Reference and Search Sites
This list of websites has been created for use in one of our
local BISD technology workshops. The two hour workshop called “Research
Tools for Teachers and Students” will explore these sites so teachers can
identify quality web resources to use for research with students or for
their own educational research. This is a short list and only a starting
point for many wonderful teacher-friendly websites. This list may be updated
as we continue to improve this particular workshop.
Yahoo for Kids—formerly Yahooligans
http://kids.yahoo.com/
Reference area for kids within Yahoo
http://kids.yahoo.com/reference/index
• The American Heritage Dictionary of
the English Language - Fourth Edition. Dictionary is an alphabetical
list of words that tells you what each word means, how to say the word and
where the word comes from.
• Columbia University Press Encyclopedia is a collection of
articles about a lot of different topics.Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
contains almost 52000 entries with more than 84000 hypertext
cross-references.
• Ask Earl section that answers Reference Questions from kids.
Ask for Kids
http://www.askforkids.com/
Ask for Kids offers results from a database maintained by human editors. The
site links to puzzle games and kids' news sites. You can also find links to
a dictionary and thesaurus. Homework help sites are sorted by subject.
KidsClick!
http://www.kidsclick.org/
KidsClick! sites are chosen by librarians for kids in grades K-7. Children
can browse the collection. Controversial topics are allowed if sites are
educational and age-appropriate.
Ivy’s Search Engines for Kids
http://ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html
Here you will find search forms for the major Internet search engines for
kids.
Worldbook Encyclopedia Online
http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Home
Online encyclopedia and reference source. Also has link to kid-friendly
version of the encyclopedia
Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/
A self-proclaimed encyclopedia, dictionary, and almanac—suitable for
students; encourages proper citing of sources. When you search for a
subject, you get info from many sources that they give the citation for
including wikipedia. They screen the wikipedia entry for accuracy and school
appropriateness.
Teacher Toolkit from Answers.com
http://www.teachers.answers.com/
From lesson planning to student research, plagiarism issues to classroom
website features, you'll find various ways to make Answers.com a springboard
for further investigation of any topic being covered in your classroom.
Fact Monster
http://www.factmonster.com/
The site offers an online dictionary, encyclopedia and atlas. Another major
feature is the homework help section. Topics and tools are listed by
subject. Also included are biographies and important timelines.
Facts on File
http://www.fofweb.com/Subscription/Default-frameonline3.asp
The username and password for elementary is: esc4/lone for secondary
it is: esc4/star. These passwords change yearly. The elementary takes
you to only Facts of File Jr. The full version for secondary students has
many great databases that can be accessed for research. This service is
purchased by our district so all staff and students may utilize it. Some of
the available databases include: American History Online, American Women’s
History Online, African-American History Online, American Indian History
Online, Ancient and Medieval History Online, World Atlas, Science Online,
Health Reference Center, Curriculum Resource Center, Bloom’s Literacy
Reference Online, Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center, and Personal & Business
Forms.
Gale Data Bases
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/brazosportisd
This reference group is paid for by BISD and most of our campus library
websites provide links to it. Password is lonestar (if requested).
Some reference materials include: Custom Newspaers, Kids Info Bits, InfoTrac,
Literature Resource Center, and Texas Almanac
Wikipedia
At this point in time BISD blocks Wikipedia for the following reason:
Wikipedia is a user-composed, open-source
website. It is not an encyclopedia. It is full of errors,
misrepresentations, hateful entries, and all kinds of inappropriate
content. It is not sourced, and even when it appears to be, there is no
way to know if the content and the source are correct because there is no
editorial board to vouch for the accuracy of any of the entries. Many
entries violate copyright laws. Anyone, anywhere can change the content on
any article, regardless of their understanding, bias, or authority.
