PTSO

Homework Help

Click here to use John Muir's online Virtual Reference Library
(ask the library staff for password, or contact rtomlin@sanleandro.k12.ca.us)

Math homework help: This site offers resources to help students master addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, the building blocks of more advanced mathematical equations.	Multnomah County Library Homework Center: Oregon's finest public library offers lists of websites divided into subject areas. TRY THIS SITE FIRST FOR HOMEWORK HELP!	FactMonster: Don't be fooled by the fun, colorful interface: there's a lot of quality information here, including a Homework Center broken down by subject and a great section on mythology (click on "Word Wise").
Citation Maker: Just enter your bibliographic information into the spaces provided and this program puts it all into correct citation format.	Important Supreme Court cases: A page of librarian-selected links that focus on landmark Supreme Court cases as well as information on the Court itself.	HyperHistory Online: A "synchronoptic" timeline combines maps, graphics and colors with textual information so you can simultaneously see what was happening in different parts of the earth at certain times.
Maps and Flags of the World : Ever wonder what the flag of Andorra looks like? Or Burkina Faso? Nuie, perhaps? You'll find them all here, as well as good country information.	Renaissance: What inspired this age of balance and order? Your "go to" site for content-rich links and general information focusing on this important era of human history.	Science Fair Project Resource Guide: Sponsored by the Internet Public Library, this webpage features lots of science project-related links.
The World's Healthiest Foods: In addition to plenty of exercise, good food is important to your overall health. Go here to find info on the best foods to eat.	Presidents of the United States: This site provides excellent information on every single U.S. president in addition to serving as a portal to the useful Internet Public library.	Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids: Explains the structure and workings of the American government in terms that anyone can understand. Choose from three difficulty levels.
San Leandro Public Library: Look here for hours, locations and to use the collection of online databases. Have your SLPL number ready...	Oakland Public Library: On the left-hand side, click on "Other Online Resources," then on "Articles & Databases." Have your OPL number ready...	sfgate.com: Check the San Francisco Chronicle online for those current events-related assignments.

Reference sites: (back to Top)

Refdesk.com: Touted as "the single best source for facts," Refdesk is like having a personal reference librarian at your fingertips. It's hard to think of reference information that this site doesn't provide a link to!	Bartleby Online: Over 51,000 articles, essays and stories, available in a free, easy-to-search format that spans reference, verse, fiction and non-fiction.	World Fact Book: Assembled by the CIA. If you're looking for up-to-date information and/or maps about any country on the planet, this is your site.
Online Etymology Dictionary: Find the origins of that vocabulary word here. From the site: "Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago."	Merriam-Webster Online: The classic dictionary includes an online thesaursus as well. Challenge: check out the "Word for the Day" and see if you can use it correctly in a sentence.	LIFE photo archive: "Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google."
Word Central online Dictionary: Merriam-Webster's "Word Central" won the 2000 Webby Award for Best Educational Website. This site is fun and colorful, especially the "Daily Buzzword" feature.	Jokes and Trivia: A compendium of middle school- appropriate humor and jokes from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).	Yahoo Reference: Dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, world facts, news, all arranged in straightforward Yahoo style.
The Inflation Calculator: This site "lets visitors plug in a monetary amount and calculate its precise buying power between 1800 and 2002." --School Library Journal (recommended site).	Guide to Grammar & Writing: Devoted to correct grammar, punctuation, and usage from the sentence level on through to the finished essay. Easy to navigate.	Biography.com: "Search over 25,000 of the greatest lives, past and present."

Subject Directories: (back to Top)
Subject directories differ from standard search engines in that they offer a variety of logically arranged topics,categories and subject areas by which you search. Once you click on a topic/category/subject area, you're taken to a list of sites relating to that topic that you can explore. Often (but not always) these sites are pre-selected for quality; for example, before selection and inclusion into the directory, sites on the popular Librarians Index to the Internet are pre-screened by librarians.

Librarians Index to the Internet: So very easy to use! A good first subject directory to try.	Cybrary for Middle School and Beyond: "Global access to educational sources for research and homework help."	KidsClick: Developed by librarians, organized by grade level.
Infomine: Searches "2000+ academically valuable resources."	Google Directory: A unique mix of news, modern life/health, and educational subjects.	BUBL Higher Education Internet Resources: Covers all academic subject areas.

Not sure how to search the Web or evaluate the sites that you find? Try these links: (back to Top)

Evaluating Internet Resources: From Georgetown University, this site offers roughly 40 questions--broken down by topic--that you should keep in mind when determing the credibility of a website.	Evaluating web pages: techniques to apply and questions to ask. Provides clear, thorough explanations of what to look for and why when determining whether or not a website is creditable.	A short and easy Internet search tutorial: "To get the right answer, you must ask the right question. This Web search tutorial will tell you exactly how to do that!"
Evaluating information on the Internet: Includes sections on origin and accuracy, reliability and credibility, questions to keep in mind while researching online, as well as helpful links to other evaluation sites.	Specialized Search Engines & Directories: A select list of research-oriented search engines, complete with links to take you to the search engine or directory of your choice.	Internet Scavenger Hunt: A fun page of questions that will let you test your Internet search engine skills; links on left side of this page lead back to valuable Internet "how-to" sources.

Links to popular Internet search engines: (back to Top)

Mooter: the power of relevance: This unique search engine clusters results into relevant themes for faster, more precise information retrieval.	Google: Features a clean, easy-to-use interface and a broad range. A good place to start your information search.	Ask.com: Formerly Ask Jeeves, the improved Ask uses a unique ExpertRank algorithm that provides more precise and relevant search results "by identifying the most authoritative sites on the Web."
Alta Vista: Widely respected for its coverage. Popular with librarians.	Direct Search: Searches the "invisible web" to find information other search engines might miss.	WebCrawler meta-search engine: Lets you look for information on a variety of top search engines simultaneously!