Lexington
Public Schools Elementary School Libraries
Please note: Sites marked with an * require an adult reading level.
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- Math
- Fraction Bars Interactive Games Choose from 8 different interactive games that use fraction bars to help visualize equivalent relationships, balance equations, work with fractions on a number line and more.
- Fraction Shapes Identify geometric shapes and answer questions about their relationships.
Powers of Ten Move through space from the Milky Way to a tree in earth using the power of ten.
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- Science: Animal Adaptations
Lesson 3 Crayfish habitat
- Nature North: Northern Crayfish
- Blue Crayfish: Crayfish environments
- Crayfish World: Crayfish Predators
Lesson 4 Crayfish Structure
- BioKIDS: Crustaceans
- Crayfish Photos
- Crayfish World Picture Index
- Crayfish Respiration
- Big Crayfish
- Crayfish Review Look at the close up top (dorsal) and bottom (ventral) views of the male and female crayfish.
Lesson 4 Crayfish Species - Native Crayfish (crayfish that are naturally found in MA)
- Spinycheek Crayfish
- BioKIDS: Northern Clearwater Crayfish
Lesson 4 Crayfish Species - Alien Crayfish (not found naturally in MA -- see if you can find out how they got here.
- Appalachian Brook Crayfish
- Varieties of Crayfish in Missouri Look for the information on the Northern Crayfish.
- USGS "Alien" Species Map Scroll down to find Rusty Crayfish, Northern Crayfish (virilis) and White River Crayfish (acutis).
- Rusty Crayfish Scroll down to Rusty Crayfish. Tells why Rusty Crayfish are a problem.
- Problems Rusty Crayfish
Lesson 9 Biodiversity
- Life Has a History: Adaptations of Living Things Introduction to the history of life and how it results in the biodiversity of today. Learn about geologic time, fossils, variation, natural selection, and extinction. Three levels.
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- Science: General Astronomy
- Astronomy: Our Place in Space Explore Mars, the Sun, and other parts of the galaxy in this tour of Space.
- NASA Brain Bites Watch videos with answers to questions such as How do you go to the bathroom in space? What time is it in space?
- Choose a question, then click Broadband under the Quicktime format and turn up your sound. You can enlarge the picture by dragging the corner.
SpacePlace (NASA) Fun projects; Space calendar to print.
- NASA Kids A wealth of information about astronomy.
- StarChild: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers Explore the universe at this NASA site.
- Windows to the Universe Site with lots of information about the solar system, space missions, and weather in space. Ask a scientist a question or make a map of the sky. Choose beginner, intermediate or advanced.
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- Science: Astronomy Assessment
- Astronomy Design Challenges Become scientists, engineers, and explorers working on the space frontier to design a totally unique solution to some “out-of-this-world” challenges.
- Science: Measuring Time with the Sun and the Moon
- Earth Moon Viewer See today's moon phase. Zoom in and out to see more detail.
- Eclipse of the Moon See photos of different eclipses.
- Lunar eclipse Watch the movie.
- Lunar Phases Read directions then click Activity 1, Activity 2 and Activity 3.
- Moon Flip Book Follow the directions to print and make your own flip book with the phases of the moon.
- Moon Movie Watch the animation.
- Moon Phases Watch the phases of the moon from different points of view.
- Moon Phases: Day Moon/Night Moon Click "Moon Phases" to watch the animation.
- Moon's Phases Shows 8 positions of the moon in its orbit.
- Sidereal vs Synodic Month Watch the animation of the moon's revolutions.
- Solar eclipse See photos of the total solar eclipse of 1999.
- Solar eclipse movie Watch a movie from the 1999 eclipse.
- Sundials Watch an animation showing changing shadows.
- A Walk Through Time A history of time and timekeeping. Make sure to look at Ancient Timekeeping and Early Clocks.
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- Science: The Sun
- Part II: Lesson 1
- Aurora Animation Watch the quicktime movie in the middle of the page to see a wave of particles from the Sun (yellow) move past the Earth. The blue lines shows the space that is affected by the Earth's magnetism. A close up of the Earth shows the glowing aurora near the north pole that results when the sun's particles are trapped by the Earth's magnetic field.
- Aurora Gallery Photos of the Earth's auroras from around the world.
- Aurora Season Begins Describes the "Aurora Season"
- One-On-One With the Sun Stella Stardust interviews the sun!
- Spaceweather See daily images of the Sun and planets along with lots of solar system links.
Sun Movies - Click on the links to see movies of the sun.
- Sun Earth Media Viewer Scientists talk about the sun, auroras and other topics. Includes live Solar Images.
Sunspot movie
Sunspots in the last month
Sun movie
Sun movie
Solar prominence from 2000, when solar activity was at a maximumNASA Explores SOHO Explains SOHO and its mission.
- The Sun Today See the latest pictures of the sun taken outside the Earth's atmosphere through a telescope called SOHO. The colored images were made by instruments that detect light our eyes cannot see. The top middle picture may show sunspots.
- SunWise for Kids Understand the UV Index.
- Ultraviolet Weather Report Find out the UV Index for Lexington and information about sun safety.
- What Lies Beneath a Sunspot? Pictures and information about sunspots.
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- Science: Earth's Motions: Rotation
- A Moment in Time At any given time on Earth, half of our planet is lit by the sun and half is in darkness. See actual photos, taken from space, of day and night on Earth.
- Sunrise Sunset Calendar Select a city and a month to find out the sunrise and sunset times.
- Old Farmer's Almanac Sun and Moon Rise and Set Find out rising and setting times for the sun, moon and any other planet.
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- Science: Earth's Motions: Revolution
- Earth/Sun Seasons animation (note: Earth's orbit is really almost a circle--this view is not a top view of the orbit and looks like an ellipse)
- Journey North Phenology Changes in length of day and night over the seasons
- Journey North Seasonal Data Exchange Compare observations of the seasons with a partner school in a different geographic location.
- Reasons for the Seasons Look at these diagrams that explain why summer days are longer and winter days are shorter, and what changes the angle at which sunlight strikes the earth.
- Seasons 3.9 Help Max find his way to great vacation places around the world.
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- Science: Gravity
- Our Place in Space: Gravity Lots of great info on this site from the American Museum of Natural History.
- Shoot a Cannonball into Orbit Find out how much gunpowder it takes to shoot a cannonball into orbit around the Earth.
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- Science: Solar System
- Build a Solar System Model Directions for building a model of the solar system, and how to calculate distances on your scale model.
- A Closer Look at Mars Learn about the planet that is named ater the Roman god of war.
- Estabrook's Scale Model Solar System Take a look at this project done by the fourth graders at Estabrook School in Lexington to learn more about the sun and planets.
- Explore Mars Information and games about different parts of Mars. Be sure to check out "The Red Planet".
- Fly to Mars Try to launch a spacecraft to Mars from Earth. It's not as easy as you think!
- Mars Orbit Animation showing the orbital motions of Earth and Mars.
- Mars Project What if humans lived on Mars? See 360 degree views of what different areas of Mars might look like to a visitor.
- Planet Mass Comparison Choose objects to be compared and click Compare.
- Planet Size Comparison Choose planets to be compared and click Compare.
- Planetary Systems: Stories of the Planets Click to read myths about our solar system's planets, sun, and moon.
- Planet Map Click to see constellations and planets on a sky map. Adjust the time to the time you plan to look at the sky.
- Powers of Ten See the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then travel through space until you reach the leaves of a tall oak tree on Earth. Finally, travel through the microscopic world into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.
- Search for Martian Life Read about Lexington scientist Dr. Maria Zuber and her search for life on Mars.
- Solar System Scavenger Hunt Create a scale model of the solar system using objects from around your home.
- Solar System Trading Cards Name an object and collect its card.
- Starchild: The Solar System Explore the solar system with NASA.
- The Sun from Mercury Compare what the sun looks like from Earth and from Mercury.
- Welcome to the Planets A collection of photos and lots of information from NASA's planetary exploration program.
- Windows to the Universe Site with lots of information about the solar system, space missions, and weather in space.
- Your Age on Other Worlds Want to be a different age? Check out the other planets!!
- Your Weight on Other Worlds Find out what you would weigh on the Moon or on Mars.
- Science: Rocks and Minerals
- Adventures at Dry Creek Become a paleontologist and learn about life in Montana 60-70 million years ago.
- The American Museum of Natural History's Fossil Collection Provides a tour of the museum's exhibition on fossils and their evolution.
- Cascades Volcano Observatory Provides basic facts about volcanoes around the world, hazards, and answers to frequently asked questions.
- Fossils! Visit Canada's Royal Ontario Museum to learn how fossils are formed and how scientists identify and classify them.
- Getting Into the Fossil Record Learn what a fossil is and how a fossil is made.
- The Gemstone Gallery Find out the properties of gemstones and see photographs of them.
- How Do Igneous Rocks Form? Animation of igneous rock crystallization.
- How We Use Minerals Did you know we use minerals every day?
- Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Rocks How do rocks undergo change? Animation of rock formation and rock cycle. Click pages 1, 2 and 3.
- Life Has a History: Adaptations of Living Things Introduction to the history of life and how it results in the biodiversity of today. Learn about geologic time, fossils, variation, natural selection, and extinction. Three levels.
- Mineral Detectives Find out about different minerals, then play "Mineral Mastermind" and see if your detective skills are up to scratch.
- The Mineral Gallery Click on the name of a mineral to learn about its properties and see photographs of it.
- Mineral Properties for Kids Find out about the properties of minerals and how to identify them.
- Paleontology: The Big Dig Lots of fossil facts from the American Museum of Natural History.
- The Rock Cycle Follow Rocky the rock on a tour of the rock cycle.
- Rockdoctors Guide to Mineral Identification Learn about the different methods we can use to identify minerals.
- Rockhounds Learn about sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks as well as rock collecting.
- Skeletons Find out how fossils form and go on a dinosaur hunt.
- Smithsonian Gem & Mineral Collection Photos and information about a variety of gems and minerals.
- Stories From the Fossil Record Click on biodiversity, geologic time, paleoecology or past lives to learn how fossils can help us learn about the past.
- Understanding Geologic Time An introduction to geologic time, dating techniques, and the geologic time scale.
- Volcano World Lots of information, including "Ask a Volcanologist" and maps of current volcanoes around the world.
- What is a Mineral? Can you tell what a mineral really is?
- What Kind of Rock Is It? Introduction to rock identification.
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- Social Studies: Ancient River Civilizations--China
- Ancient China Learn about the daily life, the geography and the culture of the Shang Dynasty.
- Buddhism Learn about the life of Buddha as well as the teachings and beliefs of this major religion.
- China Bridge Watch PBS's Nova program design and build a Chinese bridge known only from an ancient painting. Click on China's Age of Invention to read about contributions of the Song Dynasty.
- Chinese Calendar Find out about Chinese New Year, the Chinese Zodiac, and the animals.
- Daily Life during the Shang and Chou Dynasties Learn about history, daily life, religion and occupations.
- Daily Life in Han Times Find out about life in the city and in the country during the time that the Silk Road was built.
- Electronic Passport to Chinese History Read about Chinese Dynasties.
- Great Wall of China Learn all about the Great Wall of China and the emperoro who built it.
- The Great Wall Take a virtual tour of China's Great Wall.
- Qin Dynasty Highlights of what happened during this 15 year period in China.
- The Silk Road The story of one of the world's oldest and most historically important trade routes.
- Terracotta Army Photo and information about the buried warriers.
- The Treasures of China Internet treasure hunt about China's culture, history and current events.
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- Social Studies: Ancient River Civilizations--Egypt
- About Egypt Lots of information about Ancient Egypt.
- All About Mummies Find out about the earliest mummies in Egypt and about the mummification process.
- Ancient Egypt Learn about ancient Egyptian life, gods and goddesses, pharaohs, mummies. pyramids, temples, trades and writing. Click on Time for a Time Line.
- Ancient Egypt/Cleveland Museum of Art Clear information about pyramids, mummies & hieroglyphs, papyrus, pharaohs and daily life.
- Ancient Egyptian Religion Learn about religion, death and funerals, enbalming and burial tombs.
- Ancient Egypt Webquest Click on the site map to learn about Ancient Egyptian daily life, mummies, hieroglyphics, King Tutankhamen, games, and archeology.
- Construction of the Pyramids Find out about how the pyramids were built, and the change in design from the step pyramid to the true pyramid.
- Egypt: Daily Life Find out about family life, food, cosmetics, clothing, housing, entertainment and government.
- Egypt Fun Guide Make your own cartouche, find the way through the mummy maze, and learn about hieroglyphics, the Nile and pyramids.
- Egypt: Geography Brief page of information.
- Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids Read the introduction and click on 41 artifacts.
- Egypt's Gods and Goddesses Simple story and a few facts on the Egyptian gods and goddesses.
- Explore Ancient Egypt Boston's Museum of Fine Arts site with photos and information about daily life, hieroglyphs, mummies, and archeology.
- Guardian's Ancient Egypt Kid Connection Learn about ancient Egyptian life and culture, from pyramids to mummies, hieroglyphs to pharaohs.
- Hieroglyphics Learn about the three types of symbols in the written Egyptian langauage.
- History for Kids: Ancient Egypt Links to food, religion, games and art.
- How to Build a Pyramid Find out how the ancient Egyptians may have constructed pyramids.
- The History of Egypt Learn about the Egypt's creation, the Nile River, Pharaohs and pyramids.
- Life in Ancient Egypt Carnegie Museum of Natural History site with interesting facts about all aspects of life in Ancient Egypt.
- Mark Millmore's Ancient Egypt Information about pyramids and temples, kings and queens, hieroglyphs and more.
- Mummies Museum of Science site including a 3-D mummy.
- Mummies Unmasked National Geographic for kids site where you can learn about mummies and the process of making one.
- Mummy Maker Click the button to play an interactive game about creating a mummy.
- Mysteries of Egypt: Tutankhamun Explore the tomb of the pharaoh.
- Mysteries of the Nile Explore the pyramids and temples and learn about their excavation on this NOVA/PBS site.
- Nubia Information about ancient Nubia from the Oriental Museum in Chicago. Includes pictures of artifacts.
- Nubia Geography Did you know that Nubia was the country that bordered ancient Egypt on the south?
- Odyssey Online: Egypt Click links to easy-to-read facts on people, mythology, daily life, archeology, writing, death, and burial.
- Pyramids--The Inside Story Explore the pyramids and learn about their excavation.
- Secrets of Egypt National Geographic site with photos and information on Egypt, pyramids, and mummies.
- Welcome to Akhet Egyptology Learn about the people, the gods, the leaders and the monuments and statues of this culture. Try the clickable mummy.
- Write Like an Egyptian Type in your name and make an Egyptian cartouche
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- Social Studies: Ancient River Civilizations--Indus Valley
- Ancient India Timeline Timeline of Ancient India.
Indus Valley Travel back in time and spend a day with a bead-maker's son,discover the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro or match pottery fragments at this British Museum site.
- The Indus Valley Information and slides about the Indus River Valley. Be sure to click Intro at the bottom of the page for the most information.
- Indus Valley Civilization Daily Life Learn about life in the Indus River Valley 4,000 years ago.
- King Ashoka King Ashoka's edicts to live by.
- The Latest Discoveries: Harappa 1995-98 Click the button to see photos of Harappan writing, pottery, cemetary, gold disc and more.
- A Walk Around Harappa Take a virtual tour of this Indus River Valley site.
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- Social Studies: Ancient River Civilizations--Mesopotamia
- Archaic Mesopotamia Check out Mesopotamian artifacts.
- Hammurabi's Code Learn about all 282 of Hammurabi's set of laws.
- Hammurabi's Code: You be the Judge Explore different situations Hammurabi might have faced and decide how he would have handled them.
- Map of ancient Mesopotamia Map showing rivers and cities.
- Mesopotamia Learn by looking at the art of the Mesopotamian civilizations. The descriptions are difficult reading.
- Mesopotamia: Collapse of a Civilization Explains why a great civilization may fail.
- Mesopotamia to Lexington Web Quest Lexington Schools fourth grade teachers designed this webquest to use artifacts to create a classroom museum. Identify these mysterious artifacts and explore their significance in Mesopotamia.
- Proverbs of Ancient Sumeria Proverbs from ancient Sumer. Be sure to read #10 to see the place of women.
- Write Like a Babyonian See your monogram in cuneiform the way an ancient Babylonian might have written it.
- Social Studies: North American Geography
Arlington National Cemetary Read about the Arlington National Cemetary and the tomb of the unknown soldiers.Atlas--Expeditions at National Geographic Select the United States, Canada or Mexico. Then select your state or province for a closer look. Print your map!
Canadian statistics--Immigrant Population Look at Canada’s immigrant population by province and territory.
Geography-Merriam-Webster’s Atlas Scroll to a country to get a map and information.
Library of Congress Take a virtual tour of the Library of Congress.
- Lincoln Memorial Learn about the Lincoln Memorial.
Life in the White House Take a virtual tour with the President and First Lady.
The Many Faces of America: Immigration See how many immigrants come to the U.S. from other countries.
Mount Vernon Click on each floor and room to take a tour and and learn about Mount Vernon. Read the FAQs to learn more about George Washington.
- National Archives Read about the National Archives in Washington D.C.
National Geographic MapMachine Click on U.S. themes on the left of the screen to choose your map. Then zoom in or out to look at it.National Iwo Jima Memorial Monument Read about the National Iwo JIma Memorial Momument.
North America Display maps with landforms, rivers or cities. Find maps of Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
Smithsonian Museums Learn about the Smithsonian Museums
Spotty’s White House Let Spotty, the President's English Springer Spaniel, show you the White House.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Read about the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
Yearbook of Immigration Statistics Find out how many immigrants came to the U.S. Be sure to check you r desktop for the downloaded tables.
USA Regional Map Scroll down to select a region of the US.
Yellowstone National Park Take a journey to Yellowstone to see and hear the geysers.U.S. States Find facts and maps of each state.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Read about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Washington Monument Learn about the Washington Momument.
Welcome to the White House Tour the White House, learn about its famous pets, or write the President!
Canada All the facts, plus a map and flag.Return to the Top of This Page
Canada Facts Find maps and information about the land, government and history of provinces and territories.
Canada Photos Click on a province or territory to find photos for projects.Canada’s Geography See a map of provinces and read about Canada’s lakes, rivers and mountains.
Canadian Geography Quizzes Play geography games and find information about each province and territory.
Get the Facts about Canada Click on a province to find out about it.
Inuit Learn the thousand-year old history of the Inuit.
Inuit Life in Nunavik See photographs of Inuit clothing, tools, community and daily life of children and teenagers.
Haida Learn about the Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Kwakiutl Find the location, history, and daily life of this Canadian tribe.
Underground Railroad Many slaves arrived in Canada with the help of Harriet Tubman and Alexander Ross.
Welcome to Canada Learn about the history, geography and daily life.
Aztecs Find out about farming, government, arts, science and trade.
- Aztec Life Click on links to Aztec life, rulers, religion, and culture on this Thinkquest site.
Chichen Itza Find out about this sacred city in the Yucatan.
Collapse; Why Do Civilizations Fail? Try to discover why the royal Mayan city of Copan collapsed by searching for clues in an archeological activity.
Culturefocus: The Maya Today Check out this site for beautiful color photos and links to information about the Maya.
How to Write Your Name In Mayan Glyphs Follow the steps to learn how to write your name in Mayan.
Maya Adventure Find information and activities related to both ancient and modern Mayan culture.Maya Astronomy Learn about the Mayan calendar, mathematics, geography, writing and astronomy.
Mayan Kids Click on the links at the top to learn about the Mayans, their beliefs and their cities.
Mundo Maya Learn about the archaeology, daily life, handicrafts and legends of the Maya.Mayan Numbers See if you can add using the mayan base twenty system.
Maya Rainforest Dwellers Find out about some objects created by the Mayan people.
Mesoamerican Ballgame Everything you need to know about the first team sport.
Myths of the Maya Describes the Popul Vuh.
Mexican Fiesta WebQuest Work in teams to learn as much as you can about the Mexican fiesta and culture.
Mexican Holidays Learn about Holiday celebrations in Mexico
Mexican Independence Find out about September 16th, Mexico’s Indepence day.
Mexico and Maya Stories Traditional Storytellers Tales: Read Rabbit and Coyote Tales.
Mexico Find a map, flag and all the facts you need.
Mexico for Kids Learn about Mexico's government, history and explore its regions.
Mexico Map Learn about Mexico’s climate and geography.
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- World Languages: Spanish
- Cinco de Mayo The site provides information on Cinco de Mayo, an important Mexican celebration, along with links to other sites that tell about the holiday. It was awarded a "Times Link" citation by the Los Angeles Times in May, 1997.
- Day of the Dead: What do Mexicans Celebrate? Look at photographs
of Mexicans celebrating the holiday.
- Dictionary of Spanish Translate words from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish.
- Diego Rivera Web Museum Read about the life and see the paintings of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
- E-Mail Classroom Exchange Helps Classrooms to meet and correspond with other classrooms through the Internet; users can search, browse and contact classrooms listed in the online database or submit a profile of their own classroom.
- Mexican Fiesta Webquest Become an expert on Mexican culture.
- Mexico for Kids Everything you need to know about the history, government and culture of Mexico. Can be read in Spanish too!
- Sounds of World's Animals Pictures of animals with printed versions of the sounds they make. This site takes you to Spanish, but provides links to other languages.
Please report suggestions, additions, and notice of obsolete links to the Library Media Center Staff. Date Last Modified: 1/7/08.
Criteria: Sites on these pages have been reviewed by Lexington (MA) School Librarians using the following criteria.