Kids aren’t the only ones who need help with homework. Sometimes parents need help too. Fortunately, assistance is often only a keystroke away. This school year when your child is looking for a science project idea or trying to remember all the state capitals, check out some of these websites.
700+ Amazing, Spectacular, Mysterious, Wonderful Websites for Kids & the Adults Who Care About Them, www.ala.org/greatsites, is a comprehensive list of child-friendly Websites compiled by the American Library Association. The site features links to a wide varity of topics, and is a fantastic place to explore the resources available to your student. Grades K-12.
AAA Math, www.aaamath.com, is dedicated to basic math skills. It features hundreds of pages of explanations, interactive practice, challenge games and randomly created math problems. The outstanding feature of AAA Math is that children can enter the site by either grade level or topic. Grades K-8.
Ask Dr. Math, www.mathforum.org/dr.math, ihas sections for questions and answers, puzzles, word, problems, flashcards and definitions. It is also divided for elementary, middle, high school and college students. Grades K-adult.
Ask for Kids, www.askforkids.com, lets students ask a question, then refers them to the appropriate child-friendly website. Grades K-8.
Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids, http://bensguide.gpo.gov, explains how the three branches of our government work in concert. It features information on topics like legislation, the Constitution, and how a bill becomes law. Grades K-12.
Elements of Language, http://go.hrw.com/eolang, is designed to help middle and high school students with their writing. It consists of model papers and suggestions for writing in a variety of styles including book reviews, essays, research papers, short stories and literary analysis. The site also features a language center complete with a reference desk, dictionary, grammar and citation guides, and vocabulary builder. Grades 6-12.
Fact Monster, www.factmonster.com, is produced by the publishers of Information Please, and features atlas, almanac, dictionary and encyclopedia links. Sections include U.S. and World History, which include documents, speeches, time lines, and a year-by-year history feature; Word Wise, which has information on grammar, spelling and books; Mathematics, which addresses everything from multiplication to nautical measurements; People, which has sections on U.S. presidents, women of influence, and biographies; and Sports, which includes information on the Olympic Games, women in sports and a math baseball game. Each section features fun games and quizzes designed to reinforce learning. Grades K-6.
How To Study, www.how-to-study.com, teaches students those all-important study skills. It includes sections on preparing to study, how to listen better, improving reading skills, taking notes, using index cards, and keeping track of assignments. Grades K-adult.
Kid Info, www.kidinfo.com, is by far the most comprehensive and informative children's site on the Web. It features sections on American history, world history, foreign language, current events, mathematics, science, computers, music, health, art, geography/social sciences, and language arts.These categories are made even more impressive by the amount of information each contains. For instance, in the American history section your child can learn not only colonial history, but he can also find out what diseases plagued the colonists, what kind of money they used, and what recipes these early Americans used to cook their meals. Grades K-12.
Kids Post, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/kidspost/orbit/kidspost.html, features news and stories that appeal to children. The publishers of the Washington Post have included a section on the history of Washington, DC, which takes an out-of-the-ordinary look at our capital and the people that have lived there. The site also has Birthdays of the Week, This Week in History, and Book of the Week. Grades 3-8.
National Geographic Kids, www.nationalgeographic.com/kids, is a great site for curious kids. Developed by National Geographic, it offers homework help, activities, experiments, games, and a link to National Geographic Kids magazine. Sections include Animals, History, Science/Nature, and Maps. The Map section has a really great feature called the Map Machine, on which children can search for facts on any place in the world by clicking on an interactive map. Grades K-8.
Net State, www.netstate.com, features topics about the 50 states. Information includes state symbols, flags, capitals, maps, songs, almanacs, quizzes and lists. Grades K-8.
Smithsonian Education, www.smithsonianeducation.org/students, gives children museum resources at their fingertips. In the Everything Art section, they can get questions answered through the Ask Joan of Art feature or create their own sculptures online. There are also Science/Nature, History/Culture, and People/Places sections where children can experience topics from the North Atlantic voyage of the Vikings to animal habitats. Grades K-12.
Time for Kids, www.timeforkids.com, is written for children and in some cases, by children. It presents national, science, world and school news in a concise, easy-to-understand format. The site, from the publishers of Time magazine, also features games, a homework helper and interviews and articles of interest to children. Grades 3-8.
