Getting Started

About This Guide

This guide will help you find resources for your elementary education classes. The guide is divided into the following sections:

Search Tips

 
  • Review basic search tips to help you be successful searching the library catalog and databases.
  • View a list of recommended databases for elementary education.

Books

  • View a list of recommended and newly added physical and electronic books.

Streaming Video

  • Find streaming videos related to education.

Cite Your Sources

  • Access guides for citing your sources using APA format.

Contact a Librarian


Keith Cich
Librarian
Ruth A. Myers Library
218.879.0837
​keith.cich@fdltcc.edu

 

Search Tips

Just the Keywords

When searching the library resources, stick to the keywords you chose while reading your reference sources. We don't want to include extra words or type in full sentences like we're accustomed to with search engines.

Boolean Operators


Use boolean operators to combine multiple keywords to get more accurate search results. The venn diagram below shows your search results in orange.

Use AND between your keywords to narrow your search. This will give you a smaller number of results that are more specific to your topic.
Use OR between your keywords to broaden your search. This will give you a larger number of results and is helpful for including synonymous terms.
Use NOT between your keywords to exclude keywords from your search. This is helpful for weeding out irrelevant results.
A Venn diagram showing the functionarily  boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT.

Additional examples of boolean searches

honeybees AND migration AND "climate change"
honeybees OR "native bees" AND habitat
honeybees OR "honey bees" AND Minnesota NOT bumblebees
 

Filter Your Results

The vast majority of our library databases include the ability to filter your search results.
Database filters image 

Use the Full Text filter to only search for article you can immediately access in full text.
Use the Peer Reviewed filter to limit your search to articles from scholarly journals.
Use the Publication Date filter to limit your search to a specific date range. For nursing resources, you are often looking for information published in the last 5 years.

Additional filters are often available through the left side bar or by using the advanced search option.

Phrase Searches


Databases search for your keywords in any part of the article (author, title, body, etc). Put quotation marks around multiple keywords if it is important to find results with that exact phrase. This also works well for titles and names.

"Reservation Dogs"
"climate change"
"Linda LeGarde Grover"

Databases

Searching the Library Catalog

 

Search the library catalog to find books, journal articles, media and more. OneSearch searches the majority of the library's journal databases and ebook collections as well as the physical collection including books, DVDs and course reserves.

Recommended Databases for Elementary Education

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) Provides full text articles from over 4,600 publications, covering a wide range of academic subjects.

ERIC (EBSCO) ERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, is an authoritative database of indexed and full-text education-based literature and resources.

Getting Better Results with Google

Google Advanced Search Gives you additional options to narrow your search and get more useful web results for academic research.
  • Search by a specific type of website
    • .gov = government sites
    • .edu = academic sites
    • .org = non-profit sites
    • .com = commercial sites
  • Use your keywords and boolean operators just like you would search the library databases.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar 
Search the majority of articles published by major academic publishers and academic repositories. Many articles do not have full text available.
  • Under settings - search for and set your library links to FDLTCC to display a link when you can get full-text access to an article through the FDLTCC library.
  • As you browse your search results, you will see a "cited by" link, showing you how many times an article has been cited by other scholars in the field. This helps you get an idea of which articles are most influential in the field.
  • If full text access is not available, click the double arrow icon below the article title to show the "GetIt@FDLTCC". This will route you to the library catalog where you can sign in with your StarID and password and auto-populate an interlibrary loan request.

Books

Select Physical Books

words their way book cover
Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. R. (2020). Words their way : word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction (Seventh edition.). Pearson Education, Inc.
Call Number: Main Collection ; LB1050.44 .B43 2019



Indian Education for all book cover

Hopkins, J. P. (2020). Indian education for all : decolonizing indigenous education in public schools. Teachers College Press.
Call Number: Main Collection ; E97 .H59 2020




Storytelling with purpose book cover
  Hernandez, M. (2024). Storytelling with purpose : digital projects to ignite student curiosity (First edition.). International Society for Technology in Education.
Call Number: Main Collection ; LB1042 .H47 2024




Upper elementary mathematics lessons
Bartell, T. G., Felton-Koestler, M. D., Berry, R. Q., & Lawler, B. (2023). Upper elementary mathematics lessons to explore, understand, and respond to social injustice. Corwin, a Sage Company.
Call Number: Main Collection ; QA135.6 .B375 2023




In Teachers we trust book cover

  Sahlberg, P., & Walker, T. D. (2021). In teachers we trust : the Finnish way to world-class schools (First edition.). W.W. Norton & Company, Independent Publishers Since 1923.
Call Number: Main Collection ; LA217.2 .S24 2021




On our own terms book cover
McCoy, M. L. (2024). On our own terms : indigenous histories of school funding and policy. University of Nebraska Press.
Call Number: Main Collection ; E97 .M36 2024


Libby App

Libby app logoThe Libby app provides access to ebooks and digital audiobooks on your computer, phone and other personal devices. You can stream titles with Wi-Fi or mobile data, or download them for offline reading.

Search the Library Catalog

Primo OneSearch 
 
Use the library catalog to search for physical books, eBooks, articles, media and more.

Need a source not in the FDLTCC collection? place a resource sharing request


 

Streaming Video

Streaming Video Resources

Films on Demand - Education Browse a list of education-related videos from the Films on Demand Master Academic Collection.

Kanopy An on-demand streaming video service providing access to feature length films, documentaries and education videos across a wide range of subjects.

Cite Your Sources

APA Style Guides

Academic writing requires you to correctly format your papers and cite your sources. The field of nursing uses APA style.

See the library's guide on APA formatting for an overview of the most common citation skills you will need as a nursing student:
APA 7th Ed. Citation Guide | Ruth A. Myers Library (mnpals.net)


Purdue OWL offers a more extensive guide you can reference for more advanced citation questions:
APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University

Citing Websites and Online Sources

  • Citation Generators. These sites will help you create reference list or works cited entries for your essays. Be sure to choose the correct citation style when you use them.

Library Databases Citation Tool

The library catalog and most of the library databases have built in tools to help you format citations for your works cited/reference page.
After finding an article, look for a "Cite" icon. Choose the whichever you are using (APA, MLA, etc.), then, copy and past the citation into your document. Always double check the format in case there are errors.