Research Central: Educator Resources

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Library Services for Teachers & Homeschoolers

Looking for resources to help with lesson planning or homeschooling? Need a classroom collection to support your curriculum? Check out these Library services and resources for teachers and homeschoolers. Learn how to sign up for a Teacher Library Card with special privileges and set up a tour of the Library for your class.

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Databases

AtoZ Maps Online

from World Trade Press
More than 100,000 downloadable maps! Perfect for school reports, school lesson plans, personal research projects, and business reports. AtoZ Maps Online will also adapt to the screen size of any desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

AtoZ the USA

from World Trade Press
Great for state reports, projects, and presentations! AtoZ the USA contains more than 115 country-based articles and 115 state articles for each of the 50 US states, five US territories, and the District of Columbia. Library patrons and students will find unmatched coverage of the country's people, history, economy, geography, symbols, culture, and society.

AtoZ World Culture

from World Trade Press
The world's most comprehensive collection of country culture articles for 175 countries. Topics include greetings and courtesies, gift giving, holidays, superstitions and folklore, history, media, women in culture and business, national cuisine, recipes, sports, stereotypes, maps, flags, religion, and more. Includes lesson plans!

BrainHQ

Exercise your memory, attention, and more! As with physical exercise, brain exercise can help you test your brain and improve your performance in order to feel your best. BrainHQ has more than two dozen brain-training exercises organized into six categories: Attention, Brain Speed, Memory, People Skills, Intelligence, and Navigation. Access brain training on most internet-connected devices and at the right level for you and your busy life. Start today!
Chrome browser is recommended.

Online account is required. Children under the age of 13 should have a parent or guardian open this account.

BrainPOP

Trusted learning resources, BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr., and BrainPOP ELL offer cross-curricular animated movies, learning games, interactive quizzes, primary source activities, and a breadth of additional resources for students in grades K-12. Its topics span Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Engineering & Tech, Health, and Arts & Music. Perfect for teachers, lesson plans, students and parents alike!
We are experiencing issues with remote access to BrainPOP. Contact the Library for home access info.

Creativebug

Creativebug.com has more than 1,000 award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists. Learn how to paint, knit, crochet, sew, screen print, and more!

Explora Primary Schools

From EBSCOhost
Designed with students and educators in grades K through 5 in mind, Explora Primary Schools provides a safe, trustworthy environment for students to look up facts for class projects or homework.

Explora Public Libraries

From EBSCOhost
Designed with public library patrons in mind, Explora Public Libraries provides easy-to-use features and reliable content from the world's leading magazines and reference books, grouped into easy-to-browse categories.

Explora Secondary Schools

From EBSCOhost
Designed with students and educators in grades 6 through 12 in mind, Explora Secondary Schools provides a far better alternative to websites and search engines for students to look up articles and facts for research papers or homework.

Gale in Context: Elementary

(formerly Kids Infobits)
Great for homework research for young learners. Easy-to-use and features searchable content including books, magazines, news, and more than 13,000 images.

Global Newsstream

by ProQuest
Exclusive access to 85 full-text newspapers from the world-leading news, including Dayton Daily News from 1993 to current, and Wall Street Journal from 1984 to present. Research all over the country!

HelpNow

from Brainfuse
On demand, anytime, anywhere live tutoring for students K-12. Included is a Writing Lab and Send Question Center, which allows users to receive assistance at any time of the day without connecting with a live tutor. Prep exams and FAFSA assistance also available.

LinkedIn Learning for Library

LinkedIn Learning has more than 6,600 courses! Learning paths are step-by-step courses, supported with quizzes, practice, and reminders. Examples of learning paths include how to become a web developer, manager, bookkeeper, project manager, small business owner, digital marketer, or digital illustrator.
Get assistance logging in via the LinkedIn Learning App.

Literary Reference Center

from EBSCOhost
With full text of literary journals and respected literary reference works, LRC contains plot summaries, literary criticism, author biographies and interviews, and the full text of thousands of poems and short stories. Research an author, novel, or poem for school or personal interest.

NoveList K-8 Plus

Elementary and Middle School students can find fiction and nonfiction titles for school projects and for fun! Enter the title of your favorite book and click on "Find Similar Books". You can also search by your favorite author, title or series.

Ohio History Connection

Search within the State Archives of Ohio Collection. Full text resources include African American Experience in Ohio 1850-1920, Civil War, Military Rosters, and more.

Ohio History Journal

Ohio History was established in June 1887 as the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly. For more than one hundred years, the journal has published peer-reviewed articles and book reviews on topics spanning the political, military, social, economic, and cultural history of our region.

OhioMeansJobs Assessment & Training Center

from EBSCO LearningExpress
A highly-acclaimed, comprehensive selection of interactive online tutorials, practice tests, articles, eBooks, and high-stakes test preparation all modeled after official tests. The assessment & training center is designed to help students and professionals at all levels of learning achieve their educational and career-related goals.

Oxford Research Encyclopedias

Provides collections of in-depth, up-to-date trustworthy research on an ever-growing range of topics. Within the OREs, you'll find world-class experts who give you an overview of a subject that you can understand in half an hour of reading or less.

Points of View Reference Center

from EBSCOhost
Points of View Reference Center contains many topics, each with an overview, point and counterpoint argument. Providing a balance of materials from all viewpoints, it also includes over 1,300 main essays, leading political magazines from all sides of the political spectrum, newspapers, radio & TV news transcripts, primary source documents and reference books. It also offers guides for writing position papers, developing arguments and debating.

Salem Press

Search WCPL's collection of Salem Press titles on literature and history.

Scholastic Teachables

Worksheets, lesson plans, learning games, and more! Formerly known as Scholastic Printables, it offers printable activities for any subject: math, science, reading comprehension, STEM, writing, and beyond. Download printable lesson plans, reading passages, games and puzzles, clip art, bulletin board ideas, and skills sheets for kids in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8.

ScienceFlix

from Scholastic
ScienceFlix provides students with a better understanding of science concepts and ideas through hands-on projects, videos, multiple text types, interactive features and more.

Statista.com

Statista.com is one of the first statistic portals in the world to integrate data on over 80,000 topics from over 18,000 sources onto a single professional platform. Categorized into 21 market sectors, Statista.com provides direct access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas of interest or markets. Great for business owners, students, and curious people alike!

Transparent Language Online (TLO)

A powerful online language learning system that builds all four core skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. With 100+ languages to choose from and English lessons for speakers of over 25 different languages, there is something for every language learner. Mobile apps are available for language learning on the go!
Online account is required. Children under the age of 13 should have a parent or guardian open this account.

Treehouse

Treehouse is an online video and interactive learning platform. All content is focused on technology and includes content that teaches mobile, front-end and back-end web development in a variety of programming languages. To create or reactivate your Treehouse account, submit this form. Once your request is processed, Treehouse will send an invitation email to get started.
Online account is required. If you already have an active WCPL account with Treehouse, please log in here. If you are under the age of 13, a parent or guardian must create this account.

World Book Early Learning

Explore Trek's World, practice reading with cool stories and discover fun facts all in one place! Created for younger children, this graphic-intense database helps you learn while having fun.

World Book Student

Tailored for students in elementary and middle schools, World Book Student includes all the articles from the print versions of the World Book Encyclopedia, plus thousands of additional articles, learning resources, and research tools. World Book Student is also optimized for tablets for the ultimate mobile research experience.


General

ABCya.com

All the educational games and activities on this site were created and approved by certified school teachers. Grade level lessons incorporate areas like math and language arts while introducing basic computer skills.



About Homeschooling
Lesson plans, activities, and more from ThoughtCo.

Be Awesome
The Be Internet Awesome family guide and fun online game give families the tools and resources to learn about online safety and citizenship at home.

Common Core State Standards Initiative
Building on the best of existing state standards, the Common Core State Standards provide clear and consistent learning goals to help prepare students for college, career, and life. The standards clearly demonstrate what students are expected to learn at each grade level, so that every parent and teacher can understand and support their learning. Visit Ohio's Common Core Standards webpage.

Curriki
A non-profit organization, Curriki is the leading K-12 global community for teachers, students and parents to create, share, and find open learning resources. Curriki encourages collaboration around the world to develop learning resources that are peer-reviewed and classroom tested.

Education.com
Explore more than 30,000 games, lessons, and teacher-crafted learning activities.

Education World
"The Educator's Best Friend." A free resource for educatiors with original lesson plans, website reviews, and special features and columns.

Homeschool World
Website for Practical Homeschooling Magazine.

International Children's Digital Library
Treasure trove of children's books that can be read online in many languages from Amharic to Vietnamese.

Learning for Justice
Formerly known as Teaching Tolerance, this site provides free K-12 educational resources addressing systemic social injustice.

neoK12
Educational videos, lessons and games for K-12 kids. Teachers can create and share video playlists with notes and instructions for their students.

Ohio Department of Education- Teacher Resource Page
Learn how to become a teacher in Ohio, improve your service to students and advance your career, as well as info on how to move into leadership roles.

Ohio Department of Education- Home Schooling
Considering Home Schooling? Find out what the state requirements are here.

OK Go Sandbox
An online resource for educators that uses OK Go's music videos as starting points for integrated guided inquiry challenges allowing students to explore various STEAM concepts.

Teacher Vision
Lesson plans, printables and more!

TPS Teacher's Network
Connect with colleagues to share resources and ideas.

We Need Diverse Books
Provides resources to connect youth with diverse literature.

Teaching Kids About Money

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Econ Lowdown provides award-winning, free classroom resources for K-16 educators to teach about economics, personal finance, money and banking, and the Federal Reserve.

FINRA: Lesson Plans & Assessments
These lesson plans for students in middle and high school explore the mathematics behind personal finance concepts in a way that is relevant to their age group. Topics include your credit score, the cost of owning a car, and more!

FINRA: Teens and Money Videos
A series of fun videos that help teens learn about setting financial goals, revenue, expenses, break-even point, compound interest, credit cards, buying a car and the cost of moving out.

Jumpstart.org
Provides tools and resources for teachers teaching financial literacy.

Money as You Grow
20 things kids need to know to live financially smart lives.

Money as You Learn
Tools to integrate personal finance into the teaching of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts, as well as into other classes and after-school programs.

MyCreditUnion.gov
Lesson plans and other great free resources for educators.

NEFE High School Financial Planning Program
Free financial literacy program with resources for students and teachers from the National Endowment for Financial Education.

The United States Mint
Financial literacy lesson plans and activities for teachers.

Money Instructor
Teach and learn basic money skills, personal finance, business, careers, and life skills.

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