Lesson 1

Lesson 1A - World Book School Edition
1) Using World Book Kids, search for information on a mammal of your choice. Find a picture and information about its habitat.

Zebra

In the World Book Kids, I discovered there are three types of zebras that live in the eastern and southern part of Africa. They reside in the deserts and grasslands in these areas. Zebras travel in herds that may consist of a few to hundreds. Main source of food is grass and they run fast to stay away from their predators.

2) Using World Book Student, search for information on the same mammal you searched in World Book Kids and compare the amount of information.

After searching for zebras in the World Book Kids, I was presented with very limited resources. I decided to read the first one. There I discovered there three little paragraphs with few sentences. Really basic information for the younger learners. Consisted of three types of zebras, where you could find them, color of stripes, type of food they eat and couple of facts about them.

In the World Book Students, I had 38 articles to choose from after searching for zebras. Once again, I selected the first one. Zebras were discussed in length - here are some of the highlights that were discussed. Background on the stripes and how each zebra has their own unique stripes - no two zebras are alike; how the stripes camouflage them from their predators. Zebras take turn being on alert in their herd - have great sound detection (ears) and night vision similar to owls. Their average life expectance in the wild is 22 years. Discussed mothers carrying their young - also known as foals - and the growth within the first couple of years. Stated how zebras are endangered and struggling to survive - competing with the local ranchers / farmers for grazing and water sources. 

Overall, the World Book Students had a lot more information for the researcher - basic enough to understand, but getting more information on zebras.

3) Using World Book Advanced, search for a country. Notice the types of information available on the left and right side bars of the first results screen. Click on the link for your desired country, and again notice the types of information on the left and right side bars of the screen. What types of information will be most valuable to your patrons? 

4) Using World Book Discover, use the browse function on the right side of the screen to find an article about American government. Notice the features on the article page. How will World Book Discover help your patrons who are not good readers of English?