Lexington Elementary School Libraries

Reference Sites Almanac, Atlas, Dictionary Ask an Expert Authors, Illustrators, and Awards Biographies Holidays & Special Months  Library Catalogs Magazines, Newspapers & Current Events World Book Encyclopedia Sites for Students Arts Language Arts Math  Science Social Studies Sites for Teachers Anti-Racist Education General Grades K - 1 Grades 2 - 3 Grades 4 - 5 Search Tools

Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 How Do I Make a Bibliography?  How Do I Know If I've Found Good Information on the Web? How Do I Start My Research? Reading (Scott Foresman)       Bowman Library Bridge Library Estabrook Library Fiske Library Harrington Library Hastings Library

Almanac, Atlas, Dictionary

American Sign Language Browser. Click on a word to see its sign.

 

Dictionary of Spanish. Translate words from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish.

 

Illustrated Scientific Dictionaries. Many different dictionaries includine astronomy, botany and landforms.

 

Information Please: Kids' Almanac. Lots of facts about people, places, and more.

 

Know Play? Reference Lookup. Links to online dictionaries, thesauruses, rhyming dictionary, fact books, and encyclopedias.

 

Merriam-Webster Online-Dictionary-Thesaurus. Type in a word to get a definition or synonym. Uses the Franklin Speller.

 

National Geographic Maps. Search for places and print customized maps.

 

The Old Farmer's Almanac. Tide tables, sunrise tables, a farm, recipes , kitchen, and weather forecasts

Thesaurus. Click on the thesaurus or the dictionary.

 

The World Factbook 2008. Find information about the countries of the world.

 

Wordsmyth. An educational dictionary-thesaurus.

Arts

Artswire. Extensive links to museums, artists, clip art, and more.

 

Metropolitan Museum of Art. See 5,000 years of art.

 

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Discover some great works of art through an online museum tour.

 

Smithsonian American Art Museum. Visit this museum in Washington, D.C.

 

WebMuseum. Exhibitions of famous paintings, medieval art, Paul Cezanne, and much more.

 

Ask an Expert

Ask Dr. Math. E-mail a question or search other kids' questions and answers.

 

Ask Dr. Universe. Ask a researcher from Washington State University a question about anything.

 

Ask a Volcanologist. Three scientists will answer your questions. Read the 101 most frequently asked questions about volcanoes.

 

Sea World/Busch Gardens Animal Resources. Get fast facts on sea animals and habitats. Also includes "Ask Shamu," animal rescue and Birds of Prey.

Authors and Illustrators

 

Authors and Illustrators on the Web

For elementary students who want information about a particular author or illustrator, visit this helpful page. You'll find hyperlinks to web pages about writers and artists.

 

Bridge School Library Award Winners List

Find out about literary award-winning children's books here!

 

Coretta Scott King Awards

This web page lists the winners since the award was established in 1969 to the present. This award is presented annually to an African American author and an African American illustrator for an outstanding inspirational and educational contribution published during the previous year. The award was designed "to commemorate the life and work of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination in continuing to work for peace and world brotherhood." The Coretta Scott King Award books are chosen by the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association.

 

Making Multicultural Connections through Trade Books

Search by author, title, illustrator, cultural group, grade level, or subject to find a book about your own culture or another. This site also contains sample lesson plans that link to the curriculum, and is a product of the Montgomery County, Maryland, School District.

 

Vandergrift's Children's Literature Page

Provides insightful observations about children's literature as well as book lists by categories; includes a list of multicultural picture books.

 

Biographies

 

Benjamin Banneker Learn about this remarkable farmer and scientist.

Biographies of African Americans in History. Find out about famous African Americans from Louis Armstrong to Booker T. Washington.

 

Biography. Has 20,000 biographies past and present.

 

Nellie Bly Circled the Globe. Read about reporter Nellie Bly's trip around the world.

 

4000 Years of Women in Science. Search for information and photos of women scientists.

 

The National Women's Hall of Fame. Biographies and pictures of hundreds of famous women from this site in Seneca Falls, NY.

 

Notable Women Ancestors. Search for information about women from their descendants and relatives.

 

Rosa Parks. Learn about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

 

Wilbur and Orville Wright Story Sketch book about the lives of the first aviators.

 

Holidays and Special Months

 

JANUARY

Martin Luther King Jr. Information, quiz and activity.

 

Martin Luther King Jr. Find the text of the famous speech and a biography.

Martin Luther King Jr.  Find out about the holiday and the life of Martin Luther King.  Includes speeches and timeline.            

 

FEBRUARY

Biographies of African Americans in History. Find out about famous African Americans from Louis Armstrong to Booker T. Washington.

Chinese Calendar. Find out about Chinese New Year, the Chinese Zodiac and the animals.

Chinese New Year Learn about celebrating the 15 days of Chinese New Year.

Groundhog Day. Everything you ever wanted to know about Punxsutawney Phil.

          Groundhog Day History  Do you know that Punxsutawney is an Indian word?

Stamp on Black History  Click on the links to find out about famous Black Americans.  Be sure to take the Black History Tour.

 

 

MARCH

The National Women's Hall of Fame. Biographies and pictures of hundreds of famous women from this site in Seneca Falls, NY.

 

Notable Women of Early America. Find out about some notable early American women.

 

Women of the Century. Brief biographies of women and a time line through the decades.

 

APRIL

April Fool's Day  Learn about celebrating this day in other countries.

 

MAY

Memorial Day. Find out about the history and meaning behind the holiday from Time for Kids.

 

JUNE

Flag Day. Read a short history of Flag Day.

 

 

JULY

 

AUGUST

 

SEPTEMBER

The Constitution for Kids  Find out about the history of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

 

OCTOBER

    Hispanic Heritage Month  Celebrate Hispanic history and learn about famous Latinos.

NOVEMBER

History Channel Thanksgiving  Find out about the first Thanksgiving and Mayflower Myths.  Listen to Pilgrim interviews and watch a video about the history of Thanksgiving.

You are the Historian What happened during the harvest celebration of 1621? How do I celebrate Thanksgiving in a respectful way? Discover what might really have happened during the fall of 1621 in this Plimoth Plantation site.

 

 

DECEMBER

 Everything About Kwanzaa  Learn about this African-American holiday.

Holidays from around the World  Find out about celebrations from Australia to Scotland.

 

SITES FOR ALL HOLIDAYS

Countries of the World. Click on a country to see the flag and read facts about the geography and government.

 

Diversity Calendar. Click to find information about national, religious, ethnic, and other holidays.

 

Holidays on the Net. Information about the various holidays.

Language Arts

Between the Lions. Visit this PBS site from the popular show to read a new story each week, followed by games that focus on reading, writing, listening and speaking. Many lists of recommended books and literacy tips are included

Five Finger Test. Try this easy way to find out if a book is too hard for you.

 

The Bookhive. Find a great story to read, create your own booklist, take a Harry Potter quiz, or listen to a story at this award-winning site.

 

How to Write a Story. Learn about the parts of a good story: story structure, main character, setting, the problem, and resolution.

Kids' Mysteries  Mysteries to solve, scary stories, and magic tricks.

Kidsread.com. Check out favorite books, series and authors. Find reviews of new titles, interviews with authors and special features on great books to read.

 

Kristine O'Connell George's Tips for Young Poets. Explore a few tips on writing poems, stories and reports!

 

Merriam-Webster Online-Dictionary-Thesaurus. Type in a word to get a definition or synonym. Uses the Franklin Speller.

 

Poetry Writing. Participate in writing workshops with famous poets such as Jack Prelutsky, Karla Kuskin and Jean Marzollo.

 

Poetry Writing with Karla Kuskin. Brainstorm and write a poem following Karla Kuskin's advice.

 

Reading Rainbow. Enjoy books, games and activities from this award-winning show.

          Storyline Online  See and hear picture books being read aloud by famous actors.

Write me a story Write a story using a different character, prop and place each week.

 

Math

A+ Math Play exciting games like "Hidden Picture" and "Matho". Test your math skills with flashcards or try the math word find puzzle. You can also create and print your own set of flashcards online.

 

Ask Dr. Math. Find out about word problems, square roots, place value and much more at this wonderful math site.

 

Brain Teasers. Try to solve a new question every week. Focuses on problem-solving skills for grades 3 and up.

Change Maker Play a game to practice making change. Choose different levels and currencies.

Cool Math for Kids An "amusement park of math and more".

Currency Converter. Type the number of currency units you want to convert and select the desired currencies to convert them.

Figure This! Math Challenges for Families. Variety of math problems at different levels.

 

Flashcards for Kids! Create your own online flashcards for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. You can select different levels of difficulty.

 

Math Baseball. Play math baseball using addition, subtraction, multiplication and/or division. If your answer is correct, you will get a hit!

 

The Math Forum. Sponsored by Swarthmore College, this site provides links to many excellent math sites for K-6 education. The section on Math Resources by Subject is a good place to start. To find age-appropriate materials quickly, click on "Search" on the bottom menu bar, and type "K-6" or "elementary" in the Search Box. Students in grades 3-6 may want to go to the Math Forum Elementary Problem of the Week. Weekly problems for students in grades 3-6 use a variety of problem-solving techniques, including: guess and check, make a list , draw a picture, make a table, act it out . Answers accepted from individuals, small groups, or classes.

Plane Math You are the captain of a 747 airplane and you must fly 25 buffalo
back to the prairies . Can you do it?

Power Football. Answer the problem and get a goal.

Quia Hundreds of concentration or matching games games to practice
computation and estimation, to make change, to review place value and
number patterns.

 

 Science

Air Travelers. Introduces basic principles of buoyancy, properties of gases, temperature, and the technology involved in hot air ballooning. This resource is primarily for teachers in the upper elementary grades.

 

Astronomy for Kids. Facts about the solar system, sun, meteorites, stars, galaxies, planets, moon, comets, asteroids, and astronauts.

 

Astronomy for Kids: Thinkquest. Click on links to phases of the moon, eclipses, constellations and lots more.

Matter Easy to understand explanation of the states of matter.

Earth Mysteries: Archaeoastronomyat Stonehenge. See photographs and diagrams to learn how Stonehenge was used as anastronomical calculator.

 

eNature. Search field guides for information on plants and animals.

 

Exploratorium. Visit the famous San Francisco science museum. Many interactive exhibits.

 

Fish FAQ. Many questions and answers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

 

4000 Years of Women in Science. Search for information and photos of women scientists.

 

The Franklin Institute of Science. An excellent site for a broad range of scientific topics; keyword searches are available in the "Units of Study" section.

 

The Field Museum. Visit Chicago's science museum and see the collection of art, archaeology, science and history.

 

Journey North. Participate in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. Click on Spring's Journey North to find information about animal and bird migrations as well as other signs of spring.

 

Katerpillars (and Mystery Bugs). Information and activities about bugs. Be sure to check out Bug Food.

Organism Menu  Photos and information for many local plants and animals.

 

Our Place in Space. How did the universe begin? Want to go one-on-one with the sun? Lots of great info on this site from the American Museum of Natural History.

 

Machines. See and learn about simple machines.

Make a Flake Cut a snowflake with the scissors and see what it would look like.

 

Museum of Science, Boston. Online exhibits of the Big Dig, Theater of Electricity, and Leonardo DaVinci.

 

NASA Kids. Visit this NASA site for space and beyond, rockets and airplanes, projects and games, pioneers and astronauts.

 

National Air and Space Museum. Take a virtual tour of the museum.

 

National Wildlife Federation's Kids' Page. Find out how the water cycle works . . . test your knowledge of wetlands . . . investigate endangered species and explore different types of public lands.

 

New England Aquarium.

 

The Official U.S. Time. Click on a time zone to get the official time.

 

Peterson Online Birds.

 

Schools Science Clips.  Click on an age to explore activities about many science subjects including rocks, electricity, magnets, and astronomy.  Great site from BBC for science review.

Seasons. Look at a diagram of the Earth's motion around the Sun and the tilt of its axis.

 

Spring Frogs Sing. Help survey the number of frogs and toads in Lexington.

 

Starchild: A Learning Center for Young. Click on Level1 (easier) or Level2 (harder) to find lots of space information from NASA.

 

Sunspots. Photographs and diagrams of sunspots.

 

Sunrise, Sunset, Moonrise, Moonset, and Twilight. Find exact times for rising and setting anywhere in the world. View phase of the moon for any date and time.

 

Thinking Fountain. Looking for experiments, information or activities? Click the A-Z alphabet for hundreds of links.

 

Tree Finder. Identify trees in the eastern U.S. by this key to their leaves.

 

Weird Frog Facts. Learn strange but true facts about frogs and toads.

 

Wendell's Yucky Bug World. Everything you ever wanted to know about roaches.

 

The Why Files. In-depth information and explanations of current events in science.

 

World Wildlife Fund. Learn about endangered species, other wildlife and wild places, as well a issues that threaten the web of life. Includes photos, video, sound bites and links to other wildlife sites.

 

Zoom Astronomy. Lots of information about the sun, the moon, the planets, asteroids, comets and stars. Calculate your age and weight on other planets!

 

 Research

Big 6.

 

Do We Really Know Dewey?

 

 Social Studies

The American Experience. Follow the Technology Timeline: 1752-1990.

 

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage. Click links to history, interviews, and heritage.

 

Compass Rose. Print out a compass rose.

 

Flags of the World Find flags from every country.

Geography Enchanted Learning site for outline maps, crafts and flags.

History for Kids. Historical information about Ancient Egypt, West Asia, Germany, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Islam and the Middle Ages.

 

History of Eating Utensils. Photographs and information on eating utensils. Check here for information about the middle ages and roman times.

 

Millenium: A Perspective Series. Click on a century to find out about events and people. Have dinner with a famous person from that century!

 

Museum of Our National Heritage. Learn about the exhibitions at this museum of American history and culture in Lexington, Massachusetts.

          Place the State  How fast can you place the 50 states on the map?

Ron Wise's World Paper Money Homepage. See actual pictures of currency from around the world.

 

Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Check out "Not just for kids."

 

U.S. States. Facts, maps and state symbols.

 

The Wright Brothers. Visit this Smithsonian site to find out all about the Wright Brothers and to see photos and artifacts.

 

Sites For Teachers

How do you like this page? Click here to let us know!

 

Anti-Racist Education

Empowering Multicultural Initiatives Describes EMI and provides many online resources for teachers, including readings, links and lesson plans.

Web Links & Resources for Anti-Bias Education Includes local organizations, articles and readings,library resources and Multicultural Links.

 

General

The American Heritage Book of English Usage Check here for English grammar usage.

Association for Library Service to Children Awards and Notable Books Look here for the latest award-winning books and notable booklists.

Astronomy/Earth Sciences Label Me! Click on for elementary-level printouts of the solar system, moon phases, earth and volcano. Print-outs include definitions and the diagrams to label.

Bartleby Search major reference books for quotations, verse, fiction and non-fiction.

The Big Back Yard Program Information and links related to all the 5 elementary schools participating in the program with an emphasis on Estabrook School's Big Back Yard.

Biology Label Me! Click on for elementary-level printouts of the caterpillars and butterflies, flowers, and skeleton. Print-outs include definitions and the diagrams to label.

Black History Calendar Print out monthly calendars.

Blue Web'n Learning Sites Library A searchable database of about 1000 outstanding Internet learning sites. Created by Pacific Bell.

Calendar Printouts Print out monthly calendars about butterflies, weather, farm, solar system and more.

Children's Literature Web Guide Internet resources related to books for children and young adults.

China Teacher lesson plans for Ancient China and links to other sites.

Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet and the World Wide We All the rules you'll ever need to know!

CyberGuides Make literature come alive with CyberGuides from California.

Earth and Moon Viewer View either a map of the Earth showing the day and night regions at this moment, or view the Earth from the Sun, the Moon, the night side of the Earth, above any location on the planet specified by latitude, longitude and altitude.

Educator’s Reference Desk Search the ERIC Database, with over one million bibliographic records on educational research, theory, and practice.

Everyday Math Resources  Activities and games correlated with Everyday Math.

The Gateway to Educational Materials Search for lesson plans, curriculum units and other education resources on the U.S. Department of Education site.

 

Geography Label Me! Click on for elementary-level printouts of the continents, states and compass rose. Print-outs include maps to label.

  

Historical Treasure Chests: A Social Studies and Language Arts Activity Provides a model for students to use primary sources such as letters, diaries, photographs, maps and artifacts.

 

The Icing on the Cake Look inside Kathy Schrock's toolbox for teachers for rubric builders, blank maps, certificate templates, worksheet generators and lots more!

  

Internet Safety  A Parents' Guide to Internet Safety, from the U.S. Department of Justice.

 

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators A categorized list of sites on the Internet useful for enhancing curriculum and teacher professional growth. It is updated daily.

 

Kids Domain Holidays Lots of links to holiday sites.

 

Kristine O'Connell George's Poetry Corner Many great ideas for teaching poetry from a poet.

MassCUE The official home page of the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators.

 

Massachusetts Department of Education Searchable site with links to professional information, department news, MCAS info, technology and resources.

Math Fact Cafe  Create your own flashcards and worksheets or use theirs.

 

Math Flashcards Create electronic flashcards for kids.

 

Math Manipulatives: National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

Netsmartz  Activities and information about Internet Safety from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Puzzlemaker Create word searchs, crosswords, mazes and math puzzles.

Read Write Think  Hundreds of lessons and resources in reading and language arts. Sponsored by the International Reading Association (IRA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the MarcoPolo Education Foundation. Don't miss this incredible site!

SCORE Schools of California On-line Resources for Education site with links to math, science, social studies and language arts lesson plans and resources.

Smithsonian Learning and Resources Page Search for science, social studies and language arts lesson plans and resources.

Space Science News Up-to-the-minute news and research from NASA. Click Thursday's Classroom for lesson plans and activities.

Teaching with Historic Places Lessons Ready lesson plans from the National Park Service.

 

TEAMS Distance Learning Search this site from Los Angeles County for curriculum links and electronic classroom ideas and activities.

This is Mega Mathematics Knot tying, games on graphs, coloring, and algorithms.

WebQuest Home Page The home page site for WebQuests, inquiry-oriented activities in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet.

Words Their Way  Use the pull-down menu to find activities organized by developmental spelling stage.  Also includes resources to supplement teaching with each stage.

Worksheet Goodies Create your own worksheets and flashcards.

 

Teacher Resources: Kindergarten - Grade 1

 

 

Apples and More Facts and activities on apples. 

 

Fascinating Egg Facts Egg trivia.

 

Joan Holub's 100th Day of School Website Find 300 ideas for celebrating the 100th Day!

 

Teacher Resources: Grade 2 - 3

 

Drinking Water for Kids Find classroom activities and experiments at this EPA site,

Mayflower History Information about the ship, passengers and journey. 

Snowflake Bentley A collection of twelve of Wilson A. Bentley's snow crystal photographs.

Water Science for Schools Answer challenge questions, give opinions, and participate in questionnaires concerning water issues.

 

Teacher Resources: Grade 4 -5

 

America Will Be Browse through resources that support and extend Houghton Mifflin Social Studies.

 

Ancient Egypt Study pyramids and mummies with across-the-curriculum mini-lessons.

 

Grade 5 Colonial Webquests:

Children in Colonial America Compare life in colonial times.

 

Life on Plymouth Plantation Assume character of child who travelled on the Mayflower.

 

The Pilgrim Life Adventure Learn about Pilgrims and why they travelled to America.

Your Place in The Thirteen Colonies Create Hyperstudio project about journey to east coast of North America in 1700s.

 

Grade 5 Social Studies Titles

 

Grade 5 Social Studies Resources

 How Big Is The Solar System? Try this outdoor activity to visualize the scale of our Solar System using a peppercorn to represent the Earth.

  

Life Has a History An introduction to the history of life and today's biodiversity. See the Teacher's guide for a lesson plan and use level 1 for a full classroom presentation for science units in "Animal Behavior" and "Rocks and Minerals." 

 

Mr. Donn's Pages Huge site with many links and classroom lesson and activities. Has won numerous awards. A must-see site for social studies!

 

Mr. Pitonyak's Pyramid Puzzle Have your students figure out what would an Egyptian pyramid cost to build today?

Patterns in Mathematics Explore logic, number and word patterns.

Three Branches of Government  An interactive teaching unit from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. 

Understanding Congruence, Similarity, and Symmetry  Activities to help students to deepen their understanding of
congruence, similarity, and reflection.

Understanding Primary Sources: Hammurabi's Code of Laws This lesson has students compare Hammurabi's Code with present day laws.

 

Search Tools

All the Web, All the Time

 

Google

 

HotBot

 

Kids' Search Tools

KidsClick! 

Lycos

 

WebCrawler

 

Yahoo

 

World Book Encyclopedia

World Book From School. Available only on school computers.

 

World Book From Home. You will need your PUBLIC library card number. This is a service of Metrowest Massachusetts Library System and the Minuteman Library Network.

 

Library Catalogs

Cary Memorial Library, via Minuteman Library Network (MLN) Web Page Cary Memorial Library, Lexington.

 

Lexington Public Schools Library Catalogs. Search any school library by choosing it in the Preferences menu.

 

MetroBoston Library Network

Magazines, Newspapers & Current Events

SIRS Discoverer. Social issues articles in newspapers and magazines arranged by category; includes biographies, World Almanac for Kids, and an encyclopedia.

 

SIRS Discoverer from Home. Be sure to get the customer number and password from your librarian before using SIRS Discoverer from home.

 

ABC News. Up-to-the minute news, weather, sports, and more.

 

The Boston Globe.

 

CNN Online. The Cable News Network news site.

Kids Infobits Find magazine, newspaper and reference information on current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history and sports. 

Kids Infobits from Home  Find magazine, newspaper and reference information on current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history and sports. Type in your PUBLIC library card number, then click Magazines for K-12 students, then click Kids Infobits.

Lexington Minuteman. Our town's weekly newspaper.

 

MSNBC.

        National Geographic Explorer  Read articles, play games and enter contests.    

        National Geographic Kids   Read stories and play games.

The New York Times.

          Scholastic News for Kids News, sports, games and movies

Time For Kids. Time Magazine for kids.

 

The Washington Post.

          Weekly Reader News for kids plus games, puzzles and quizzes.

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Please report suggestions, additions, and notice of obsolete links to the Library Media Center Staff. Date Last Modified:3/14/08.

Criteria: Sites on these pages have been reviewed by Lexington (MA) School Librarians using the following criteria.

• grade level appropriateness
• curriculum enhancement
• accuracy/authenticity
• readability
• ease of student use