Here are some great resources for middle school students in the public library:

Kids.gov

Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC). (2008). Kids.gov: the official kids’ portal for the U. S. Government. Retrieved on July 18, 2008 from http://www.kids.gov/.

Internet resource

Ever wonder what it takes to be a football coach? Like to know how a satellite works? Want to read articles written by people just like you? Kids.gov (www.kids.gov) can link you to all of these things and more. “Kids.gov is the official kids' portal for the U.S. government. It links to over 1,200 web pages from government agencies, schools, and educational organizations, all geared to the learning level and interest of kids.” (kids.gov, 2008). The site is organized into three audiences: Grades K-5, Grades 6-8, and Educators. Each audience tab is divided into educational subjects including arts, careers, computers and technology, fun stuff, government, health, fitness, and safety, math, money science, social studies, and state web sites. This site is incredibly comprehensive and provides links to great resources. The information is accurate and useful and is clear and easy to read. But be careful—you could easily spend hours on this site! What more, it’s always available and always free!



Ben's Guide to U. S. Government for Kids


U. S. government Printing Office. (2007). Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids. Retrieved on July 18, 2008 from http://bensguide.gpo.gov/.

Internet resource

So you’ve got to do a report on the United States government. Yeah, it’s no fun, but Ben’s Guide to U. S. for Kids (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/) can make it a lot more interesting. This site provides a variety of information on our nation, historical documents, the branches of government, how laws are made, differences between national and state government, the election process and citizenship. It also includes games and activities, a glossary, and links to U.S. government websites designed specifically for kids. The information is interesting and extends well beyond “the basics.”
The site is colorful, well organized and user-friendly. It also provides useful diagrams and illustrations and everything can be printed out in PDF format. Hmmm, maybe U. S. government isn’t so boring after all.



CultureGrams


CultureGrams. (2008). Culture Grams 2008 World Edition. Lindon, Utah: ProQuest Information and Learning, 2004. 4-volume set, paperback, $159.99

If you are writing a report for school on a country the obvious place to start is with an encyclopedia. (Not Wikipedia, but an actual multivolume encyclopedia set.) An encyclopedia provides general information on a wide variety of topics. It provides a quick and convenient way to get the facts on a country, but it doesn’t give you the whole picture. That’s where CultureGrams come in. CultureGrams is a specialized encyclopedia designed to give a framework for understanding and appreciating how other people live and think and to learn about each culture on its own terms. It provides information on the religions, worldviews, arts and traditions, people, and languages of every country in the world. The volumes are divided into geographical regions: Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia and Oceania. Each country’s information is provided in a clear, concise (4 pages per country), and easy to read manner. Black line maps are included for each country. The format is consistent, making it easy to compare and contrast different countries. Tables are also provided that show, capitals, population, area, development, and concepts and terminology, as well as a glossary of cultural terms. The set is updated periodically by natives and experts and is reissued annually. If you really want to get to know about a country, this is the resource for you.



Biography Resource Center


Gale Cengage Learning. (2008). Biography Resource Center (online). Retrieved on July 18, 2008 from http://www.gale.cengage.com/BiographyRC/about.htm.

Internet Resource, available by subscription only

Wouldn’t it be nice to have one place to go when you want information on a famous person? Whether you are looking for the scientist that discovered photosynthesis or where Johnny Depp went to high school, you can find it all at Biography Resource Center. Biography Resource Center is Gale's premier biographical online reference database, designed to meet the needs of public, academic, special and school libraries throughout the world. It provides information in a multitude of subject areas such as, but not limited to, science, multicultural studies, business, politics, government, history, entertainment, sports, the arts, and literature. Biography Resource Center contains more than 435,000 biographies on more than 340,000 people gathered from more than 1,000 volumes of more than 135 award-winning Gale reference sources as well as full-text articles from nearly 300 magazines specifically chosen for their value to biographical research. The information is more comprehensive, in depth, and current than print biographies. The site is easy to navigate and provides a variety of search fields, for use in both simple and Boolean searches. Additional features include:

• “Spotlight On”—individuals currently in the news
• Biographical fact sheets
• Tabbed results screen
• Citations and word count included in the results list
• Save search

Chances are, if you can’t find who you are looking for here, they aren’t famous—yet. If this resource is not available at your school or local library, ask for it. This is a great resource to have available.

Check them out today!