Choosing reliable search engines and good websites are winning strategies for successful searching on the World Wide Web. While doing research, remember these tips for staying safe on the Internet (from the Virginia Department of Education, Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in Schools.)
Internet Safety Tips
- Not all Internet information is appropriate or truthful.
- Only use sites that are approved by Fairfax County Public Schools.
- Never give out your name, location, or personal information.
- Do not use random image searches. Use pictures from trusted sites from the FCPS Databases and from the list of copyright-friendly resources found in Step 4 of the Big6.
- If you see something that does not appear to be correct or appropriate, let your teacher or librarian know immediately.
Resources from Braddock Elementary School
FCPS Databases – all FCPS databases are great resources for research. However, the following three databases specifically support the GATP project. Be sure to check out all the special features!
- Britannica School – search under the categories of History, Places, Peoples & Cultures.
- Culture Grams– if you search World Edition be sure and look at the History link on the left. Kids Edition has a History module that includes helpful timelines.
- Early Peoples – great articles about ancient civilizations and peoples.
- FactCite – Biography, World Biography, Shapers of Society, Mythology, Countries & Cultures Trial ends on 4/30/2016!
- Marshall Cavendish – a wonderful resource with timelines, maps, photographs. Be sure to browse the Ancient and Medieval World collection and Exploring Ancient Civilizations.
- National Geographic Kids – explore topics such as history, places, peoples and cultures.
- World Book Timelines – browse timelines by category (Arts, Notable People, Society and Culture), you can even save and create your own timelines!
Britannica GATP Resource Packs
These amazing resource packs include articles, images, videos, journals, and primary sources to support the Global Awareness & Technology Project.
- Ancient Africa
- Ancient Aztec
- Ancient China
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Greece
- Ancient Inca
- Ancient India
- Ancient Maya
- Ancient Mesopotamia
- Ancient Pueblo
- Ancient Rome
Are FCPS Databases better than Google?
Google Custom Search Engine – Braddock Elementary Global Awareness Resources has many wonderful Web sites gathered together in this searchable Bookmarks collection.
GATP Pathfinders – a pathfinder is a tool to help searchers find the information they need. Pathfinders contain helpful resources from the Braddock Elementary Library along with reference databases, and web pages.
Global Awareness Portaportal – one stop for all your research needs. Sites are bookmarked into categories such as Costumes & Clothing; Images, Music, Video; Search Engines… Braddock Bios has links to famous people.
FCPS Library Catalog – the online library catalog allows you to search for materials owned by Braddock ES library and all FCPS libraries.
Gale Global Awareness Project Resources– eBooks to help with the GATP. eBooks are books published in electronic form that can be read on a computer via the Internet. eBooks can be accessed from the FCPS Library Catalog.
World History – videos from National Geographic Creative Collection.
LiveBinders
- Ancient Africa
- Ancient China
- Ancient Greece
- Ancient India
- Mesopotamia
- Pre-Columbian Civilizations
- Ancient Rome
Search Engines – Kid-Friendly and Fun!
- AOL and AOL Jr.
- AskKids
- Atlapedia
- GoGooligans
- Ivy’s Search Engine Resources for Kids
- KidsClick
- OneKey.com – The Kid Safe Search Engine
- Quintura Kids
- Sweet Search: A Search Engine for Students
General Reference & Research Sites
- Awesome Library – resources are carefully reviewed
- CIA World Fact Book
- Countries of the World
- Country Encyclopedia
- Country Studies – Library of Congress
- CyberSleuth Kids
- DK Online Encyclopedia
- Encyclopedia Smithsonian
- Fact Monster
- FCPS Databases
- InfoPlease Atlas
- International Children’s Digital Library
- Internet Public Library Kidspace
- LookLex Encyclopaedia
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary & Thesaurus
- SurfingNetKids
Web Sites