Middle School References                       Return to Home

 

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Click on a subject for quick navigation to a link on this page.

 Reference

How to Write a Bibliography

Search the Web

Picture Images

Magazine Rack

Poetry

Geography & Maps

So Many Books,
So Little Time

Awesome Authors'
Official Websites

Current Events

 

 

 

 

References       

Virtual Reference Desk
Refdesk
is free and family friendly. The site is the single best source for facts on the Net; a one-stop site for all things Internet: news, weather, sports, reference, encyclopedia, facts on file, dictionaries and encyclopedias, tutorials, search engines, Windows Operating Systems Resources, free stuff, games and much more.
 

LoveToKnow Free Online Encyclopedia
This is a recreation of the 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, first published in 1911. Many consider this edition to be the finest example of an encyclopedia. Keep in mind that the information was written in 1911, and therefore, some information may be out-of-date.
 

Dictionaries/Acronym Finder

·         Biographical Dictionary
 

·         Cambridge International Dictionary
 

·         Merriam-Webster Dictionary
 

·         Encarta World English Dictionary
 

Acronyms/Thesaurus

Quotations

Social Studies

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How to Write a Bibliography

·        How to Cite Your Sources

·        More Help on Citations

·        Turnitin – How to avoid plagiarism.      

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Search the Web

Selected Search Engines and Indexes

Google.com

Search for news, topics, or images.

Yahoo.com

One of the best directories.

Hotbot

Provides full text of 110 web pages.  Capability to search in other languages.

All the Web

A fast web index for websites, audio, images, and news.

The Invisible Web

Search for information in databases that normally found by regular search engines.

KidsClick!

A web search tool for kids created by librarians.

Yahooligans

A kid-friendly subject directory.

Virtual Libraries
Awesome Teen Library
Internet Public Library

Tutorials and updated information about search engines
Search Engine Watch provides the latest information about search engines.

Web Site Evaluation Tools
Checklist for Evaluating Web Sites from the University of Southern Maine Library
Critical Evaluation of a Web Site: Middle School Level, by Kathy Schrock

Research Models and Standards

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Finding and Using Print Images

Try Print Resources First
After reviewing your classroom or media center print collection of reference sources and encyclopedias
, the next best place for picture images is an electronic encyclopedia.

Keyword Searching
To find an appropriate picture or photograph, conduct a search in the same manner you would for text information. Be specific. If you don't find what you need, try a more general term. For example, to find a picture of a Civil War battleground, type " Gettysburg " first. Next, try "Civil War." A special icon in front of the search term results will indicate that it is a picture.

Links to Online Pictures

Please check carefully for copyright rules.

Alta Vista's Image Search has a searchable picture database.

The Amazing Picture Machine was developed especially for use in schools by the North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium. Search by keyword or check out the original web resources of picture sites. Each site is "annotated" with a brief description of its contents, including whether it is in color or b/w.

Classroom Clipart is a collection of 13,700 educational pictures, photos, and historical images. These images can be used for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  

Discovery School's Clip Art Gallery is organized by topics. It includes a section of animation clips.

ditto.com is a search index that specializes in pictures. It is designed for all ages, therefore evaluate carefully. A preview "snapshot" picture is provided before you access each web site.

Google.com now contains a search function for photos, maps, and pictures. From the Google home page, click the Image tab. You will see a snapshot of the image. When you click the picture, the original web site will appear in the bottom half of the screen.

KidsClick! Worlds of Web Searching has a great list of web sites with picture collections.

Kids Domain Clip Art Index contains school and holiday-related clip art. If you use their clip art, please include a link back to this site.
Pics4Learning: Copyright-Friendly Images for Education has a keyword search feature as well as a categorized list of photos. Permission has already been granted for use of these images.

Teacher Files Educational Clip Art contains clip art and animated gifs for educational use.

Copyright Issues

Always give credit where credit is due. Cite your source according to this recommended Bibliography Format.

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Magazines, But Really “Ezines”!

Discover

National Geographic World

Sports Illustrated

ESPN the Magazine

National Wildlife

Time

Girl's Life

Snowboarder

U.S. News & World Report

National Geographic

Popular Science

Zillions for Kids

Merlyn's Pen

MidLink

New Moon

Smart Girl

Stone Soup

Teen Trek

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Poetry

Academy of American Poets: National Poetry Month Information
Favorite Poem Project: Americans Saying Poems They Love

On the Pulse of Morning: Poem by Maya Angelou, delivered January 19, 1993 at the Inauguration of President Clinton, hear the audio file (need Windows Media Player)

The RAVEN, an interactive study resource of Edgar Allen Poe's poem: developed by  TeachersFirst.

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Geography & Maps

American Memory Map Collections: 1544-1999 is sponsored by the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress. Search by keyword or subjects.

National Geographic Maps & Geography Section
Contains MapMachine game, and printer-friendly maps, 

Oddens' Bookmarks: Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping

Fundamentals of Physical Geography

Internet Geography
A comprehensive portal of websites for students and teachers in middle and high school.  Created by a high school geography teacher from England .  Includes a Top Ten Recommended list of geography sites.
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So Many Books, So Little Time

Fiction Lists for Grades 6-8

International Children's Digital Library Project  - Read 611 books online!

TeensPoint
Sponsored by the Central Rappahonnock  Regional Library, Fredericksburg , VA ,

Flamingnet.com
This is a book review site created by a 7th grader from Maryland . He is an advance book reviewer for Penguin Publishing Company.

Young Adult Choices   

Fiction for Grades 6 to 8

Books Made into Movies

Civil War Fiction for Teens

Popular Picks

Historical Fiction: The Old World

World of Reading:Where Kids and Books Come Together

Teens@amazon.com

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Awesome Authors

Meet an Author
Unless otherwise noted, these are the official web sites of your favorite authors. Most sites include a biography, summary of books published, works in progress, and other interesting facts. You might sample a chapter of a new book or see family photos of your favorite author.

               Author Index- Click on author buttons to quickly navigate through the list.

Authors A-E

Authors F-J

Authors K-P

Authors Q-Z

 

Learn More about Young Adult Authors

75 Authors/Illustrators Everyone Should Know: Older Readers

Ask an Author
Internet Public Library, University of Michigan

Author Studies Index
Germantown Academy, PA.

Bettendorf Public Library Teen Page: Author Connections contains author web sites and fan web sites.
      
Learning About the Author and Illustrator
Created by the School Library Program at Rutgers University , N.J. It contains a bibliography of author biographies and autobiographies.
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/AuthorSite/
         
Meet the Author/Illustrator (monthly feature)
Children's Book Council                                                                                                                              
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Current Events
Up-to-the-Minute News

Google News 
Search for up-to-the-minute news articles, and top stories from around the world newspapers. There are categories for Science and Technology , U.S. News,  World News, and Sports.

Yahoo Full Coverage News
Search for up-to-the-minute news under News Stories, News Photos, Audio-Video, and New York Times. Other categories include Business, Technology, Science, and Health, and Sports.

Alltheweb.com News
Search for up-to-the-minutes news articles.

AOL@SCHOOL Middle School: New and Current Events
Includes a daily news summary.

Political Cartoons

New York Times-Cartoons (Political)

Politicalcartoons.com (Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoons Index)
Daily updating of the political cartoons by all the top cartoonists worldwide. Indexed geographically.

National and International News

 

Newspapers-USA/Worldwide

 

 

Breaking News Directory

 

 

Opinion Pages

 

Network News Directory

 

CNN Student News

 

NY Times Learning

 

Time Magazine for Kids

 

U.S.A. Today

 

 

Kidsnewsroom.org

 

 

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