Ready Reference

Scroll down the complete page to find all the resources.

Almanacs

• Festivals.com Festivals around the world. Has keyword searching
• Information Please Almanac
• Multicultural Holidays Organized by month, country, holiday.
• States and Capitals (50states.com)
• Netstate An incredible site. Includes introduction, symbols, almanac, geography, and people. A click will bring up a photo or drawing. The people section is very limited.

Author Sites

• Matthew Gollub Childrens author. Story Art. Tales in English and Spanish. An author, speaker, and musician.
• Caryn Huberman Yacowitz Children's author. Author of The Jade Stone and Pumpkin Fiesta.
• Dr. Seuss Seussville, games, biography
• Dave Pilkey Captain Underpants creator. Easy games for young children, concentration etc, Dave's Autobiography in comic book form
• Beatrix Potter, the World of Peter Rabbit Includes information about the author, fun activities, and actual read alouds with audio of five stories.
• Peter Rabbit Online Puzzle Starts with 6 simple pieces but the difficulty level can be changed by selecting the number of pieces and the shape of the pieces. There are hundreds of other puzzles also on this site. Limit students in their choice of number of pieces depending on their age level. Loading more than 50 pieces is not practical and may freeze your computer.

Biographies

• African American Biographies Limited information but in one site. Enchanted Learning.
• Biddy Mason A freed slave who worked as a nurse and became a successful California African American businesswoman. Reading level grade 4+
• Current Black Leaders Politics, sports, writing, civil rights around the world. Not a full biography. Has many link to words. Reading level grade 4+
• Biographies. (Homework Center) Many sites.
• Buffalo Bill A legend of the wild west. A short biography from PBS. Reading level grade 4+

Dictionaries and Thesauruses

• Answers.com Online dictionary
• Basic dictionary of American Sign Language Alphabet and Numbers.
• Cambridge Dictionaries Not browseable. Five different ones including an idiom dictionary.
• Connected Thesauruses Shows the relationships between words. Fun to play with.
• The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Hypertext version) Extensive cross referencing
• The Greatest Films Academy Award history and Film history by decade
• The Name Game Find the meaning of your name. Look in many languages. Includes a search engine. Also has mythology names.
• The Non Verbal Dictionary Browseable. Gestures, body language cues
• Picture Dictionary Little Explorers
• Roget's II, Thesaurus Searchable version
• Rhymezone Rhymes, synonyms, definitions
• Student Dictionary Merriam-Webster. Not browseable, but does give a choice of possible words for students to see in case the word is spelled incorrectly. Also has hypertext links within the dictiorary page.
• Websters Dictionary Excellent source. You must be able to spell the word however because it is not browseable. Good hypertext links. Includes thesaurus.

Disaster Resources

• Teachers First A variety of websites for adults. Some from the National Association of School Psychologists. Also, a site that shows how to look for symptons of stress in children.
• Tolerance Site By UNESCO. Includes ideas for International Tolerance Day, Nov 16th.
• Managing Anxiety Sources from the US. government on help children handle crises

Encyclopedias

• Britannica Free Version. Not browsable but good search and excellent choice of links for subjects
• Encyclopedia Easy to use. Includes a dictionary, Thesaurus, and Almanac link.

ESL English as a Second Language

• Elementary Web Sites for English language learners
• Little Explorers English to Spanish activities. Includes dictionary. Enchanted Learning.
• English Activities for ESL students Easy to hard activites, such as crosswords and word scrambles for students learning English
• Leveled Stories. Three levels of stories. Level one is very simple. Level three has versions of favorite fairy tales, such as Three Billy Goats, and Three Little Pigs. All have complete audio and great graphics. A few of the words in the audio may not be totally clear. The stories are also printable.
• Stories with audio sentences and words. Simple non-fiction and fiction, Greek myths, Chinese fables, and simple folk tales

Glossaries

• Abbreviations and Acronyms of the the US Goverment What do they stand for, such as ARPA and a corresponding link to agency
• Acronym Search The ultimate search for info on acronym meaning, such as CIA.
• Sports Glossary Search for terms in soccer, ice hockey, football, and basketball. Browseable and alphabetical

Government and Historical Information

• African American Odyssey Exhibit Sections of orginal documents with explaination from the Library of Congress. Nine sections including Abolution, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Civil Rights. Reading level 6+
• American Girls Learn about the life of 8 young girls in America's past. Some sites have games. For example, Addy tries to escape slavery.
• Ben's guide to American government for kids Learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. Click on the kite at the top to get the correct grade level. Good diagrams and printouts. Glossary for older students.
• Black History Timeline Time for Kids online magazine. Informative timeline going to 2006.
• Black Music History A very complete beginning site for information on the development of America's black music. Well organized. Includes samples of music (need Real Player to play).
• California Gold Country Information about the gold rush along highway 49
• Congress United States A Congressman's web site. Includes the School Rock Song of How a Bill is Made. Music only works in Internet Explorer. Includes a game site with simple quizes on the US constitution, California, and Civics. Has some good links to sites.
• Gold Fever California Gold Rush from the Oakland Museum. Includes photos of gold nuggets and artifacts of the era.
• Colonial Williamsburg Site includes information on daily life in Williamsburg, events regarding the Revolutionary War, and possible for fee electronic field trips
• Harriet Tubman Timeline Made by 2nd graders. Full color. Lots of details in the drawings and writing. Great fun! Perfect for young children.
• Money in America History of money in the United States. Exhibit includes actual currency used by the Continental Congress, the original 13 colonies, through the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution. Includes the artistry, seals, mottos, and emblems that go on American money. Reading level grade 3+
• Money Making. Cartoon style by the US. Mint shows how money is made in America. Go to Games, Making Change, to build a print out of your own coin. Reading level Grade 3 +
• Money Throughout the World Fascinating examples of interesting paper money all over the world. The examples can be enlarged to show detail. Does not include the United States. Good links to other currency websites. Reading level grade 3 +
• Rock Art a comparison of rock art of the Native Americans to the rock art of the Australian Aboriginal people
• Underground Railroad National Geographic site. Decide to be a runaway slave or not. Has an informative pull down menu also.

Handbooks and Guides

• American and English Poetry 1250 - 1920 5 different collections of poetry 1) Oxford Book of English Verse, 2) Yale Book of American Verse 3) Modern British Poetry, Modern American poetry 4) Metaphysical Lyrics and Poetry of the 17th C 5) The Golden Treasury. The collection may be searched by keyword or browsed via: Indexes to Poems. Chronological, or Author, Title, or First Lines
• Awardweb: Collection of Literary Award Information. Emphasis on Science Fiction but great links to a variety of award lists.
• Childrens Literature Web Guide Highly regarded resource for links related to books for children and young adults. Links to hundreds of author web sites and literary awards. Readers Theater script links.
• CIA World Fact Book Huge variety of information about every country in the world. Includes maps. Very current information.
• Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Prepared by the CIA.
• Cliche' Finder Over 3300 well worn phrases.
• How Stuff Works Explains how a wide variety of things work but not everything.
• World Flag Database Beautiful detailed flags. Includes, formal name, population, area, capital, language, religion, and currency.

Library, Reading, and Research Related Sites

• Alameda County Library Web Page Site has a kids place and homework help for students.
• American Library Association
• Bibliographic format grade 4+ Easy format for kids, books including multiple authors, Encyclopedia articles, newspapers and magazines.
• Big 6 For Teachers. Information skills, Eisenberg and Berkowitz
• Big 6 for Students Excellent how-to site for elementary students learning the research process. Access to all the steps on one page. Cannot use the sources without a password except for the Kentuckiana Digital library which basically has Kentucky information. Kentucky Virtual Library.
• Big Six Play the movie by Jade and Lillian 4th grade. Comic Life.
• Big Six Play the Movie by Patricia and Hannah 4th grade. Comic Life.
• Comic Life Big 6 task definition
• Copyright Intellectual Property site for students. Includes a quiz which gives the correct response and some explanation when the student hits submit. Includes the yearbook video in which students want to try to use material and an explanation of what they have to do to enable them to use the material. From the Copyright Society of the USA.
• Dewey Browse Websites classified by using the Dewey Decimal system.
• Dewey Challenge A game used to assess student knowledge of the Dewey Decimal system. A certificate can be printed when the students successfully meets the challenges.
• Digital Librarian Librarians web site. Amazing. Updated regularly.
• Emoticonstructor. Students can choose a word and make an appropriate emoticon. A NASA Space Place site.
• Information Literacy Pretest to gather information on student knowledge of libraries
• Internet Public Library for kids
• Dewey Decimal Classification A multimedia tour. Even has an online test.
• "Do We" Really Know Dewey A site design by 5th grade students to teach about the Dewey Decimal System.
• Cybernetiquette for Kids. Disney site in UK. Actually the original Disney site which is much better than the new one. Three Little Pigs and the Wolf. For 3rd grade and down.
• Kid Cybersafety: Cyberbully quiz for students.
• Kids Rules for Safety Online Eight practical rules with an online quiz.
• NetSmartz. Internet Safety. Who's your friend on the Internet. Games. For younger students.
• Letter Writing an online site to teach the parts of a letter. Students can generate a letter using this format. A Readwritethink Site.
• NoodleBib. A free online bibliographic site for grades 1-5. Students type in ID and a password. A form is filled out and a correct citation is made.
• Research Building Blocks Fact Fragment Frenzy excellent student and teacher site for finding facts in what you read. A Readwritethink Site. Grades 2-4
• Research Building Blocks. Hints about Print. How to choose a non fiction book for a research project.
• Tumblebooks Children's E Books read aloud from the New York Public Library.
• Union City Library

Maps, Geography, and Multicultural

• National Atlas of the United States Comprehensive view of information provided by the federal government.
• Map of the Free States & Slave States before the civil war. 1846 to 1861. Annenberg Media learner
• How Far Is It? Finds the longitude and latitude of two places and then calculates the difference between them.
• Tangrams Cyberchase Good for young ones. Students can rotate through the examples and its next to the building site. However, the examples do not clearly show the lines. A PBS site.
• Tangrams Build an animal online. Includes samples.
• United States Drag and drop the state in the right place

Music

• African American Music Timeline From PBS for Kids. Includes some fun activities such as choosing instruments for a band.
• African American Music Origins Includes the journey from Africa. Has examples of music and a limited definition of the genre. Also includes some fun activites such as secret code and writing a blues song. Gullah music web site. Reading level grade4+
• African American Spiritual and Gospel Music No actual music, but good definition of both types. Reading level 5+
• Christmas Karaoke. Words and music on the same page. Fifty songs. Fun graphics with most songs.
• Christmas Heavenly Music. About 50 songs karaoke style. A click on the bells will take you to both the lyrics and the midi or music files. Songs without bells just have the music no words. Includes the midi for Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
• Christmas Music. Lots of songs karaoke style in alphabetical order. Intro song is Carol of the Bells. On the Mac click on netscape version for the songs to play. It automatically loads the music but it takes a few minutes.
• Christmas Music. Lyrics and midi files. Click on the music note to play. Good Variety but lyrics and music are separate. Cannot see the lyrics while the music plays.
• Holiday Music From the NIEH. Includes lyrics and music. It is not linked to the main music website below. To find excellent music holiday links follow the arrows.
• Sea Shanties A very complete site with lyrics and midi files. Includes links to Songs of the Sea and tales of sailors.
• Sing-Along Songs, Midis, and Lyrics National Institute of Environmental Health lists categories by Children's, Patriotic, Movies. See Holiday music above for Christmas songs. Songs are also listed alphabetically by title.

Newspapers and Magazines

• Time for Kids A Time Magazine for kids. Lots of photos. Reading level 4+
• New York Times Learning Network An in depth newspaper for students. Click on the headlines to get the stories. Includes ideas for activites for teachers. Reading level 4+
• Scholastic News Current events online
• Sports Illustrated for Kids At Alvarado Elementary the game and chat room features are unavailable.

Quotations

• Famous Quotations Browsing can be by subject or author

Science

• Animal Bytes Information about many animals
• Artic Animals A student created site with games, information, and a quiz about Artic animals
• Biomes Deserts, Rainforest, Tundra, Artic, Coral Reefs, etc. enchanted learning
• Cells Alive Science & Tech Web award. Animal and plant cells, cell of the day, cell cams, cell gallery.
• Chem4kids Gives characteristics of metals and gases. Can go to more chemisty topics for information on matter to atoms to compounds
• Chem Science Fun Lists 24 common elements with a name and very brief description of what it does or how it is used. Also shows a chemical clock. The clock shows the symbols according to atomic number for example Hydrogen is 1 o'clock, Oxygen is 8 o'clock.
• Chemical Symbols Drag and Drop. Simple Elements.
• ChemTopics Periodic Table Can pick a whole family by clicking on the number. Scrollable links with photographs. Includes many links to other Periodic table.
• Chemical Periodic Table Game Fun Brain Proton Don.Two levels for identifying symbols and place on the table. Includes a tutorial.
• Chemical Periodic Table Drag and Drop Game. Uses only the 1st 18 elements.
• Chemical Periodic Table Jigsaw Puzzle. Takes a while to put it together. There is no exciting finish at the end, but its fun to try it once.
• Chemistry of Fireworks Fun Tells who created the first fireworks, at the bottom of the page has a chart showing the chemical compounds and the formula for creating specific colors
• Compound Library Enter the substance, such as eggshells. Tells you the scientific name and the chemical formula
• Cyber-ific School Kids Periodic Table Put the mouse on the symbol. The name comes up with the uses of the element
• Children's Butterfly Site Includes life cycle diagrams & coloring pages and many links to more sites about butterflies.
• Cool Chemical Periodic Table Shows all the elements in a colorful table. Includes bar legend showing the meaning of each color. Names the discoverer of the periodic table.
• Comic Book Table of Periodic Elements Fun site with comic and real information about the Periodic Tables.
• David's Whizzy Periodic Table Fascinating table although does not contain all the elements. Click on the nucleus view and you and see the protons and neutrons. Click on the shell view to see the electrons whizzing around. Also includes a chart for counting the electrons. Takes a few seconds to load, but well worth the wait.
• Fireworks Shells Nova. Identify different fireworks shapes. Quicktime movies. Takes a while to get them to fully load
• Physical Properties of Metals And Non Metals Periodic Table Very simple. Very clear.
• Precious Metals Periodic Table Shows location of Eight precious metals on the table. Takes about 10 seconds to load.
• Digital Dragonfly Museum Photos, Information, Links to other sites.
• Dragonflies, A Beginners Guide Much information in a small space. Grade 9+ reading level. Good diagrams for elementary students. No photos.
• Frogs Fun frog trivia. Not much real science.
• Human Heart Map Shows how blood travels through the heart. A PBS Nova site.
• Body Quest. Limited graphics but good for grade 4+. A ThinkQuest site.
• Body for kids Articles on parts of the body. A lot of reading, but the student can switch from English to Spanish. Also includes a game site on health called the Game Closet.
• Inventors and Inventions Has categories such as African American and Women Inventors. Sometimes incudes a photo or drawing of the inventor. Enchanted Learning. Has links to more information. Reading level 4+
• Nature Animals, wildflowers, trees. National Wildlife Federation. Well organized with it's own search engine. Includes photographs with a short description. Includes habitat and range plus warnings if the animal is dangerous to handle. Reading level 4+
• Journey North An online participatory site with information on migration. You must register but it is free. You can buy manuels to go with the site. Includes Monarch migration and encourages butterfly gardens. An Annenberg Project.
• Kids Corner Rainforest Action Network Good information about the rainforest and the balance of nature. Some sections include a glossary. Reading level grade 4+
• Morse Code This site has an applet that will turn whatever a student writes into Morse code. Also has the Morse Code alphabet. Be sure to scroll down to find the applet. Does not work on the Sun computers.
• Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center An adult site with information such as how to build a bird house, what do catipillars eat, and butterflies of North America, etc. Go to the site map and browse to find information. A teacher resource.
• Sharks Great research shark site for grades 3-5. Excellent resources, quizes, and activities.
• Space Place Lots of fun science experiments for children to do
• StarChild A learning center for young astronauts. Has level 1 and 2. Includes a glossary and great links to other solar system sites. Level 1 will read the information word for word. Level 1 reading level is 3+. Level 2 reading level is 4+
• Technology Student CTAP testing
• Visual Elements Periodic Table A fascinating periodic table site from the chemical society. org. With Flash you can see some cool stuff.
• Virtual Science Human body. Bones, Heart, Brain, Digestive System, Respiratory system. Nutritution included. Very interactive. 3rd and 4th grade and a couple of second grade. Reading level 3+
• Virtual Science 2. Matter, Energy, and the Water Cycle. Interactive. Many virtual experiments.
• Virtual Science 3. Electricity, Forces Friction & Motion, Magnetism. Many virtual experiments.
• Virtual Science 4. Simple Machines and Space.
• Wolftracker An amazing site about the wolves of Yellowstone Park. Students can study the history of each wolf pack and analyze a database of information on the packs. Reading level grade 6+.

General Reference & Collections of Information Resources

• Find Articles Free database of magazine and news articles.
• Reference Bartleby High quality reference books.
• Totally Trivia Search Engine Exactly what it sayes.