Search or Browse for Standards

Whether you are creating or adapting a lesson plan, or locating resources for your students, Standards Search provides a single, time-saving way to find the information you need.

Either search or browse for Standards. Then view or print lists of websites, library materials and district media that are aligned to the standard.

To find one or more standards that pertain to a particular topic or skill, use Search.

To see a complete sets of standards, benchmarks or indicators relating to specific concepts within a subject and grade, use Browse.

Search for Standards

  1. Select Catalog > Standards Search > Search sub-tab.
  2. From the For drop-down, select your standards source.
  3. Use the Location drop-down to retrieve supporting materials from your library, a group of libraries, or the entire district.
  4. In the Find field, enter a keyword or phrase, such as politics; whole numbers, fractions, and decimals; or matter and energy. You can use any word or phrase that may appear in the text of your standard.
  5. Choose the Subject and Grade level from the drop-downs.
  6. Click Search.
Note: Selecting the standards source and entering a search term are required; limiting by subject and grade are optional. Because the Grade drop-down is dependent on the subject, you must select a subject before selecting a grade level.

Browse for Standards

  1. Select Catalog > Standards Search > Browse sub-tab.
  2. From the For drop-down, select your standards source.
  3. Use the Location drop-down to retrieve supporting materials from your library, a group of libraries, or the entire district.
  4. Subjects defined by the standards source appear. Click a folder or the name.
  5. Continue to click folders to move up or down through the hierarchy.
  6. When you find the standard you need, click Find It. Materials that support the standard appear on the Web Sites and Titles sub-tabs.
Note:  Globe icon. denotes the lowest level of the hierarchy. You cannot drill any further into the standard.

Search Tips

Not Enough Search Results

Since Standards Search returns only standards that contain all of the words you typed in, widen your search by deleting some of those words.

For example, enter proportions instead of numbers ratios proportions.

Too Many Search Results

Since Standards Search returns standards that contain all of the words in your query, narrow your search by adding more words.

Try enclosing a phrase in quotation marks.

For example, entering "whole numbers, fractions, and decimals" returns only standards containing that exact phrase.

Enter Phrases

Enclose a phrase in quotation marks. Without quotation marks, Standards Search performs a Boolean AND search on the words entered.

For example, "whole numbers, fractions, and decimals" returns only standards containing that exact phrase.

Use the Boolean AND, OR, NOT Operators

You can create a search phrase from several distinct words or terms, with Boolean operators between them.

Because Standards Search performs a Boolean AND search by default, you do not need to add AND between search words.

For example, searching for either force motion or force AND motion returns the same results.

Adding the OR operator, however, can widen your search because any word in your search term can satisfy the search query.

For example, searching for force OR motion returns standards that contain either the word force or the word motion.

Adding the NOT operator limits your search to a specific area of focus.

For example, searching for force NOT motion returns all standards that contain the word force except those that also contain the word motion.

Case-sensitivity

Standards Search is not case-sensitive.
For example, searches for Literary Technique, literary technique, or LITERARY TECHNIQUE all return the same results.

Wildcards

Standards Search does not support wildcards. Instead, it uses root word searching, which returns results that are more accurate.

Special Characters

Standards Search does not support special characters or diacritics within a search term. If you enter a special character, you will receive a message stating either that the search is invalid or that there are no matches for your search term.

Word Variations

Standards Search looks for the word(s) you entered and words that stem from the same root word.
For example, entering product results in standards containing product, produce, production, producer and productivity.

Stop Words

Standards Search ignores words that are so common that searching on them is not productive.