St Paul's Reference Shelf

The links you will find here can help you with the homework you have everyday. Some will just be fun to look at for information on subjects you are studying in school.If you have a favorite site that is useful for homework let us know and we may add it to this site.Many of the links you see below will be to web sites with information taken from books that you can find in the library.

General

There are many good subject directories on the web and everyone has a favorite. Here are a few that have been useful for the library.

With over 20,000 carefully selected sites, this really is an awesome library! It is really easy to find information here, just click on the topic on the main screen or search by keyword. There are lots of sites for teachers, parents and students here.

http://funbrain.com

A fun site to practice math or English with lots of interesting information. There are all kinds of resources here for parents and teachers too!

 

 

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/index.html

This is a great place to find resources on about every subject. You can click on topics in the subject table or search terms. Lots of good sites with reference inforamtion can be found here.

One of the older resources on the web, this is still one of the best. If your are looking for online magazines, encyclopedias, specialized dictionaries or computer information the Internet Public Library has it all.

 

http://www.beritsbest.com/

Links to sites especially for kids up to 12 years old. Lots of useful information on searching the web as well as links to great sites on many subjects!

The is one of the most standard reference sources you can find! It has information on famous people, governments, elections and current events. It is a great source for statistical information on countries. This is also a good place to find brief biographies, with lists of books about famous people.

By the same people who produce the Information Please Almanac, this is an almanac for kids. It is easy to find information - everything is organized by subject. If you need information on people, history, science...almost anything, this is a great place to start.

This is the oldest U.S. almanac and provides a great deal of information on the weather, with a lot of historical information thrown in for fun.

For information on Afro-American history, culture and biography this is an excellent source. The biography section has wonderful inforamtion on many prominent Afro-Americans. There is also a section with original documents with the full text of everything from the 1724 "Black Code of Louisiana" to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

If you are looking for either physical or political maps of the countries of the world this is a great source. The maps provide basic information. The political maps do not list every city, just the major ones. The physical maps list just the most important geographical features.

A great source for maps of every country in the world. The site also has wonderful links to other sites on the web for geographic information.

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Biography

Remember that one of the best sources for biographical information on the web or in paper is an encyclopedia. If you have not checked these you are probably working harder than you need to! If you just need basic information on someone, like the dates they lived and what they did you might try an almanac.

This site includes longer biographies of famous people. While it does not have information on all people, like an encyclopedia or almanac would, the information it has is very good. Every biography includes a "webography", a list of additional web sites that could be of interest.

There are thousands of biographies at this site! Some are lengthy with all kinds of extras! The biography of Mark Twain includes a list of his works, links to related web sites and links to sites on related people. Some of the biographies are very brief but all provide basic information on the dates the person lived, their occupation and importance in history.

This is really a collection of links to biographies of people from around the world. The only problem we found was that many of the links are "broken", they don't lead anywhere. Those that work are great and there are lots here!

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Calculators/Math

http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/RefCalculators.html

Every possible calculator is here from the perpetual calendar to simple math. It is a one-stop site for all calculator needs!

If you need a little practice at addition, subtraction, multiplication or division this site can help. You input your problem and answer and it tells you if you are correct. There are also flashcards, worksheets and other helpful practice aids!

For all advanced mathematic, algebra, trigonometry, etc. this is a great site for information. There are also sections on pre-algebra, basic math and every other math-type of topic you can think of! All pages includes links to tools that will help with these problems.

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Dictionaries

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm

This is the most reliable source for looking up information on words. Look up words, use the thesaurus.

This site has tools for everything having to do with language. You can find lots of dictionaries and thesauri, and lots of other writing resources.

Another site from Merriam Webster. This one has all kinds of tools, like a rhyming dictionary, word games, verse composer. You can even build your own dictionary here.

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Encyclopedias

When you start looking for information, the encyclopedia should be your first stop. Not only will it tell you basic information about your topic, it often gives you other sources for more information. Encyclopedias have everything from biographies to scientific discoveries. There are many different kinds of encyclopedias, some are just about one subject, like The Catholic Encyclopedia. This section has links to general encyclopedias. Encyclopedias on special topics are listed with those topics.

 

http://www.britannica.com/

This is the complete encyclopedia with articles from over 70 magazines and links to 125,000 websites.

This is the home of Microsoft's "concise" encyclopedia. A concise encyclopedia has short articles on all subjects. This site also has Microsoft's educational site.

This is a site with articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia. The brief articles have links to online magazine and newspaper articles related to the topic.

http://www.ltls.org

Have you visited a library on the web? You can do alot more than just look for books! At Lincoln Trails you can search and find magazine articles for reports and get the full text of articles from the World Almanac. To use these resources you have to go to the "QuickSearch" option. Once you have this screen you can choose "Catalogs and Databases" from the choices on the right. Next click on "State Resources" and then on "FirstSearch". You will need a login and password to signon. These you can get in our library at St.Paul's. It is a really helpful source and might save you a trip out or help out when the library is closed!

 

http://www.danville.lib.il.us

If you want to check out a book or see what the library has on a subject this is a great way to search and save yourself some time before you go to the library. If you have a libary card you can even charge the book out before you go to the library. There is information on how to do this on the website. You can also get to "FirstSearch" from here!

http://www.loc.gov

The nation's library is always adding new information and original documents about our history. If you are looking for information on the United States, the countries of the world, or U.S. history, you will find all kinds of material here. One of the webpages here call "American Memory" has documents from America's history organized by topic. You can find information on the legislative history of the U.S. under the pages call "Thomas".

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Danville, Illinois

http://www.cityofdanville.org/interesting%20links_files/Links.htm

If you need to know anything about Danville's government, history or other general information, this is the place to start! There are links to all kinds of sites with information on all things relating to Danville, Illinois.

http://www.hometownnews.com/il.htm

Need to see a local paper? Wonder what is in the Commercial News or the NewsGazette today? You can read them online at this site.

http://www.vccd.org/

How much do you know about Danville and Vermilion County? If you want to learn about the wildlife and plants of Danville take at look at this site! It is loaded with information about the animals, plantlife and historic sites in our town and county.

http://www.vermilioncountymuseum.org/index.htm

Find a history of Danville and many of its famous citizens at this site. The Vermilion County Museum has lots of useful information about Danville's past with articles from "The Heritage", a magazine published by the Vermilion County MuseumSociety, for more detailed information.

http://www.museum.state.il.us/

Find out about the history of our state. There is information about Illinois as it was 16,000 years ago, a look at the ice age, and much more at this site. It is a look at Illinois as you never see it today!

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Magazines

There are many place on the web to find magazine articles. We are listing a few that we find helpful. Don't forget you can get the full text of magaizine articles at the Lincoln Trail and Danville Public Library Sites!!

http://ipl.si.umich.edu/div/kidspace/browse/ref9500/

This site has links to a variety of magazines, everything from Time Magazine for Kids to National Geographic World, Ranger Rick to USA Today. It is a handy site when you are looking for an article on something that is in the news or when you are just looking for something fun to read.

 

U.S.News and World Report

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/home.htm

This is one of the best news magazines around and is a good source for information on current events. The web site has articles in issues going back five years!

 

Sports Illustrated for Kids
http://www.sikids.com/

For anyone interested in Sports this is a fun site and covers all major sporting events.

http://www.usnpl.com/

Need to find a newspaper article? This is the easiest place to start. The site lists newspapers published all over the United States and has links to national news sources like the Wall Street Journal and the Vatican Newspaper.

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Reading/ Style Sheets/Writing

http://www.bookadventure.org

If you are having trouble finding a book to read this might be a good place to start looking. This site has suggestions from kids and teens on books they liked. There are reading lists with lots of suggestions.

http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar

You can find a definition for about everything in the English language here.

http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar

Need a style sheet? Can't remember how to use an intransitive verb? All of this and more is available here. The easy to use drop down menus will guide you through basic grammar and writing an essay.

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Religion

If you are looking for information on other religions of the world take a look at our list of encyclopedias or try the general web directories! Both should help you find what you need.

http://www.newadvent.org

This is a site with all kinds of information on the Catholic Church. There are links to the original Baltimore Catechism and the full text of the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia. A list of all the Popes of the church and links to extensive information are also available here.

The Vatican
http://www.vatican.va

If you need to know what is currently going on in the Catholic Church, this is probably the best starting place. There are links to news in the Church, recent statements by the Holy Father, documents of the Vatican, the catechism of the Catholic Church, the Bible and much more.

http://users.erols.com/saintpat/ss/ss-index.htm

This is a very good source for information on the lives of the saints. You can find complete lives for most of the saints of the Catholic Church, many with illustrations and links to other sites.

http://www.catholicalmanac.com

If you need information on current events in the church or a brief description of church history, this is a great source. There is a glossary, a brief church history, a history of the papacy, a history of the College of Cardinals and a list of its members and a list of the U.S. Bishops

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Science

http://sciencenet.tpl.toronto.on.ca

Have a project on desert environment? Need information on plants and how they grow? What about some new information on dinosaurs? All of it is here! When you link to the site you must choose the language you want to use, English or French. After that you can search by subject or alphabetically. You can even choose the grade level you want! If you search by subject you will also be given the Dewey number which will help if you need to find more information in the library.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids

This is a great site for all kinds of information on animals and the world around us. There are lots of cool activities and lots of homework help.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/

U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsors this page of information on science and agriculture.

http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/elem_home1.html

What grade are you in? If you are in grades 3, 4, or 5 take a look at this site for science inforamtion just for your grades.

http://www.howstuffworks.com

From camouflage in animals to dvd players find out how everything works! And it is more than just science. If you like mysteries and hystery try the "unsolved history" for social science puzzles.

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Unites States Resources

There are thousands of sites on the web devoted to American history and government. Here are just a few. The American History Hotlist will give a more complete list of resources. And don't forget, encyclopedias and almanacs often have answers to questions on American history, politics, and government.

http://www.50states.com

No matter what you are looking for about a particular state, if it is on the web you will find it here. There are links to almost everything about each of the states. It is a one-stop search for information on the states.

http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/government.html

Want information on the American Revolution, need some information on the Supreme Court? This is another one of those sites that has links to information on almost everything you could want to know on American history and government. There are even links to historical documents and some teacher resources.

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World Resources

Almanacs and Encyclopedias are a great place to look for information on different countries and their histories.

http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/index.html

This site is sponsored by the United Nations and provides an easy way to get all kinds of information on all the countries in the world.

http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html

This site is a little tricky to use, but will give you an idea of every major event in history and how it happened. If you need to have a summary of the causes of World War I, take a look. It will also give you links to other resources.

http://www.atlapedia.com/

Need to see the flag of England? Have to find the population of China? Altapedia is a quick source for an overview of every country in the world!

 

http://www.supersurf.com

Take a fun trip to an exotic country on this site. Not every country is here, but those that are have information on their society and history.

http://www.ibiscom.com

If you have ever wondered what it was like to live at the time of the civil war or what the revolution in the colonies was like this is the site for you. Take a look at all the letters and illustrations from the past. You can read about the capture of a family by an Indian party in the 1700s in Pennsylvania and much more. Just pick a time!

 

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