Transcript Kids Search Overview

Helpful Hints for Kids
Search
Linda Eleftheri
Second Grade Teacher
March 2009
Kids Search
Kids Search is free to Indiana students.
The information is provided through INSPIRE,
Indiana’s Virtual Library.
The resources are for kids in grades
Kindergarten – Eighth Grade.
Ebsco is the company that creates and maintains
the information in the databases.
Easy to Use
• The information you will find in Kids
Search has been previewed by teachers
and librarians.
• The reading levels of the articles in this
site are for students in elementary and
middle school.
• You can choose to view newspaper articles,
magazines, encyclopedia & dictionary
information, photos, maps and more.
Faster & Safer
• Instead of getting lost searching the
World Wide Web of the Internet,
use Kids Search.
• You will find more results at your
reading level, faster.
• You don’t have to worry about finding
things that are inappropriate or
unsafe.
This is the web address for
Kids Search:
http://web.ebscohost.com/srck5/searh?vid=1&hid=1
03&sid=0fcc11ab-d8b0-4e5f-ab53efdb8b3733b0%40sessionmgr103
You don’t have to use the long URL.
Just go to INSPIRE and select
Kids Search. It is usually
bookmarked or linked on school
and public library websites.
Home Page
Key Word Searching
• Type the word cat into the Find box.
• You will get 43,551 results. That is way
too many. So try to be very specific about
what you want to find.
• Click CATS under Narrow Results by. This
will limit the results to 566. That is still a
lot of results.
• Click DOMESTIC animals. Now you only
have to sort through 28 results. Click
KITTENS and you have 11 choices.
KITTENS – 28 Results
Viewing Results
• Since there are 28 results for
KITTENS, use the page number to go
to the next 10 results or click Next
at the bottom of the screen.
• Notice the (Lexile) number in blue by
some of the articles.
• The next slide will explain what these
numbers mean.
Reading Levels
• Using the results list from KITTENS,
compare the reading level of TEMPLE CAT
(610) to AMAZING PET HEROS (990).
Amazing Pet Heroes is more challenging to
read because of the number of syllables in
each word, the number of words in the
sentences and the number of sentences
in each paragraph.
• Use the chart on the next slide to help you
find your Lexile Range.
Reading Levels
Lexile - Look at the
numbers on the
chart next to your
grade level. Match
these with the
numbers next to the
information you find.
This will show about
how difficult or easy
the information you
find will be to read.
Grade
Words
1st
200-400
2nd
300-500
3rd
500-700
4th
650-850
5th
750-950
6th
850-1050
7th
950-1075
8th
1000-1100
Return to Results List
To get back to your list of results after you look at an article or
picture, go back to the Results List at the bottom of the screen.
Practice
Try typing the name of your
research item in the Find box.
Click GO.
Use a word like air pollution and
try to limit the number of results.
Check the Lexile ranges as you explore
your results.
Air Pollution Search
Can you find 30 results for
Air pollution? Find the picture
LAST WORDS. Find out why the
children are wearing masks.
Type Nintendo games in the
Find bar and click GO.
Do you have 39 or 3,900 results?
Try to limit the results
to something that interests you.
Use the Back Button
• Go back to the Home Screen.
• Always Clear your old searches before
starting a new one.
• Use the back button, green arrows on the
tool bar, after trying a search if you just
want to limit the results. Practice
returning to the HOME Screen or clearing
old search results.
Limit Search Results
Enter stuffed animals and see
how many results you find. Now
limit the results by using
Stuffed animal (Toys) from the
left column under Narrow Results.
You should have about 40 results now.
Stuffed Animals
Topic Search
• Use the Home Page to search by
Topic.
• Click Animals with the picture of
the elephant. Look at the list of
search items.
• Select Pets and Fun – then click
GO. Look at the Results list in the
form of Magazines.
Search by Topic
Click the Elephant for information about animals.
Animals
Click Animals. Check the box for Pets and Fun. Click
GO. Look at all results. Read the titles of each article
to see if some interest you. Then check Magazines.
Narrow Your Search
Start with Animals again.
Narrow the search by clicking Habitats.
Then click Habitat (Ecology) to limit the search to
Endangered Species. Now you only have 37 results
instead of 717.
Filter Results
Look at the Filter results tab. You can choose to view only the
Magazine articles or just the Newspaper articles. Decide what
you want to view and remember to check the Lexile range. Check
out the Books & Encyclopedias icon. Then use the back button to
return to Magazines.
Using Filters
Click Social Studies for the Topic Search
then check the box next to Geography.
Try to find What is Geography? (Lexile
650) and
How To Read a Map (Lexile 690).
Which article would help you locate the
United States on a map?
Limiting Results and Sorting
Select Language Arts from topics. Check the box for Folktales.
Click BOOKS—Reviews from the Narrow Results column.
Keep narrowing your results by clicking the kind of book reviews
you want to explore.
Go back to Animals.
Check the Habitats box.
Press Go.
Narrow Results with
Endangered Species.
Narrow Results again
with Habitat (Ecology).
How to View a Resource
The 7th result is from a
Weekly Reader Newspaper.
Even if there is no Lexile
Range, we can find
information that is easy to
read. To view the article
click the icon by PDF Full
Text. The Weekly Ready
was scanned into the
computer. If you click the
name of the article,
Blue Skies, only a summary
of the article will appear.
Full Text
If you want to read the full article or see all of the
information click PDF or HTML Full Text to see the
full document.
In The News
• Return to the Home page and click IN THE NEWS.
The Results will show many topics from the
main headings (Search by Topic).
• Or pick from (Search within current topics) such
as Let’s Go to the Movies or Cool Science.
• Click In the News, then Let’s Go to the Movies.
• Click Go.
• Photos will show a picture of a famous green
movie star. Who is he?
• Biographies reports about child actors See result number 7.
• Books & Encyclopedias have information about
the top 25 Amusement Parks.
In The News Screen
Shots
Cool Images
• Click on Images to find photos of
people, nature and famous places &
historical landmarks.
• You can copy maps and flags into your
reports and projects.
Images
Put a check in the boxes
Historical photos and Photos of
places to help narrow the search
for images.
Type a key word in the Find box
and click GO.
By entering “white house” you
will get too many results that do
not show The White House.
Try entering more specific
words like “The White House
Tour”.
Now the results are fewer (44)
and the results are all pictures
of the inside and outside of the
real White House
in Washington, DC.
Note Taking
Use a word document while you are
searching to take notes. Minimize the
word document page in a small corner screen.
Copy and paste sections of information and
type your own thoughts next to it.
Remember to put “quotation marks” around
the ideas you borrow from others and give
credit to the person who wrote it.
It is never OK to pretend you
wrote something that someone
else created.
Note taking screen & Kids
Search
Citing Articles
Click on the citation to find the information you need
to cite your source. You will need the author’s name,
the title of the information, a date and where your
information came from.
Visit the helpful websites below for Citing Resources.
• Education Place
http://www.educationplace.biz/parents/resources/homework/reference/bibliography.html
• MLA Citation Maker from
The Plone CMS
http://www.oslis.org/resources/cm/mlacitationse
Printing
• The print, email and save features as
well as the “add to a folder” options
are the same at the top and bottom
of the screen. For our school
projects the print command is the
one we will use most.
• Future lessons can include directions
and practice using the other
features.
Valuable Information
The choices at
the top are
the same at
the bottom.
Printing
There are two (2) print icons. Always ask an adult before you print. Only the
information about the article will print now. If you want to print the Weekly
Reader article click PDF Full Text and then click Print.
Email
This box is for emailing
article information. To email
resources you must provide
a real email address and the
computer you are using must
have an email account set up.
Email
To email the resources you must provide an email address, put
in a subject and a comment to tell what you are sending.
Rich Text is already selected. A pop up box will let you know
if the email was sent correctly.
Save
To save the article,
make sure you can
see the story and then
save it to a file that
you can locate later.
Rename the article by
using save as. If you
save now you will only
be saving this link and
information about the
article.
Add to a Folder
Add to folder means you can store
resources in a folder now and view them
again later.
We will not be using this feature unless
your teacher sets up a folder with you.
If you use the folder at home have a
parent help you. You will have a password
and username to remember.
More Practice
• You will have more practice in the lab
with your teacher using Kids Search.
• You will practice using many other
parts of the Kids Search site.