Get Ready For The National Geographic Bee And More With These Amazing Books, Magazines, and Images

Something new has come to our library.....

National Geographic Kids sponsored by Gale/Cengage and we are so excited!  

We have always been big fans of the National Geographic Kids website.....the videos, photos, and fun stuff are always a hit.  There is something for everyone on this site.

Now we have even more awesome resources from National Geographic that we will all love too.  

This collection contains 500 kid-friendly, downloadable images; National Geographic Kids magazine 2009-present; and 200 National Geographic Kids books focusing on animals, environment, places, history, people and cultures, and science and technology.  

This vast collection of nonfiction content supports the Common Core and so many other aspects of our curriculum and learning targets.

These resources can be used by individual students, within small groups, and as a classroom.  They can be used by the students and teachers at school and will also be an important addition to the resources they have access to at home as well.

The students can "Browse Magazines" or "Explore Topics" within the website.  They can also search each category of resources.....pictures, books, and magazines.

 Within "Browse Magazines" each cover is displayed and can be clicked on to view the magazine.

Each National Geographic Kids magazine is viewed within a great reader with features that are easy to use for all ages.  They can move pages, zoom in and out, print pages, and also make it full screen.

The pages are just like what would be found in the print magazine.....Our kids are going to love being able to look at the entire magazine.  The National Geographic Kids magazine is one of their favorites within our library.

I really like how the resources are organized within "Explore Topics".  This will be very important as they become better researchers, learners, and readers.  Under each topic, the photos, books, and magazines related to that topic are grouped together.

As the resources are organized in the "Science and Technology" topic, this will be very helpful to our young people as they explore, research, and investigate.

 The books are viewed within the same reader as the magazines.

The 4th graders looked at books last week and loved the beautiful photographs and text that are always found in National Geographic books.  They are drawn to the story they tell through the photographs and will learn so much from the stories and information within each book.

The pictures can be viewed through a particular subject or on the picture page.

When you click on a picture, it opens up on another page to give you a bigger view.  It also contains a sound clip that tells about the picture and the copyright information.  

With all of the magazines, books, and pictures there are tools that go with each.  They can be found on the right hand side of the page.  It will be helpful for students to have the citation for each item.  

I went to the School Library Journal Summit last weekend in Austin, Texas.  It was wonderful meeting the people representing Gale/Cengage at the Summit.  

I especially loved the National Geographic Bee information that they shared.  

The National Geographic Bee registration is taking place now through October 15, 2013.  The Bees then start....you can see the dates and other information above and on the website.  

With preparing for the Bee it is a GREAT time to try out National Geographic Kids too!  This is the perfect place to really introduce the new resource to a school community and to participate in a new educational event.  

                           

Also, check out the National Geographic Research Guide on Geography which has lots of information on how to use National Geographic Kids.  

We have a lot of different projects starting at Van Meter......the 3rd graders are working on a country environmental project and the 4th graders are working on a state resources project soon.  National Geographic Kids will bring so much to these projects as they support the collaboration, inquiry, and creativity taking place within the classroom and at home.

I can't wait to see how it is used on our laptops and the kids iPads.  We will be highlighting it at our parent/teacher conferences next week too.

Everyone at Van Meter you can go to our National Geographic Kids site here.....please get the password from me.

And all others, please click here for more information on the National Geographic Virtual Library:  http://goo.gl/u4WGbd