Elementary School Project by Caitlin Newman

Britannica School (Elementary)

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 17:50:24 UTC

Search for articles, images, videos, periodicals, and more. A "cite" widget helps students add relevant MLA, APA, Harvard, or Chicago style citations to their projects; I also noticed great accessibility features. Readers can increase or decrease font size with ease, making this site accessible to readers at a variety of levels. Free with a Pennsylvania public library card.

TrueFlix

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 18:02:28 UTC

An e-book on the Pennsylvania colony, paired with a video, might be another good starting place for this student. The "Explore More" feature even points the student to other, more specific articles that might be helpful as they narrow down their topic. Free with a Pennsylvania public library card.

Discover PA

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 18:11:32 UTC

This digital resource is a simple list of state symbols, the state flag, and the state song, and is not particularly interactive. Still, it might be a good starting place for this student: do any of the listed symbols or facts spark interest and inquiry? Free.

Annenberg Learner U.S. History Map Interactive

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 18:38:29 UTC

This digital resource, a project of the Annenberg Foundation, helps users understand how the United States was settled. One pathway clearly delineates the major tribes that lived in North America prior to and during settlement and westward expansion. Free.

Cricket Media Collection

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 18:41:33 UTC

Among the resources available on this site are e-books from Cobblestone, Cricket Media's Parents' Choice Gold Award–winning history magazine. Free with a Pennsylvania public library card.

BookFLIX

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 18:53:23 UTC

BookFLIX pairs a picture book and a nonfiction book, offering two different entry points into a similar subject. For example, a traditional biography on Benjamin Franklin is presented alongside a video readalong of Lane Smith's John, Paul, George, and Ben. This resource has lots of reader accessibility tools—new vocabulary words are highlighted and defined, and some options are available in Spanish—making it especially effective for children who are still building their reading or English-language-learning skills. Free with a Pennsylvania public library card.

New American History

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 19:11:19 UTC

A fourth-grader would need assistance finding relevant content on this digital resource, which is searchable by grade level and reading level. But once that hurdle is cleared, there is some great information presented here. Free.

Diverse Book Finder

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 19:23:52 UTC

Perhaps our student would like to move beyond researching the typical (white, male) touchstones of Pennsylvania history. Diverse Book Finder is their destination! In this scenario, I would advise filtering by "genre: non-fiction" and "setting: Pennsylvania" to find BIPOC Pennsylvania heroes like Roberto Clemente, Laura Wheeler Waring, and August Wilson. Free.

Smithsonian Open Access

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 19:31:47 UTC

Let's say our student has narrowed down a topic and wants to include images in their project. Searching this website will give them access to almost 5 million digitized items from the Smithsonian's collections—all available for download and re-use. Free.

Padlet

caitlinnewman1 — 2023-12-13 19:35:22 UTC

When you really get going with a research project, it can be hard to keep track of all of your source material. I would recommend that this patron use Padlet to keep track of websites, book titles, images, and other materials, so that they can easily compile a bibliography. Free version is limited to three published Padlets.