24/7 Resources for Students - Homework helpers and more!

While all of the databases have interesting and useful information, some are targeted especially at students. Those that are best for elementary school students have ES listed next to the description, while those that are geared toward middle school students have MS listed.

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries and Other Reference Books

Searchasaurus/Primary Search

Middle Search Plus contains full text for more than 140 popular, middle school magazines, plus thousands of biographies and historical essays, primary source documents reference books and an image collection of 400,972 photos, maps and flags. There are two ways to access Middle Search Plus:

Student Research Center -search interface designed specifically for
secondary school students, according to their needs and search abilities.

Kids Search - a search interface designed specifically for elementary/middle school
students according to their needs and search abilities. (MS and up)

• Britannica Online Kids - Encyclopedia resources especially selected for kids (ES and up)
• New Book of Knowledge - Reference and current events (ES and up)
• World Almanacs - Four almanacs, including World Almanac for Kids and Funk & Wagnall's New Encyclopedia (ES and up)
• Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia - Quick references and audio/video media (MS and up)
• American National Biography  - Biographies of over 17,000 notable Americans (MS and up)
• Gale Virtual Reference Library - 300+ full-text reference sources on many subjects  (MS and up)
• Oxford English Dictionary - Definitions and history of the English language.

Newspapers and Magazines

• eLibrary (also known as Big Chalk) - Magazines, newspapers, books, television/radio transcripts, maps, pictures, and audio/video clips from over 1,500 sources. (ES and up)
• Chicago Tribune - Full text of the newspaper from 1985 to the present.
• Chicago Tribune Historical - Full text of the newspaper from 1849 1985

Art and Artists

• Art Museum Image Gallery - An online collection of over 155,000 works of art from around the world

Language Arts and Literature

• Novelist - Suggested reads for kids, teens, and adults. Includes book lists, discussion guides, and more! (ES and up)
• Literature Resource Center - Articles, book reviews, biographies, full text poems and stories, and more.
• Litfinder - More than 100,000 poems, short stories, essays, speeches, plays, and author information.
• Magill Literature Plus - Critical essays, plot summaries, character profiles.  Includes MasterPlots.

Science and Health Information

NEW! EBSCO Animals - Discover the wild world of animals through the Encyclopedia of Animals with thousands of easy-to-read entries about mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, dinosaurs and prehistoric animals.   (ES and up)

• Access Science - McGraw-Hill Science Encyclopedia, including AP study guides, scientist biographies, and more   (MS and up)
• Health and Wellness Resource Center - Medical, statistical, health, and related information
• Medline- Information from health and medical journals from the National Library of Medicine
• PDR Health - Information on health and wellness from the Physicians' Desk Reference

Social Studies, Geography, and Current Issues and Events

• America the Beautiful - State-by-state history and current events (ES and up)
• Culture Grams - Information on US states as well as countries of the world (ES and up)
• CQ Researcher Online - Research reports on hot topics (MS and up)
• SIRS Researcher - Newspaper and magazine articles and other resources on leading issues of the day (MS and up)

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