Kim Beckman

SLM 521 Summer 2005

Elective 6

Components of Good Elementary

School Library Media Sites

1. Advertisements should be limited and age appropriate and no pop ups.

2. Information should be easy to find and easy to use, for example text supported with graphics.

3. Should enhance the student’s experience.

4. Purpose should be clear.

5. Links should be well-organized and appealing to elementary students.

6. Kid-friendly data bases, for example www.SIRS.com Uses graphics to describe categories and their articles the students have access to are colored coded for reading ability (easy, moderate).

7. Games are a must and the option to have material read is a bonus.

8. Concise text, and bright, colorful graphics.

9. Name of creator or creators should be included.

10. Place for comments and feedback.

         I choose the above components because I work with K-5 students and the less complex the site the more success the students have using the internet. I want my students to be independent with some support. I use SIRS, a magazine database, because of the colored coded reading levels. I can easily adapt the assignment by instructing the students to look for articles of a certain color. The other type of site I like is one that has the option to have the information read to the students. For example, the web site for, author, Robert Munsch, he reads about 10 of his books aloud. The other site is Americas Library, the information is limited but the material can be read to the students. I also think sites for children should include games, music, and real pictures. The site needs to grab their attention.