Librarians of the Lexington Public Schools, Lexington, MA
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Lexington Elementary School Libraries
- 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.
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- 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
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- 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.
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- 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.
Groundhog Day History Do you know that Punxsutawney is an Indian word?
- 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.
- 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.
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrate Hispanic history and learn about famous Latinos.
- OCTOBER
- 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.
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- 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.
Storyline Online See and hear picture books being read aloud by famous actors.
- 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.
- 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.
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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.
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- 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.
Monarch Magic Butterfly activities and nature discoveries
- 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!
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- Research
- Big 6.
- Do We Really Know Dewey?
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- 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.
Place the State How fast can you place the 50 states on the map?
- 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.
- 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.
Web Links &
Resources for Anti-Bias Education Includes
local organizations, articles and readings,library resources and Multicultural
Links.
This is Mega Mathematics Knot tying, games on graphs, coloring, and algorithms.
Worksheet Goodies Create your own worksheets and flashcards.
Mayflower History Information
about the ship, passengers and journey.
Patterns in Mathematics Explore logic, number and word patterns.
Understanding Primary Sources: Hammurabi's Code of Laws This lesson has students compare Hammurabi's Code with present day laws.
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- 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.
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- 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.
Scholastic News for Kids News, sports, games and movies
- 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.
Weekly Reader News for kids plus games, puzzles and quizzes.
- Time For Kids. Time Magazine for kids.
- The Washington Post.
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Please report suggestions, additions, and notice of obsolete links to the Library Media Center Staff. Date Last Modified:4/13/09.
Criteria: Sites on these pages have been reviewed by Lexington (MA) School Librarians using the following criteria.
