Newspapers / Graphics

•  Facts For Learning Reference Resources

Materials:

Three cornered review advertisement. (Novelist)

Demonstration computer

Handouts:

  • Novelist Teacher Features and Cheat sheet
  • Think Tac Toe
  • World's Easiest Quiz
  • Sharpened pencils flagged with workshop theme
Introduction: Anticipatory set

Have teaches share with one another ANY type of research they require of students

•  Biomes

•  Biography – Contributions to American Life

•  Ancient World

•  States

Make a list of the topics and resources they use. Ask if any require students to search the Internet?

Do teachers require pictures for projects?

ASK what they believe they would find if they GOOGLE searched for a picture of a glass of MILK?

What if they were looking for Professional resources for a graduate course on “Spanking?”

Not to mention, lollipops.
Procedure:

EXPLAIN what PROFESSIONAL DATABASES are, and how important they are when working with students for ACCURATE and APPROPRIATE information.

 

  1 . Give each group of teachers a tri-corner table brochure explaining the major features of the NOVELIST database. Review and Discuss

2. Demonstrate on the computer WHAT'S AT EACH OF THE TABS:

Home Tab: Current highlights or new features.

Search Our Database Tab : Takes users to the list of searching options currently found in the product:

  • Find a Favorite Author Find a Favorite Title
  • Find a Series Name
  • Describe a Plot
  • Boolean Search
  • Article and List Search

Browse Lists Tab: The links found at this tab are the links to pre-made lists such as:

  • Best Fiction (award lists)
  • Explore Fiction (genre and topic lists)

For Readers Tab:  Links available at this tab include many favorites:

  • Author Read-Alike
  • Book Discussion Guides
  • BookTalks
  • Annotated Book Lists

School Resources Tab: The materials found at this tab are designed to help TEACHERS in particular.

Series: Titles in series will display in reading order. This means that if you use the "Find A Series Name" search and enter "unfortunate event" in the Find box (as an example), Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" would display in series order with "The Bad Beginning" (v. 1) showing first, "The Reptile Room" (v.2) displaying second, and so forth.

If you enter a term that retrieves more than one series name, your results list will display a list of series names for you. For example, if you enter “Dune”—you would be provided with links to three separate series: Dune novels; Prelude to Dune, Legends of Dune. The reader could then select the specific series they were looking for and receive a list of the titles for that series.

Popularity Sorting: With our new popularity sorting feature, you can find a list of science fiction titles published in the last five years and then be able to show your readers which ones have been the most popular.

  • Popular titles are starred to alert you to titles with high demand. Our popularity information is gathered from thousands of libraries and retail outlets nationwide and is based on ordering information received from Baker & Taylor. If the book has met the popularity criteria, a series of one to four stars will be displayed to indicate the popularity factor for the title.

Handout:  "How Novelist is Making a Difference"

3.  Explain how to log on to the database at school and at home (Bradford County Library Link)                  

4.  Demonstrate Magazine and Reference Resource                     Searchasaurus              

    

Activity:  Teacher's Think Tac Toe               Including "The World's Easiest Quiz"              

                        

                                                               back to Professional Development