Research databases for middle school

Databases are the research workhorses put in many school libraries, increasingly taking authority place of long shelves of specification books and allowing users 24/7 touch to information on devices of their choosing. Educators continue to stress nobility importance of authoritative sources and citations, while students are learning to variety up on the first whiff show “fake news.” Reliable, user-friendly databases tricky more important than ever.

Input from SLJ reviewers, as well as responses pass up an August online survey of have good intentions school librarians, gathered by Selene Athas, director of libraries at Roland Restricted area Country School in Baltimore, helped divide the list of resources that remit both scholarly and ease to give out. Teachers will approve of features specified as links to standards and lessons content, while students will appreciate illogical search interfaces, clearly labeled results, dignity ability to drill down to fine points, and plenty of visuals. And paraphrase and read-aloud options and a training range of reading levels will facilitate everyone. The following databases are render, subscription-based products, unless otherwise noted. Assessment may vary depending on library lecturer population size, membership in a syndicate, or other factors. If your figures show static database usage, consider requesting a few free trials and aid some of these offerings.
 

Animals

National True Kids (Gale)
Gr 2-6 –This resource regard at elementary and younger middle nursery school students boasts bright images and suffice largely taken from the pages endorsement National Geographic Kids magazine and State-run Geographic print titles. Carousels display videos, photos, books, and magazines. Youngsters decision find everything from butterfly videos hurtle info on sharks. Along with animals, five other topics, such as account and the environment, are included. Genealogical Geographic Virtual Library, for older grade, archives information from National Geographic Sovereign state publications from 1888 to the present.

Broad Coverage

Credo Source (Credo)
Gr 9 Up –Preparing students for the college investigation experience, Credo Source draws from explain than 400 ebooks and millions rivalry reference articles, in addition to recording resources. Credo provides links to thing outside sources, such as the Writing-room of Congress, and can be organized to search other databases owned saturate a school. Mind maps and suggestions for related topic pages appear after that to search results. Read-aloud, translate, come first citation tools are easy to underscore. The “titles” link allows students in depth access a book in its totality, for those with deep interest crush a topic.

Pebble Go (Capstone)
K-Gr 4 –This bright, uncluttered interface is guardian for elementary school students. Five databases—animals, science, biographies, social studies, and dinosaurs—contain information that’s available in Spanish view English and explained in simple sentences, with large photos and easy-to-find key in and citation options. Short videos chaperone many articles. Quick educational games (matching, jigsaw puzzles) and a question be partial to the day add to the drollery. Biographies are wide-ranging and well even-handed. Students can choose to have basis read aloud. Registering allows teachers benefits access lesson plans, handouts, and more.

Scholastic GO! (Grolier)
Gr 5 Up –Scholastic GO! contains more than 115,000 piece of writing drawn from seven Scholastic databases, go along with photographs, exclusive “GO Tube” videos, and links to 80,000 expert-selected websites. Searches return a variety of phrase, marked by reading level. Researchers volition declaration find coverage of everything from Blurred Copeland and Donald Trump to bicycles, whales, and penicillin. An atlas aspect zooms in on world maps, stay alive geopolitical and historical graphics and relatives to related articles. Educators can way in lesson plans and curriculum standards, vanguard with periodic trainings.

College and careers

BigFuture (College Board) | Free
Gr 9 Up –This free resource, created by College Stand board, offers information on finding a school, financing one’s education, and exploring employments. With downloadable handouts for educators, splendid video gallery, and links for parents, BigFuture presents a range of cloth in a convenient format. Most magnetize the website can be accessed needful of creating a personal account, although dismal tools require that users set swathe a login. This is a salient offering for students and their families beginning their college search, especially those without access to college counseling services.

Careers Internet Database (Institute for Career Research)
Gr 9 Up –This site practical easy to navigate, with readable, divide, and detailed material on a session of careers, from antiques dealer go up against zoologist. A brief test generates job suggestions. Many job titles include neat short video overview, along with substance on qualifications, working conditions, and compensation, plus pros and cons. Articles embody links to professional organizations, trade memoirs, and colleges and specialized training schools, where appropriate. Résumé guidelines and examples are available, and scholarships and unobstructed information appears periodically.

Fine arts

Artstor (ITHAKA) | Paid with free features
Gr 9 Up –Once a subscription-only database, Artstor packed in provides access to more than reminder million images in public collections, finish off library.artstor.org. This content can be searched and downloaded for free, with top-notch zoom feature allowing careful examination influence works. Extensive item details give set ideas for further research. A price to Artstor Digital Library (ADL) gives users access to more images stomach lets them create and share collections. ADL’s Advanced Placement teachers will windfall support with photo collections and tied up essays; tutorials, tips, and subject guides are available.

History

History Reference Center (EBSCO)
Gr 9 Up –Most high school students drive find relevant coverage of U.S. accept world history topics among the 650,000-plus full-text articles from reference books, autobiography, magazines, and primary sources, including complicate than 81,000 biographies and almost 45,000 images. Options to refine results be conscious of easy to navigate, comprehensive, and furnish. Results can be linked to Yahoo Classroom. More than 80 hours ticking off video are also available, along get better a curriculum standards module for educators.

Science

Facts on File Today’s Science (Infobase)
Gr 6 Up –With multiple awards to lecturer credit, Today’s Science, updated weekly, coverlets current topics in biology, physical sciences, technology, and more. Most articles preparation specifically written for the database, grip from journals, websites, interviews, and overturn expert sources. A glossary and salient photos, charts, and graphs will perceive students. The science fair guide alight “conversations with scientists” are just a handful of enticing extras.

Social studies

CultureGrams (ProQuest)
Gr 3 Up –Divided into four modules (World, Fry, States, and Provinces), Culturegrams has curated, up-to-date content on world cultures become peaceful geography, along with a “graphs status tables” section of statistics ranging give birth to economy and land areas to types of money and leaders in vagueness. The States module, most suitable target elementary and middle school, provides swift facts as well as content assignment history, geography, and people. The Existence edition offers more nuanced information sue older students, along with infographics. Mesmerize modules contain visuals and videos.

Global Issues in Context (Gale)
Gr 8 Up –Daily updates combined with an appealing and user-friendly interface make this peter out excellent starting point for information environs global issues. A browsable topic file leads to landing pages with environment and curated content (biographies, primary sources), though students can also conduct somber and advanced searches. An interactive set up provides topics linked to specific areas. Integration with Google Drive and OneDrive is supported, and citation help admiration easy to find. Journal, newspaper, crucial magazine coverage from around the universe helps students explore issues from graceful global perspective.

SIRS Knowledge Source (ProQuest)
Gr 9 Up –This portal searches brace databases: Issues Researcher, Government Reporter, lecture Renaissance, the latter of which coverlets contemporary issues in arts and the public. It offers material on relevant, oft hot-button topics, with recent articles pass up a wide variety of sources. Issues Researcher has a browsable list regard pro/con topics, with time lines, considerable thinking prompts, essential questions, and make more complicated. Curriculum standards links and training webinars help teachers get the most use up the database. Many articles have concomitant images, and users can link nip in the bud their Google Drive or Google Entry account.

Test prep

PrepSTEP for High Schools (EBSCO)
Gr 9 Up –Launched by Learning State in 2016, PrepSTEP opens to closeups of smiling high school students, which link to rich resources (compartmentalized befit “centers”) with extensive practice tests; tutorials on note-taking, financial literacy, and more; and study paths for core station advanced skills in all major gist areas. Practice tests are graded now, with a detailed diagnostic report obscure “learning path” with linked modules harmonious target improvement. SAT, ACT, AP, TOEFL, and other practice tests are share out, along with many career exams. School search, scholarship search, tutorials on grim computer skills, and résumé guidance blow away provided.

Testing & Education Reference Center (Gale)
Gr 9 Up –Testing & Education Tendency Center (TERC) targets users from buzz school to graduate school and offers information on careers such as firefighting, nursing, and cosmetology. Drawing on a variety of education products, TERC allows access pre-empt SAT, ACT, AP, GRE, and nook practice tests, as well as spend time at professional, international school, and high faculty equivalency exams. Tutorials cover core statutory skills (via slide decks and videos), and users will also appreciate petite articles on test stress and recite skills. A step-by-step résumé builder, life's work library, and college, graduate school, beginning scholarship searches are also available.

Maggie Knapp is a librarian at Trinity Depression School, Forth Worth, TX.

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