Lesson 8: WorldCat

Basic Discovery Exercise:

1.  Using the Advanced Search, I looked through the search options on the drop down menu under "Keyword" and chose "Series Title." I also clicked the limiter "Books." I searched for "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," and all five titles in the series came up.

2.  I searched for The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith.  Eight results came up.  There are 172 libraries worldwide who have this book.  The top library is Rapid City Public Library (RCP).

3.  The call number for The Good and Beautiful God is "231.7".  The author, James Bryan Smith has written ten books that come up when you click his name, including Room of Marvels, some devotional books, and other books in this series or to accompany it.  Clicking on the descriptor (subject) "God (Christianity) -- Worship and Love," other titles come up including: Made to Crave:  Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food; Waiting for God; and Be Happy You Are Loved.  


Discovery Exercise part 2:

In OAIster, I clicked on the result Facts on Kids in South Dakota.  Under "Access" there are some links.  I clicked on one and found some reports on different issues such as teen deaths from motor vehicle crashes, food insecurity and hunger, and early care and learning system.  The direct links to some primary source documents are helpful for research projects.


Common Core Connections:

In my search for common core state standards, I found a few titles that looked interesting:  1)  Something in common: the common core standards and the next chapter in American education, by Robert Rothman, 2) Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading, by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp, and 3) Wham!:  Teaching with Graphic Novels throughout the Curriculum, by William G. Brozo, Gary B. Moorman, and Carla K. Meyer.

From the link "Libraries that own this item worldwide," I found #1 could be found at USD, #2 can be found at South Dakota State Library, and #3 can be found at USD.

Worldcat seems to be well organized and easy to use.  With 915 hits related to Common Core Standards, it offers a wealth of information for teachers and librarians to find ideas on implementing the standards by both subject and grade level, as well as explaining where this concept falls in terms of the history of educational reform.

Sample lesson:

Worldcat could be used to teach 3.RI.5:  Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.

Students could do a basic search for "Science Fair Projects."
*How many results do you get from this search? (1920)

Under drop down menus in "Limit results," choose "Juvenile" for audience.
*How many results do you get once you narrow the search to children's materials? (854)

Return to the full list of "Science Fair Projects."  Under the drop down menus in "Limit results," choose both "Juvenile" for audience and "nonfiction" for content.
*How many results do you get with these 2 limiters in place? (630)

Choose a book and click on its link.  Click on the "Libraries worldwide that own item" link.
*What library would you be able to get this book from?  Is there one in town (Siouxland Libraries)? One in South Dakota (Brookings)?