Pathfinders

For specific classes:

General:

The Internet Archives: https://archive.org/ a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.

Google Data Sets: https://datasetsearch.research.google.com/ An incredibly vast collection of graphs and charts on all different topics. A great place to start when you're beginning research.

SAT Practice: Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/sat

Fitchburg High School Yearbooks Online: https://archive.org/details/fitchburgpubliclibrary?sort=-date&and[]=subject%3A%22Fitchburg+High+School%22

Reading/Research

If you haven't created your FHS eBook account yet, click here. Ebooks from this resource are yours for two weeks, then they automatically return to the elibrary, so stay on top of things - you can usually renew them right before the deadline. See Dr. Cochrane with any questions.

Keep track of your own reading, and share your book ideas: Google Books https://books.google.com/bkshp?hl=en&tab=pp

Another good place to keep track of your reading and get ideas for more: GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/

Fitchburg Public Library: http://fitchburgpubliclibrary.org/

Gain access to more databases by using your public library card online. The teen librarian is an expert on books for high school students, and runs many exciting programs you may be interested in. Talk to Dr. Cochrane if you don't yet have a card for the Fitchburg Public Library.

How to Cite Your Sources:

This page: http://pitt.libguides.com/c.php?g=12108&p=64731 will teach you about citing your research sources using MLA style.

This is a similar resource: Purdue Owl, MLA Formatting

Online Resources for all Disciplines

Allsides.com Use this source to find all perspectives on news items. For teachers: Allsides for schools AllSides for Schools gives educators tools, resources, information, and curricular guidance to help students build skills in news literacy, bias awareness, critical thinking, and conversation across difference.

ProCon.org Find multiple sides of various issues presented in clear language, and with lots of resources to follow. (2020-21 - see Opposing Viewpoints in our Gale Databases for even better such tools)

OER (Open Educational Resources) for all disciplines https://oercommons.org/oer

Smithsonian Learning Lab Both teachers and students can access this HUGE resource : https://learninglab.si.edu/

PBS Learning Media: Students Great resource loaded with video clips from an established educational resource. https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/student/

Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/

Author John Green and his brother Hank have created a fabulous resource on YouTube for quick learning called Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse/featured Check it out!!

Science and Technology:

National Library of Medicine: https://wwwcf.nlm.nih.gov/nlm_eresources/eresources/search_database.cfm

PubMed - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

Visible Human Project - https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html

MedlinePlus - https://medlineplus.gov/

Household Products Database - https://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/

HealthReach - https://healthreach.nlm.nih.gov/

Genetics Home Reference - https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/

Environmental Health and Toxocology - https://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro.html

NASA Resources for high school students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/9-12/index.html Games, interactive activities, opportunities for internships, projects, and more.

Sparticle: http://www.sparticl.org/ Sparticl is a new web and mobile service for teens, a collection of the very best the web has to offer in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Sparticl includes answers to science questions, images, videos, games, and hands-on activities, all curated by a team of experts. But it's also a place where teens play a critical part – ranking content, sharing it, and recommending new content, all the while earning points and badges.

Energy4Me Essential Energy Education. http://energy4me.org/all-about-energy/what-is-energy/energy-sources/ Pros/Cons of different energy sources.

PowerUp Game: http://sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/powerup.html In this game, you will decide the best energy source for your city based on the financial costs, as well as positive and negative effects that derive from using those sources.

Digital Library for Earth Science Education: http://www.dlese.org/library/index.jsp Click on Educational resources > Browse resources & collections to see the many different topics covered by this vast collection.

AAAS Science NetLinks: http://sciencenetlinks.com/ Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, this resource has activities and tools for all grade levels.

Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL): http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/ This is the place where you can learn all about JPL's missions, from the Mars Curiosity rover to Cassini at Saturn, the Spitzer Space Telescope and the fleet of satellites that monitor our home planet. Choose your grade level for fascinating activities/games.

Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/ Click on Subjects, choose your topic, and start answering questions.

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago- Online Science: http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/ Science games, apps, activities for all ages from the oldest science museum in the Western Hemisphere.

History: Primary Source Sites:

Go to these pages when you need to find primary documents for research:

Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/ This site has maps, manuscripts, video and photographs, among other amazing resources for American history in all its dimensions.

National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/ Documents, photos, records, military records, teaching resources - American History Central.

US History.org: https://www.ushistory.org/ Educational resources for teachers and students on American History and Government.

Digital Commonwealth: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/ Founding documents, photos, historic maps, manuscripts, and more from many Massachusetts cities and towns.

Digital Public Library of America: http://dp.la/ An amazing collection of over 11 million items from museums, archives, and libraries from around the world.

Massachusetts Historical Society Online Collections: http://www.masshist.org/collections/online My favorite: http://www.masshist.org/photographs/hall Margaret Hall's photos from World War I.

Massachusetts State Archives, Online Exhibits: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcoedc/oedcidx.htm Two great slide shows: one on Massachusetts Blacks in the Civil War, and the other on the Acadian exile from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts just before the French Indian War.

Smithsonian Learning Lab: https://learninglab.si.edu/ Discover more than a million resources, create personal collections and educational experiences, and share your work.

Other Resources

On Civil Rights: Equal Protection: The 14th Amendment, a Crash Course video https://youtu.be/qKK5KVI9_Q8

Hispanic Heritage Month: https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/for-teachers/ Lots of learning resources from our national museums and collections (Library of Congress, National Archives, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service - and more!).

Mass Moments: http://massmoments.org/ What happened on this day in Massachusetts history? Check this site to find out what important Massachusetts event took place on your favorite day.

Literacy Design Collaborative: https://ldc.org/ LDC CoreTools is an online workspace where teachers can access assignments and lessons to develop the explicit, enduring literacy skills students need to write in response to reading. Assignments and lessons are available in all K–12 content areas, including English language arts, social studies, science, career and technical education, and the arts.

Center for History and New Media, George Mason University Learn about maps and how to use them for research: http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/mapsmain.html