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Youth & Children's Studies Community Service Learning

Course Number: YC300-BR

Subject: Youth and Children's Studies

Finding children's books and resources on a topic

  • The Brantford Public Library has a rich collection of children's novels, picture books, graphic novels, youth videos, teen novels, and non-fiction books for children and teens
  • To search for a children's or young adult resource on a topic, type in words that represent your topic and click on the link to audience (on the left side of the page) and select "children" or "teen"
  • Further refine your results by clicking on the type of content (fiction or non-fiction) and/or format you need

Activities and worksheets

Books

  • Search our Omni catalogue for books of classroom activities
  • When searching for books, think in terms of subject areas rather than specific topics
  • Use search terms such as: teaching AND activities AND "social studies"

Magazine articles for teachers

  • Click on "Databases" on the library home page
  • Type "Education Source" and connect to the resource
  • Use terms such as "teaching," "activities OR games," "elementary," and a topic such as "environment"
  • Refine your results by clicking on "magazines"

Museum websites

  • Museums often include links to resources, lesson plans, and activities
  • To find these resources, add the word "museum" and a topic such as "global warming" to the words "teaching activities"

Choose keywords for scholarly resources

  • Write down the different concepts used in this question (“vygotsky” AND “zone of proximal development” AND “children”)
  • Think of similar terms for the keywords you use (“children” OR “childhood”)
  • TIP: Find additional clues for terms in the titles and abstracts of articles
  • Locating the right combination of keywords takes time. You may need to go back and forth, revising the terms as you examine your search results
  • View our video tutorial on using keywords effectively

Finding articles about youth and children's studies

Too many search results?

  • If you get too many search results, use narrower search terms (e.g. “twitter” instead of “online social networks”)
  • Try adding more concepts to your search (“twitter” AND “youth”). Adding more terms that are linked by “AND” will decrease your number of search results

Too few search results?

  • Think in terms of broader categories (“online social networks” rather than “twitter”)
  • Add alternate terms for each concept (“online social networks” OR “social media”). Adding more terms that are linked by “OR” will increase your number of search results
  • TIP: Look at the bibliographies of the most pertinent books and articles on your topic. One author can lead you to others in the field

Need help?

  • Don’t hesitate to contact me (Pauline Dewan); I am here to help you.
  • Email me at pdewan@wlu.ca
  • Call me at 519 756-8228 ext. 5529
  • Drop in for help or make an appointment. My office is in the Digital Library and Learning Commons, on the lower level of Grand River Hall, room 108B
  • Instant message a Laurier librarian for help by clicking on “Ask Us” (from the homepage of the Laurier Library)

Please note: The Library is committed to providing programs, events and services that are accessible to all. Please contact us if you require accommodation due to a disability.