A Guide to Grolier Online

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A Guide to Grolier OnlinesLands and Peoples

• Created by Amanda Landrum
• aferriel_at_iupui.edu
• 03/28/05

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What is Groliers?

• Grolier Online is a group of online databases
  published by Scholastic Library Publishing.
  www.go.grolier.com
• Your school has subscribed to Grolier online so
  that you can have access to a world of
  information!
• Grolier Online will give you access to
• Encyclopedia articles ? Websites
• Magazine articles ? Images
• Reading Comp. Activities ? Flags

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Why Groliers?

• 1. Designed for student usethats you!
• Accurate, current and unbiased information.
• Groliers is a respected name in the world of
  encyclopedias.
• Reduce the time you spend researching.
• Available 24/7/365 from home, school or anywhere
  you use the Internet!
• Reading levels geared to suit YOU!

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Grolier Choices

• Encyclopedia Americana
• 8th Grade and up
• Grolier Multimedia
• Encyclopedia
• 5th Grade and up
• New Book of Knowledge
• 3rd Grade and up
• Lands and Peoples
• 5th Grade and up
• America the Beautiful
• 4th Grade and up

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Other Features

• An atlas with more than 900 maps
• Five Dictionaries
• Two Thesauri
• Search all the databases at once by using the
  Global Search option in the lower right hand
  corner.
• Easily get back to the homepage from anywhere
  within Grolier by clicking on available icon.

Global Search
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Groliers Great, BUT

• Students, when using Grolier, always keep in
  mind
• Project/assignment requirements
• Groliers will give you tons of great
  information, but if your teacher also asks you to
  find a printed resource (book), then make sure
  you do!
• Cite your sources
• Keep a record of the article and websites you
  find on the Internet.
• Put it in your own words
• With all the wonderful information you find, it
  is easy to use it as is, but be careful, you
  dont want to plagiarize.

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How do I get there?

• Grolier Online can be found at www.go.grolier.com
• At school, you will have direct access.
• At home, you will have to enter a username and
  password. (This will be for the first time
  only.)
• Username kokomo
• Password home
• If you are a student or teacher of Kokomo Center
  Schools, you can have free access to this online
  database.

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Grolier Online Homepage

• Be familiar with the Grolier Online Homepage.

Dont forget, you can search all of the Grolier
databases here!
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Lets Go Inside

• Lands and Peoples
• Select Lands and Peoples from the Grolier Online
  homepage.
• This will direct you to the Lands and Peoples
  homepage.
• Lands and Peoples will help you when researching
  for information on different countries around the
  world.

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Searching Lands and Peoples

• Features

• Find it Fast Search all areas of Lands and
  Peoples
• Encyclopedia
• Global News Desk Find out what is happening in
  the world.
• Electronic Atlas Interactive Maps
• Focus North America A area of the world being
  featured on Grolier.
• Culture Cross Compare two areas of the world
  simultaneously.
• Passport to Fun Games, Quizzes and Pictures.
• LP Almanac Quick access to facts and figures.

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Using Lands and People Features

• Find it Fast

Lets try doing a search on India. Type India
in the Find it Fast box. Press Enter OR Click
on the picture of a globe under the Find it
Fast box.
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Search Results Find it Fast
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What do I do?

• Search results are easy to use.
• Pick a result which fits your needs.
• Do you need encyclopedic information?
• Do you need a news article?

Encyclopedia Result
News Desk Result
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Encyclopedia Result
Check out these other areas for more information!
Lets look at Facts and Figures.
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Encyclopedia Result

• Facts and Figures
• This section of the encyclopedia gives a list of
  vital information for the country of your choice.
• This information can also be found in the Almanac
  section of Lands and Peoples.

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News Desk Result
Find it Fast is still available if you want to
start another search!
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Global News Desk
Search Find it Fast for a News Desk article on
the area of the world you are studying. Search
for Japan. Can you find a news article? Do your
search and see if you are right.
Global News Desk Homepage Highlighting recent
news events.
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Answer

1. Search for Japan.
2. Choose a result which is a News Desk article.
3. Congratulations!

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Electronic Atlas
Lets find out about the Electronic Atlas!
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Electronic Atlas
Click on an area of the map to go to
there! OR Choose a category to find specialized
maps.
Search for a particular map here.
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Electronic Atlas
Choose from several different thematic maps.
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Culture Cross
Culture Cross
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Culture Cross
Step 1 Pick Country 1
Step 4 Compare!
Step 2 Pick Country 2
Step 3 Choose an area to compare!
Compare two countries at the same time!
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Culture Cross
Compare two countries at the same time!!
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Passport to Fun
Lets see what kind of fun we can have!
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Passport to Fun
Test your geography knowledge and get a chance to
see an interesting picture! Jigsaws, hangman and
more!! Quiz yourself
Learning geography has never been so fun!
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Lands and Peoples Almanac
One more stop to make!
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Almanac
Each section will give you a list to choose from
to find information. Lets look at Facts and
Figures.
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Almanac Facts and Figures
From the list, choose the country or continent
you are looking for to find important facts and
figures, flags or other information.
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Almanac Facts and Figures
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Strategies for Good Searching

• Keep it simple!
• Know what you are looking for BEFORE you begin
  searching. This will cut down on your research
  time.
• Watch for spelling mistakes.
• Misspelling a word will more than likely bring
  you no results on your search. Be careful.
• Lands and Peoples is a very specific database.
• You will only find information on the continents,
  countries, states and cities of the world.
• If you are looking for something else, you may
  have to use the Global search option in the
  bottom right hand corner.

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What to do with what we know

• Now that we have taken a close look at how to use
  Grolier Onlines Land and Peoples, it is time to
  talk about what you can do with this resource.
• Take a look at the following slides to find
  ideas, applications and activities which you can
  complete with Grolier Onlines Lands and Peoples.
• This is not a complete list, rather it is
  something to help get you started.
• What do YOU want to do with Lands and Peoples?

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Ideas, Applications and Activities

• Test your geography knowledge in the Passport to
  Fun section.
• Using the Culture Cross area
• Create a Venn Diagram comparing two countries of
  the world.
• Write a compare/contrast essay on the culture of
  two or more countries.

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Ideas, Applications and Activities

• Analyze why two countries are having difficulty
  with trade or other issues, like the United
  States and Afghanistan.
• Compare the economies of two neighboring
  countries, like the United States and Mexico.
• How are they alike? How are they different?
• Discuss with your classmates.

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Ideas, Application and Activities

• Write a newsletter promoting tourism in a
  particular country. (Why would someone want to
  travel there?)
• Global News Desk
• Find a news event which has recently taken place
  around the world.
• Study the country which was affected and analyze
  the problems or benefits this event might have
  had. (Was is good for the country or not?
  Explain.)

Current event from India.
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Ideas, Applications and Activities

• Electronic Atlas
• Find a map of the geographical features of a
  country (mountains, rivers, etc.)
• Discuss how these geographical features may
  effect that country.
• Compare historical maps with present day maps.
  What has changed?

Historical Map of Australia
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Ideas, Applications and Activities

• Create a PowerPoint presentation which showcases
  the economic strengths and weaknesses of a
  country.
• Make a visual display to teach others about a
  particular country.
• Hold a Country Fair at your school where everyone
  shows their work.
• Study the history of a country.
• List the 5 most important historical events that
  have happened in this country.
• Be prepared to defend your choices. You have to
  know why you chose what you did! Choose wisely.

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Database Application Activity

• Its that timeyou knew you were going to have an
  assignment!
• Digital Storytelling
• Current Events Asia
• Description
• Communication skills are so important in our
  ever-changing, fast-paced world. Students not
  only need to be aware of current events, they
  also need to be able to understand the world
  around them. For this assignment, students will
  have a chance to analyze a current event in our
  world. After analyzing the effect, students will
  create their own news report for the event. With
  a complete news report in hand, students will
  become anchors on the Landrum News Channel. News
  reports will be taped and broadcast to the entire
  school following the daily Channel One broadcast.
  With this activity, students will be able to
  practice their communication skills, both orally
  and written.

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Database Application Activity

• Digital Storytelling
• Current Events Asia
• Student Instructions
• For this assignment, students will work in teams
  of two.
• Teams will choose a country in Asia they would
  like to research.
• You may pick any country you would like, as long
  as there are no repeats. Check with Mrs. Landrum
  before you begin your search.
• Once your team has chosen a country, you may
  begin your search using Lands and Peoples News
  Desk feature.
• Select a current event which has taken place
  within the past year.
• Read and analyze the news article you find.
• Make a list of main ideas, important players and
  why it is important.
• Who is involved?
• What happened?
• Why is the event so important?
• When did it happen?
• Where did it happen?

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Database Application Activity

• Digital Storytelling
• Current Events Asia
• Student Instructions, Continued
• Write a news report, in your own words, for this
  event.
• Before you begin, take time to watch newscasts on
  television. Channel One, the evening news, 24
  hour news networks, like CNN or FoxNews, are all
  good sources to view.
• Teams will practice and eventually tape your news
  report for Landrum Channel News.
• News reports will be shown following Channel One.
• Have fun and enjoy reporting the news. Put your
  own unique spin on a newscast to make your
  newscast special!
• Music
• Clothing
• Journalists on location during the newscast
• Backdrop, etc.

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Database Application Activity

• Student news reports will be taped digitally
  using school equipment.
• Digital video will then be edited using iMovie
  software.
• Editing will include incorporating transitions
  and onscreen titles and captions.
• Following editing, the final cut will be
  presented as a news broadcast following the daily
  showing of Channel One.

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Database Application Activity

• Student Evaluation Rubric
• To assess student achievement, a rubric will be
  used.
• Student will be assessed in the following areas
• Grammar
• Voice Pacing
• Voice Consistency
• Music, Backdrop, Clothing or other piece of
  originality
• Duration of Presentation
• Economy
• See the rubric at http//mypage.iu.edu/aferriel
  /newsrubric.htm