Lesson 3: Learning Express Library

Advanced Challenge 
1. A fourth-grader needs help with reading comprehension. What are 3 things you will show him on Learning Express?

I would click on 'Reading Skills Improvement' and there is a drop-down menu of five different tests that the student would be able to work on. The ones I would recommend for him/her would be: '4th Grade Reading Practice', '4th Grade Reading Diagnostic Tests', and 'STAAR Grade 4 Reading Practice Test'. All three of these tests will help him/her with Reading Comprehension. After the student took the tests, I would go back to see how he/she scored on certain areas to see where he/she needs the most work.

2. A recent high school graduate has her eye on an office manager job, but she knows she needs to improve her skills before she applies. What do you recommend for her in Learning Express?

I would first look under the 'Job Search & Workplace Skills' tab. Here it would give her options to buff up on her Business Writing Skills, Grammar for communicating with peers, and Spelling Vocabulary Practice. She could also take the WorkKeys Practice Tests, and the TOEIC Practice Tests if she needs help with any language barriers.

3. A high school student comes to you for help on his report on careers. He is interested in being either a nurse or a pharmacist someday. What do you show him on Learning Express?

I would show him the tests under the 'Jobs and Careers' tab, and then go to the section of 'Nursing and Allied Health'. This area has 'Entrance Test Preparation', 'Licensure and Certification Test Preparation, and 'Career Guidance', with the most important one being, 'Career Guidance' to give him an idea if this is where he really belongs. It gives him information on becoming a health care professional. 

Common Core Connections
Set-up an account in Learning Express and browse through the available exams. Choose one or more tests or courses to see what they are like. On the bottom right of the home page, click “Browse our complete library of ebooks,” and see what’s there. Consider how you would use this resource to meet a Common Core standard.

These tests and ebooks would be an excellent resource for a lot of reviewing material covered in various content areas. It would help students in Language Arts courses review Grammar and Context Clues. It would help with Vocabulary in History and Science, and it would help with a TON of Math concepts. I am having a problem just listing one, so I'll list a couple. 

RI: Craft and Structure: 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative,connotative, and technical meanings.

RI: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity: 10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

For the two previous Reading Standards, I would have the students take some of the Vocabulary Review tests as a guide to their base level of understanding vocabulary.

I would also give them some of the Math Practice tests to determine their level of their understanding at the beginning of the year, at semester time, and at the end of the year. 

Lesson 2: Chilton Library and Mango Languages 

1. Your neighbor needs to replace the steering wheel on his 1982 Jeep Cherokee. He thinks he can do it himself, but he’d like to see some videos before he gets started. How can you help him?

I would direct him to the Chilton Library User Guide in various section headings within the repair content. It shows video tutorials such as, 'Navigating The Repair Manuals' and 'Selecting A Vehicle'. After watching the videos, he should be more confident with navigating around and using the website. I would also take him to the home page and showing him around if he is feeling confused.

2. What is the Transmission Identification for a 1989 Geo Prizm with 3 speed automatic transmission?

I looked up a 1989 Geo Prism with automatic transmission, and got the following information: 

Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) Description	TSB #	Issue Date	Type
Info - New Product Feedback Form and Process for Automatic Transm...	01-07-30-029A	1/18/2006

If you click on this link, it gives you more information, but I am guessing that the number we are looking for is 01-07-30-029A. 

Common Core Connections

1. How could you use ChiltonLibrary to meet Common Core English Language Arts Reading Standards in the area of Integration of Knowledge and Ideas?

I found two standards that I thought would work in the high school area. They are: 

Common Core State StandardS for enGLISH LanGUaGe artS & LIteraCy In HIStory/SoCIaL StUdIeS, SCIenCe, and teCHnICaL SUbjeCtS 

Reading Standards for Informational Text 6–12 

7. Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
   
   
   and
   
   
   Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea. 
   
   
   1. A Vietnamese student would like to improve her English. You do not know Vietnamese. Describe how Mango Languages can help her.
   
   
   When on the Mango Connect website, you are able to search through the foreign languages to select courses for individuals who speak English and for non-English speakers. You could choose a course for her and she can work on it at her own pace. It tracks her progress as she progresses through the course. 
   
   
   
   Common Core Connections
   
   
   1. How could Mango Languages help you meet the Language standards in English Language Arts? 
   
   
   One way that it could help is to introduce a single words of a different language in sentences that are written in English. In the middle grades, we teach our students to use context clues to figure out what a word means. We could do that with foreign words placed in a sentence written in English. The students could use the words written in English to figure out what a word written in a foreign language means. The standard used is listed below: 
   
   
   Reading Standards for Literature K-5
   Grade 3 Students
   Key Ideas and Details
   Craft and Structure

   4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as 4. they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language. 
   Example:  The children saw that the apple was as rojo as a tomato.

   
   

Lesson 1: Advanced Challenge + Common Core Connections

1. Using World Book Kids, go into one of the following special features: "World of Animals," "Science Projects," "Maps and More," “Compare Places” or "Games & Activities." Report your findings and mention ways you or your students could use these.

I looked through 'Science Projects'. This is a great idea! Many schools have Science Fairs, and this gives students simple experiments that almost anyone can do. The equipment needed for the experiments are items commonly found in the average household. 

There are topics that kids can choose from, such as 'Animals', 'Machines', 'Matter and Energy', 'Microscopic Life', 'Our Planet', 'Plants', 'Science You Can Use', and 'Your Body'. I'm sure that any kid could find something of interest here. There are also links for finding more information on how to do science projects and selecting a topic to research. 

This section of World Book would be a great lesson for librarians to show to classrooms a month or so before a Science Fair is scheduled. Using this would help decrease the anxiety of finding a science project or fighting with other students to get their hands on the few books in their school library that contain Science Project ideas. 

2. Using World Book Student, go into one of the following special feature sections: "Explore," "Biography," “Behind the Headlines,” “Quizzes and Activities” or one of the Research Tools that are new to you. Report your findings and mention ways you could use these with your students. 

I took a look at, 'Behind The Headlines'. We actually have an Encore class that deals with Current Events, so this would be a valuable resource to both the teacher and the students. The class or individuals also have the option of trying a Current Events game. I took the quiz...not telling you how I did! But you can have your results emailed to you, which would be a good way to make it a little more non-threatening for kids. They could look up their results privately. There are also Lesson Plans included for teachers. Awesome!

3. Using World Book Advanced, go to the E-Book Center (bottom center of the home page). Feel free to browse for ebooks, but please look up either Andersen's Fairy Tales orThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Note the special tools available and the Related Information. How might this be useful for your students? 

I looked up Andersen's Fairy Tales. I liked how the Chapters or various stories included in the book were listed to your right. You are able to download the book if you would choose to read it using an eReader, or you can just read it directly on your computer. If you have a student that isn't a terrific reader, and you just want him to know the content, you are able to have the book read to him/her aloud. They could just use headphones if they are in the classroom. The text can be translated if you have some ESL students in your school. If this is something that interests a student, there is a section of 'Related Information' with a link to take the reader to material related or similar to what was just read. :) 

4. Using World Book Discover, go into the special features under “Reference Tools” (left side of the home page) and explore. Which ones would best suit your students and why?

I would say that a lot of the Reference Tools would suit my students, but I got caught up in the Timeline. It was great. This would be a terrific resource for a History teacher. I plan on talking to the Social Studies teachers at my school about it...maybe visit them individually or crash one of their team meetings. The Dictionary is always a good tool, with Vocabulary Word Assignments and such. The Visual Dictionary was interesting, too. I am assuming they would use this for Clip Art. The more time I spend using World Book, the better I like it. 

Common Core Connections 

In Lesson 1A, choose the World Book School Edition module that best fits the age of the students you work with. Spend some time exploring article and special feature content. Consider how you would use this resource to meet a Common Core standard. 

I chose World Book Student since I work with Middle School Kids. There are a lot of ways to use this resource. Actually, I used this it just last week. I worked with the Science teacher and helped show the students how to use World Book Student to research minerals. They were each assigned a mineral, and they needed to find 3 reliable sources from the web. I went in to the classrooms and showed them how to search for their mineral and how to cite their sources. They seemed to enjoy the project. I enjoyed it, too! 

Common Core Connections 

In Lesson 1A, choose the World Book School Edition module that best fits the age of the students you work with. Spend some time exploring article and special feature content. Consider how you would use this resource to meet a Common Core standard. 

This resource would work well with so many areas of education, that it's hard to pick just one. I really enjoyed the timelines, so I think the first lesson I would like to do with World Book Student, would be to work with the History teacher and timelines. The students could be an event in history, and they could map out the timeline of the event, inserting visual information with it. The standards that would be covered would be 6-8.RH.7 Integrate visual information with other information in print and digital texts & 6-8.WHST.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively;