When a child comes home with a school project on the climate, economy and agriculture of Faroe Islands, the almighty Google offers little solace. There is Wikipedia, of course, but the language is a bit too grown-up. Do you wish there were research websites kids could navigate on their own? Luckily, there are plenty. The following online resources help my students find quality, age appropriate information, fast.
YOUTUBE CHANNELS
YouTube channels are the best when you are really pressed for time.
You can start with a quick search and watch the shortest videos first, or you can try these channels
Freeschool offers short scientific, child friendly info on landforms, animals, landmarks, and historical figures. https://www.youtube.com/user/watchfreeschool
Smithsonian Channel run by the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington has educational videos on almost everything https://www.youtube.com/user/smithsonianchannel
Sqooltube is like YouTube for educational purposes. Type your search word into the search bar and choose from a selection of educational videos. http://www.sqooltube.com/
WEBSITES
After the videos, the following websites are indispensable for elementary school projects.
Kiddle is a Google-operated search engine for kids. Once you enter a search word, scroll down past the first few sponsored links, and you will find valuable links on your topic. https://www.kiddle.co/
Kidtopia is similar to Kiddle https://www.kidtopia.info/, but easier for younger users. The main page offers 9 categories to choose from before entering you search word.
Teach kids news posts news articles classified by categories found on the top bar, while the most recent articles are linked on the main page. https://teachingkidsnews.com/
Fact Monster is the most efficient. It gave me all the information I needed on Faroe Islands in just one click. https://www.factmonster.com/
Infoplease is popular among teachers. There is a search option as well as trivia, quizzes and featured videos. Strangely, when I searched for Faroe Islands, it lead me to the same pages as Fact Monster.
Hopefully these sites and channels make your child’s next research projec stress free and enjoyable. To reduce the stress of homework even further, join our wonderful writing classes and see improvement on the next report card.
With love,
Maria Gurevich