American Heritage Collection

The American Heritage Collection includes the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Over 90,000 entries feature 10,000 new words and senses, 70,000 audio word pronunciations, 900 full-page color illustrations, language notes and word-root appendixes); Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus (Containing 35,000 synonyms in an easy-to-use format, this thesaurus features succinct word definitions and an innovative hyperlinked category index by the editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary), and the American Heritage Book of English Usage (With a detailed look at grammar, style, diction, word formation, gender, social groups and scientific forms, this valuable reference work is ideal for students, writers, academicians and anybody concerned about proper writing style).

Farmers’ Almanac

With the Farmers’ Almanac you can find long-range weather forecasts, recipes, astronomy information, helpful household hints, articles from past years of the Farmers’ Almanac, the best days to plant crops and flowers, and the best days to do various activities like baking and hunting.

World Almanac For Kids

With the World Almanac For Kids you can find facts about animals, the environment, historical birthdays, inventions, nations, population, presidents of the United States, religion, space, sports, states, and U.S. history.

CIA World Factbook

The CIA World Factbook profiles countries and non-self-governing territories around the world. This official U.S. government site includes information on geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military,  and transnational issues.

FactMonster Almanac

With FactMonster you can find quick facts about the world, the United States, science, math, sports, people, wordwise, and arts and living.

CNN Video Almanac

With CNN Video Almanac you can relive the news as it happened. Choose a year or topic from 1980 to the present to begin a multimedia tour through history.

Chinese-English Dictionary

French-English Dictionary

Rhyming Dictionary

Corgilabs’s Chinese-English Dictionary allows you to translate English into Chinese or Pinyin. The results are displayed with both Chinese characters and the Hanyu Pinyin pronunciation. Corgilabs also converts numbers under a billion, decimals, fractions,  percentages, dates, and time into Chinese.

The University of Chicago’s ARTFL French-English Dictionary allows you to translate English words into French and vice-versa. This site also has a French Conjugator to conjugate French verbs into their various forms.

Latin-English Dictionary

The University of British Columbia’s Latin-English Dictionary allows you to translate English words into Latin and vice-versa. Go to Wheelock’s Latin Pronunciation Guide to hear Latin words pronounced (see the menu on the top left dark gray box to select from various chapters of Wheelock’s Latin Workbook.)

The Rhyming Dictionary contains over 93,000 entries and offers six types of rhymes (end rhymes, last syllable rhymes,double rhymes, triple rhymes, beginning rhymes, and first syllable rhymes). You can specify the number of syllables and letters you want in your results.

Spanish-English Dictionary

With the Spanish-English Dictionary you can translate English words into Spanish and vice-versa. Go to Elmadrid’s Online Verb Conjugator to conjugate Spanish verbs.

Word Central

At Merriam-Webster’s Word Central you can get the daily buzzword, create fill-in-the-blank poems with the verse composer, build your own dictionary, and send coded messages to friends. Use the American Heritage Dictionary above to define words.

Grolier Online

Infotrac Junior

SIRS Discoverer

Wikipedia: A Word of Caution

Infotrac Junior’s periodical database is designed for students in junior high and middle school, with magazines, newspapers and reference books (most are full-text) for information on current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports and more. It includes a "Tool Box" to help students find information and write a paper. Check out their Navigation Guide to learn the ins and outs of the program. When you click on the link above you will be directed to FindItVA. You need your public library card to access this site.

SIRS Discoverer is a database designed with the young researcher in mind. It offers a simple subject tree approach to information and a student workbook that can help students learn how to find information through SIRS. Check out their Quick Start Guide to learn the ins and outs of the program. When you click on the link above you will be directed to FindItVA. You need your public library card to access this site.

Wikipedia is not an authoritative source. It is not an established encyclopedia, nor is it well researched. The nature of a wiki is that it can be edited by anyone. If you wanted to you could go into Wikipedia and change the information in one of the articles. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA AS ONE OF YOUR SOURCES! Instead use one of the encyclopedias that the school has purchased.

World Book Reference Center

The World Book Online Reference Center includes the complete World Book Encyclopedia, Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos (a Spanish language encyclopedia), the World Book Dictionary, Atlas, Web Links, Magazines, and Explore Virginia. You need the user name and password from Ms. Taylor to access this site.

American Memory Project

Ben’s Guide to Government

Congress.org

ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center

Ben’s Guide is an easy to use and easy to understand kids’ guide to the U.S. government. Learn about our nation, historical documents like the Declaration of Independence, the three branches of government, how laws are made, national versus state government, the election process, and citizenship. Ben’s Guide also includes a glossary, website links, and a games and activities page.

Congress.org allows you to identify and contact elected leaders in Congress, the White House, and state legislatures, post letters online and read what other Americans are saying about elected officials, create and post Soapbox action alerts to enlist others on your issue, have letters printed and hand-delivered to Congress, find and contact local and national media by ZIP code or by state with the Media Guide, and have your representative's votes sent to you weekly via e-mail.

ERIC provides free access to more than 1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials and, if available, includes links to full text. ERIC is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Firstgov.Gov: The U.S. Government’s Official Web Portal

National Archives and Records Administration

U.S. Census Bureau

FirstGov.gov is an easy-to-search, free-access website designed to give you a centralized place to find information from U.S. local, state and federal government agency websites.

The National Archives is the U.S. Government’s collection of documents that records important events in American history. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the Government agency that preserves and maintains these materials and makes them available for research. The National Archives has more than 10 billion paper records, 30 million photographs and close to three million maps and charts, all stored in more than 30 buildings around the country.These historical documents are available to you in the National Archives’ exhibits and research rooms and  some are available online.

The Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. Find the results of the Census Bureau’s nearly 100 surveys and censuses, including decennial census (the official U.S. population count), the economic census, population estimates, and population projections. You can use the data extraction tool to find national, state, and local information.

White House

Google Earth

National Atlas

At the White House’s official website you can learn about the history of the building, take a virtual tour, meet the Bush’s pets, learn about White House traditions, see how sports fit into the presidency, learn about patriotism, and get to know the First Family.

Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps, and the power of Google Search to put the world’s geographic information at your fingertips. This resource requires a download. Ask your parents before you download this program.

National Atlas is a federal resource for national maps on the United States. You can create maps to include such things as climate, the environment, crime, and agriculture. National Atlas also has a large assortment of printable maps and dynamic multimedia maps.

National Geographic Map Machine

Currency Converter

Use National Geographic’s Map Machine to find road maps, satellite map images, physical maps, thematic maps, printer-friendly outline maps, and conservation maps. This is a great resource for projects.

Use the Currency Converter to calculate what the money in one country is worth in another country’s currency.

Heritage Quest

With Heritage Quest you can search census records, family and local history books, the PERSI database (find information on people and places described in over 1.9 million genealogy and local history articles), Revolutionary War records, and the Freedman’s Bank records (founded in 1865 to serve African Americans). This site is only available on LGMS computers. Parents are welcome to use this resource between the hours of 3:00 and 4:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

How Stuff Works

HowStuffWorks explains hundreds of subjects, from car engines to lock-picking to ESP, using clear language and tons of illustrations.

Metric Conversion Calculator

Use World Wide Metric’s Metric Conversion Calculator to convert lengths, weight, pressure, volume, and temperature

Occupational Outlook Handbook

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. The Handbook is revised every two years.