Last year, our school library purchased Britannica School and Image Quest. As we head into the time of year where we are thinking about research reports and science fair projects, I wanted to quickly refresh your memory about this excellent resource that can be accessed both at school and at home. 

Through the library page on our school's website, you can link to both of these excellent sites. The username and password can be received from your child's teacher. Britannica School is broken into three age groups: primary, middle, and senior. The primary section, geared for grades 1-3, shows students information at their age level. With the opportunity to adjust the reading levels, so that they are reading at a good fit level for them, students can find and understand the information given. Middle, grades 4-6, and senior, grades 7-highschool, offer the same searches, along with ideas on how to write research papers, science reports, book reviews, and presentations. The great thing about Britannica school, is that not only does it tell you how to cite the articles that you are using, but it will also link you to some of the "Web's Best Sites" to help you further your research. 

Some interesting tips:

•Double clicking on any word will tell you the definition.

•Britannica School will read the article to you

•Every age level will allow you to adjust the reading level to ensure that your child is reading at their level

•In the primary level, you will find the "Learning Zone." Fun, educational, activities for children pre-K to gr.2

•Create your own "account" by entering a username and password (no other information necessary), allowing you to return and find your articles and images without searching for them again.

Image Quest is similar to Google Image Search, but without the worry of inappropriate images coming up. These are images that Britannica holds the rights to. These images can be used on virtually anything, and again, Image Quest will help you cite the image. 

Have fun exploring and discovering!

Erica Schuster