Lesson 4

SIRS DISCOVERER is a fascinating website!  I quite often view websites through the eyes of a homeschool parent, and there is so much available here for use for homeschool students.It is very difficult for students to find newspaper or non-fiction articles to support the papers they write.  This site is an answer to that tough dilemna.

I could not find information on my favorite animal, the Rag Doll Kitten, (maybe I wasn’t searching properly!), so instead I searched for voles. Our farm cats drop quite a few “offerings” by our back door, so I was interested in being able to tell exactly what it is they are offering us.

I checked out the map of Nepal; if you have ever read the book “Into Thin Air’ by John Krakauer, you realize how important it is to have a map to reference to as you read.  In many cases when I am reading, I find myself with an atlas at hand.  I love the study of Geography, so when I read authors like Tony Hillerman or Craig Johnson, I always refer to maps so I have a better understanding of the setting of the book.

In the other data-base feature I studied gluten-free food articles.  These articles give a quite a different perspective than if someone is doing an internet- based search. 

For the leading issue section, I chose the topic of global warming.  There is a huge amount of information available, but in doing a quick survey of it, it seems most of the articles believe climate change is underway.  There is not near as much information in support of the belief that the earth is merely in a long-term cyclical pattern.

In Curriculum Pathfinders, I chose Geography and further concentrated on Mount Everest and its tragic climbing history.  I found out a two very interesting facts:  Mount Everest is actually 7 feet taller than was first reported; and it is slowly creeping to the northeast at 2.4 inches a year.  Now how did scientists discover that, and what causes this?  There were no answers to that question in the article.  How disappointing!  I love learning weird facts like that!