Think you know Search?

Before we get started on some of the more specific Google tools, how are you with using...

Search Skills

Google Books

There are really two aspects to Google Books; online book browsing and search, and selling books via the Play Store

Search books by title, author or ISBN number Read the eBook version (if available)
See reviews, rating, related books
Buy the book via Google Play
Use the "Get the book in print" link to find a reseller OR find it in the nearest library for loan
Find in Library uses the WorldCat service (You'll need to have a free WorldCat account to use this)
Use the "Add to my Library" button to add it to your online collection
Create as many Shelves in your online library as you like.
Organise your books anyway you like.
Add all the books you read, or would like to read, and you have a searchable database of your book collection

Get your students to create a Google Books account and add copies of their texts and novels.
For many of the older books you will be able to find full text versions. eg Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the D'Urbervilles
This eText can serve as an addition to the paperback version they may have
The eText version is fully searchable on any keyword
Search snippets will take you directly to the part of the book containing that reference
Many fulltext versions can be read entirely online, and many have a free ePub or PDF version for download
Students can submit a book review to the site (unfortunately each review lacks a permalink!)

Think of it like a constantly updated global newspaper, edited by algorithms instead of human editors

Click the gearwheel to access the News Search preferences
Use the sliders to assign the amount of news from each category you wish to see
Add or remove news sources you prefer to see in your news stream
Click "Settings" to manage the amount of blogs and press releases you want to see
Choose from Modern, Headline, Compact or Classic views of the news page

Click the blue "See Realtime Coverage" button to see the latest news on a story as it happens.
Use the Advanced Search to be more specific about search terms and date ranges, etc
When searching on a specific term, use the Search Tools button to limit date ranges, etc
"Date" means the date a story was added to Google News
Google News Search is restricted to the last 30 days. Beyond that, use the News Archive Google News Archive

Access the actual scans of newspapers (Primary material)
Browse through time, great for comparison studies
A great resource to learn about how language and culture changes over time
Frequently asked questions about the Google News Archive
Strangely, there is no obvious direct link to the News Archive from the main News Search page