'Tis the Season - for Migrating

This is the season for migrating (no, not to Florida or Mexico to get away from the cold)! The Great Migration is now taking place on the African Serengeti. That means that hundreds of thousands of Wildebeest along with zebra, and other African wildlife are on the march looking for water. This migration is sometimes called the "circle of life" because the animals literally circle the plains of the Serengeti in their search.

During this long trek these African plains become the birthing ground for almost half a million calves! But, even though these little guys stand up and walk in fewer minutes than your hand has fingers, only half of them survive the predators and diseases that are prevalent.

You and your students can find out more about wildebeests and their yearly migration through the Serengeti by using your State Library's Kansas Library Card and trying the Keyword WILDEBEESTS in the ProQuest databases or the SIRS Discoverer database or the term WILDEBEEST MIGRATION in the Thomson-Gale (InfoTrac) databases. There are plenty of articles (many in full-text) that will provide information and, if you have little researchers around, there is at least one article in the SIRS database (Across the African Savannah) that has a Serengeti Board Game at the end!

Research for KIDS!

In the “Additional Databases” section at the end of the list of Thomson-Gale (InfoTrac) Databases is a NEW kid-friendly (K-5) searching tool! KIDS InfoBits provides young researchers with full-text articles from many developmentally appropriate sources on current events, the arts, history, sports, science and more. Students can choose to use ICONs to narrow their subjects, a Basic search box, or an Advanced search strategy that allows them to limit by date, reading level, etc. There is even a “toolbox” for teachers!

Go to the list of databases available from your Kansas Library Card ( http://www.kslc.org/ ) and choose InfoTrac Web. Then scroll down to or click on the Additional Databases list and help your kids explore Kids InfoBits today.

TIMELINES for Students

Do you know about the timeline help in the State Library databases? You can go to the list of databases http://www.kslc.org/ (or use the Empowered Desktop from Kan-Ed) and find all sorts of TIMELINES!

If you use the WorldBook database you can simply type in the word "timeline" in the Search box in the upper right of the screen. On the left side of the resulting page you can go to the websites and find an American literature timeline, a WWI timeline, an earth history timeline and more.

The SIRS Discoverer database uses the subject term "Chronology, Historical" that, when searched, brings up timelines for inventions, the roaring twenties, ancient Greece, and more. Use the term "generate timelines" and find a timeline generator that allows students to build their own! (This can also be found at http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/timeline/ .)