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Anything you've ever wanted to know from Britannica

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Britannica's new platform provides content designed and written specifically for early learners.
Creating a more engaging and fun learning experience for students, the activities in Britannica Fundamentals align with the content areas children learn in the classroom. From language and literacy to geography and mathematics, Britannica Fundamentals supports classroom curriculum while also building digital literacy.

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From Britannica, an online encyclopedia resource for kids in grades K-12 with safe, fact-checked, age-appropriate content for homework help and learning...

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Math Help and Scientific Calculator

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Free math lessons and math homework help from basic math to algebra, geometry and beyond. Students, teachers, parents, and everyone can find solutions to their math problems instantly.

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National Bird Quick Facts

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Including habitats, food source, etc.

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Cardinal Bird Facts For Children | A to Z Kids Stuff

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Information and activities about cardinals for school-age children.

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The famous Virginia Black Bear

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Of the three bear species (black, brown, and polar bears) in North America, only the black bear lives in Virginia. Shy and secretive, the sighting of a bear is a rare treat for most Virginians. However, bears are found throughout most of the Commonwealth, and encounters between bears and people are increasing. A basic understanding of bear biology and implementing a few preventative measures will go a long way to helping make all encounters with bears positive.
Physical Description

Adult black bears are approximately 4 to 7 feet from nose to tail, and two to three feet high at the withers. Males are larger than females. Black bears have small eyes, rounded ears, a long snout, large non retractable claws, a large body, a short tail, and shaggy hair. In Virginia most black bears are true black in color unlike black bears found in more western states that can be shades of red, brown or blond.

Depending on the time of year, adult female black bears commonly weigh between 90 to 250 pounds. Males commonly weigh between 130 to 500 pounds. The largest known wild black bear was from North Carolina and weighed 880 pounds. The heaviest known female weighed 520 pounds from northeastern Minnesota.

Distribution

The American black bear is found only in North America. Black bears historically ranged over most of the forested regions of North America, and significant portions of northern Mexico. There are approximately 900,000 black bears in North America. Black bears reside in every province in Canada except for Prince Edward Isle, and in at least 40 of the 50 states in the US. In the eastern United States, black bear range is continuous throughout New England but becomes increasingly fragmented from the mid-Atlantic down through the Southeast.

General Habitat: Incredibly adaptable, black bears occupy a greater range of habitats than any bear in the world. Bear home ranges must include food, water, cover, denning sites and diverse habitat types. Although bears are thought to be a mature forest species, they often use a variety of habitat types.

Longevity

Bears may live up to 30 years in the wild. The oldest documented wild bear in Virginia was 26 years of age when it was killed.

Solitary or Social?

Black bears are generally solitary, except sows caring for cubs. Adult bears may be seen together during the summer breeding period and occasionally yearling siblings will remain together for a period of time. Bears may also gather at places with abundant food sources.

Daily Activity Time

Black bears are typically crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn), but can be active any time of day.

Movements

Female black bears have smaller home ranges (1 to 50 square miles) than males (10 to 290 square miles). A male's home range may overlap several female home ranges. Bears may move further in times of less food like early spring. Dispersing yearlings, especially males, looking for new home ranges may also travel a great distance.

Breeding and Cubs

Female black bears mature as early as three years old. Breeding occurs from mid-June to mid-July, but in the eastern deciduous forest, mating season can extend into August. Female black bears usually breed every other year and cubs are born from early January to mid-February weighing ½ to ¾ lbs. Anywhere from 1-4 cubs are born at a time and are raised by their mother for about 1½ years. First-year cub mortality rates are about 20%, primarily due to predation (foxes, coyotes, dogs, bobcats, other bears) or abandonment by their mother. Adult bears do not have natural predators except humans.

When the mother is ready to breed again, she will send her yearlings to fend for themselves during the summer months when food is usually abundant. Always hungry, these yearling bears, particularly the males, will seek easy sources of food. The ability to access human related food sources can spell trouble for these bears.

Denning

Bears may feed up to 20 hours per day, accumulating fat (energy) prior to winter denning. An adult male can gain over 100 pounds in a few weeks when acorn production is heavy. Depending on weather and food conditions, black bears enter their winter dens between October and January. Bears will not eat, drink, urinate or defecate while denning. Bears are easily aroused and may be active during warm winter days. They emerge from their dens from mid-March to early May. In Virginia, most bears den in large, hollow trees. Other den types include fallen trees, rock cavities, and brush piles in timber cut areas, open ground nests, and man-made structures (culvert pipe).

Foods

Black bears have a very diverse diet. They consume herbaceous plant parts, woody plant parts, flower/nectar/ pollen, fruit, terrestrial insects, juvenile and small mammals, juvenile and adult amphibians, and carrion. Bears are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders, eating mostly plants in the spring, berries and insects in the summer, and nuts and berries in the fall. Carrion (dead animals) is often a part of a bear's diet. Although not typically and an active predator, rare occurrences of livestock predation is reported each year.

Spring Foods

Summer/Fall Foods

From Linda Masterson Living with Bears: A Practical Guide to Bear Country.

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Of the three bear species (black, brown, and polar bears) in North America, only the black bear lives in Virginia. Shy and secretive, the sighting of a bear is a rare treat for most Virginians. However, bears are found throughout most of the Commonwealth, and encounters between bears and people are increasing.

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Book recommendations

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Explore and find your next good read - recommended books by influential people, handpicked by genre, or curated for specific interests.

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Interesting facts about major countries around the globe

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Fun Facts about Countries

Enjoy our range of fun facts for kids from countries all around the world. Travel the globe learning interesting trivia and information related to countries found on continents such as Europe, Asia and North America.

Have fun reading about animals in Australia, rivers in China, rainforests in Brazil, culture in Japan, business in Germany, history in South Africa and much more.

Malaysia

Malaysia is a multi-cultural country full of amazing foods, artworks, people and wildlife.

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Fun Country Facts for Kids - Interesting Trivia & Information

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Fun Facts about Countries Enjoy our range of fun facts for kids from countries all around the world. Travel the globe learning interesting trivia and information related to countries found on continents such as Europe, Asia and North America.

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Including state capitals

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Interesting facts about Virginia

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Click the full-screen arrows in the upper right to see the whole image.

HISTORY
Experts think the first people to live in what is now Virginia arrived as many as 18,000 years ago. Thousands of years later Native American tribes such as the Powhatan, Cherokee, Croatoan, and Tuscarora lived on the land.

In 1607, Jamestown-the first English colony in what would become the United States-was founded in Virginia. One of the Jamestown settlers, John Smith, was captured by the Powhatans. According to Smith, he was about to be killed when Pocahontas, the chief's daughter, threw herself in front of him to save his life. (Though historians think this story is unlikely to have happened.)

In 1776 another famous Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Declaration of Independence. And in 1788, following the Revolutionary War, Virginia became the tenth U.S. state. But in 1861 Virginia seceded, or withdrew from the Union, what was then the United States. This came at the beginning of the Civil War, a conflict between southern states that wanted to pull out of the Union including Virginia and the states in the North. Virginia rejoined the Union in 1870, about five years after the Civil War ended.
WHY'S IT CALLED THAT?
Virginia was named after Queen Elizabeth I, who was called the Virgin Queen.

The area that's now Virginia was home to the first English colony in North America, and Virginia was thought of as one of England's dominions, or territory. That's why it's nicknamed the Old Dominion State.

GEOGRAPHY AND LANDFORMS
Virginia is bordered by West Virginia and Maryland in the north; Maryland, Washington, D.C., and the Atlantic Ocean in the east; North Carolina and Tennessee in the south; and Kentucky and West Virginia in the west.

Travel the state from west to east, and you'll pass through five different geographical areas. Farthest west is the Appalachian Plateau, which is covered in forests, winding rivers, and flat-topped rock.

Continue east, and you'll cross the Appalachian Ridge and Valley, which is full of caverns, sinkholes, and natural bridges. It's also where you'll find Shenandoah National Park.

Farther east is the Blue Ridge, a steep part of the Appalachian Mountains with craggy peaks and deep ravines. It includes Virginia's highest peak, Mount Rogers.

Next is the Piedmont, a plain that spreads across most of central Virginia. The Piedmont leads to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, a lowland with swamps and salt marshes that stretches to the ocean.

WILDLIFE
Black bears, Virginia opossums, Virginia northern flying squirrels, and Appalachian cottontails are among the mammals you might see in this state. Bald eagles, golden eagles, and peregrine falcons soar over the area's mountains, while piping plovers and seagulls nest along the coast. Virginia's 28 species of frogs include green tree frogs, mountain chorus frogs, and southern leopard frogs. The poisonous northern copperhead, bright red northern scarletsnake, and eastern glass lizard (a legless lizard that looks like a snake) are some of the reptiles that live in the state.

The state's tree varieties include hickory, oak, maple, pine, and magnolia. Here, you can also see a dwarf pawpaw-a tree with fruit that tastes like a cross between a banana and a mango. Look for native flowers such as wild columbine, purple milkweed, wild geraniums, and coneflowers.

NATURAL RESOURCES
One of Virginia's top natural resources is its forests, which cover 62 percent of the state. Virginia profits by selling timber, which generates about $17 billion each year. The region is also known for mining coal.

FUN STUFF

Eight U.S. presidents were born in Virginia: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.

These presidents' homes are open to visitors, including Washington's home, Mount Vernon; Jefferson's home, Monticello; Madison's home, Montpelier; Monroe's home, Highland; Harrison's birthplace, Berkeley Plantation; and Tyler's home, Sherwood Forest Plantation.

Many words we use today came from Virginia's Native American languages. Raccoon, moccasin, hickory, moose, skunk, and chipmunk are a few such words.

Actors recreate life in Colonial Williamsburg, a working 18th-century village where blacksmiths work, colonial meals are served, and more. Many of the buildings here are the originals from the 1700s.

Text by Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh Photo credits: Juergen Priewe, Dreamstime (flag); mikedabell, iStockphoto (American foxhound); Brian Kushner, Dreamstime (cardinal); Roberto Zocchi, Dreamstime (American dogwood); maogg, iStockphoto (quarter)

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Click the full-screen arrows in the upper right to see the whole image. HISTORY Experts think the first people to live in what is now Virginia arrived as many as 18,000 years ago. Thousands of years later Native American tribes such as the Powhatan, Cherokee, Croatoan, and Tuscarora lived on the land.

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Facts and states and their capitals

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Articles on current events

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Interesting magazines

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Including continents and oceans

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Information about the past and present Presidents of the U.S.

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Who discovered America?

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The discovery of America and the brave explorers like Christopher Columbus who led the way for the early colonists

The Grande Hermine - the ship of Jacques Cartier

Giovanni da Verrazzano landing in Newport

Picture of the explorer Christopher Columbus arriving in the New World with the ships
The Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta

Explorers of America

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Check out this site for facts and information about the Explorers of America. Major events, history, people in the Explorers of America. Facts and information about the Explorers of America.

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Men & women with "lightbulb" ideas

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The adage "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" certainly worked for Benjamin Franklin. In addition to being a printer, statesman, scientist, philosopher, and inventor, Franklin has become a widely respected symbol of American ingenuity and industry.

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News for middle school students

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As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students. Tween Tribune has been a valued educational brand of Smithsonian magazine, and we appreciate your continued support.

Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

Erin Blakemore

Get Smithsonian Educational Resources

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As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students.

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Learn from Tim and Moby

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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Quick facts about Virginia

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Location Located midway between New York and Florida, Virginia is the gateway to the South. It is also sometimes classified in the Mid Atlantic region. The Commonwealth is bordered by Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, and Maryland to the north

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Quick trivia about VA

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Virginia - Fun Facts, State Symbols, Photos, Visitor Info

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"Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe. And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift [James 1:17] we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land."

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Anything and everything you've ever wanted to know about

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Sunrise: 6:01 A.M., Sunset: 7:27 P.M. For Boston, MA [ CHANGE]

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Random facts about random things

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Geography, History, Science, Animals

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A Free Resource For Teachers, Schools & Kids - Fun Animal Facts, Planet Facts, Science Facts, Geography, History & More!

Welcome to the home of cool and interesting facts for kids. We have lots of super facts about a range of topics for you to read, enjoy and share. Enjoy our kid-friendly videos, pictures, quizzes, downloadable worksheets (PDFs) and infographics! You can view our range of topics using the menu or at the links listed below.

All of our content is 100% suitable for children, so feel free to dive right in. We cover a range of super topics including History, Geography, Science, Planets, and much more! At the end of some of our articles you can use our activity worksheets to test your knowledge.

Learn more about our subjects by clicking the links below, or read more about us.

Read about a variety of countries and geographies like China, New Zealand and Australia, cities, famous landmarks, people and places!

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Read all about the history of our amazing world. We have famous kings and queens from history, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt and Rome.

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Find out some facts about some really cool animals, including bats, dolphins, tigers, pandas, lions and even hedgehogs. Explore the animal kingdom!

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Learn some cool and amazing facts about the heart and the brain. Your brain will definitely get a workout when you read all of these cool facts!

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A Free Resource For Teachers, Schools & Kids - Fun Animal Facts, Planet Facts, Science Facts, Geography, History & More! Welcome to the home of cool and interesting facts for kids. We have lots of super facts about a range of topics for you to read, enjoy and share.

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Don't know a word? Define it here.

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New App! Wordsmyth's Comprehensive Dictionary has a companion app - Wordsmyth Student & ELL Dictionary - available for both Android and iOS devices. The app provides for a better user experience on mobile devices and is accessible with or without the internet. Access to three dictionary levels from one headword lookup supports students and English language learners of all ages and all levels.

Updated Children's dictionary. The Word Explorer Children's Dictionary has been updated. Hundreds of headwords and new images have been added to keep our dictionary data up-to-date with school curriculum as well as with events happening in the world. And don't forget that you can access Spanish support and Chinese support for both words and example sentences on our Children's Dictionary app as well as on our website.

WILD has a new look! And now with more animations and illustrations, new geographical feature maps, and an improved navigation system, the Wordsmyth Illustrated Learner's Dictionary has even more to love! In addition, we added new words related to illness and infection so that educators may get the help they need to talk about the difficult topic of Covid-19 with their young K-to-2 students.

Our new educational game app - WILD WORD LEARNER - is now available to play with 183 wordlists from WILD spread over 12 great topics.

Read the full description and download the free app for your young learners now!

Great support for teachers. Whether you are a classroom teacher, school administrator, or home-school parent, you'll find our Educational Group Subscription has the best resources for vocabulary study. Subscribe now to create a unique school URL to share with all of your students!

One subscription covers all Wordsmyth dictionaries and vocabulary tools for K-12 schools.

Wordsmyth Teacher Tools are now available for teachers with an educational group subscription. Registered users and individual subscribers can try out all the features with limited number of students.

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Dictionaries and vocabulary tools for English language learners | Wordsmyth

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English dictionary and integrated thesaurus for learners, writers, teachers, and students with advanced, intermediate, and beginner levels.

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More definitions

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English to Spanish dictionary

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(sexual) persona que abusa sexualmente de un niño

La organización benéfica Children in Need (Niños Necesitados), fundada por la BBC en 1972, recauda dinero en beneficio de los niños necesitados en el Reino Unido y en el extranjero. Se la conoce sobre todo por los telethons (telemaratones) que organiza anualmente: los programas de TV en los que se invita a los televidentes a llamar para hacer donativos y a organizar sus propias campañas de ayuda para niños enfermos, minusválidos, pobres etc

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Check out the translation for "children" on SpanishDict!

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(sexual) persona que abusa sexualmente de un niño La organización benéfica Children in Need (Niños Necesitados), fundada por la BBC en 1972, recauda dinero en beneficio de los niños necesitados en el Reino Unido y en el extranjero.

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Multiple English translations

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Oxford Dictionaries for Children | Oxford Dictionaries

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Offering a list of all Childrens Dictionaries made available by Oxford University Press. Language reference, usage, grammar questions, and spelling.