AIS-R LibGuides: Research Resources: Building Background Knowledge

Research Databases

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BrainPop This link opens in a new window Learn about your body, space, science and health. Have your homework questions answered with a movie, ask for advice, or just browse and learn.
CultureGrams This link opens in a new window CultureGrams™ is a leading reference for concise and reliable cultural information on the countries of the world.
Digital Theatre Plus This link opens in a new window Founded in 2009, Digital Theatre+ is the world’s leading educational platform for English and the Performing Arts, providing over 3 million students, within over 1000 schools, colleges and universities, across 65 countries, with access to 600+ theatre productions and educational resources. We collaborate with renowned theatre companies, actors and creatives to capture live performances in stunning quality and bring you insights from behind the scenes; we curate the very best productions from over 50 of the world’s leading arts organisations; and we commission educational resources from leading practitioners and academics.
Ebscohost Research Databases This link opens in a new window Ebscohost provides access to a variety of academic databases which each hold thousands of full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles. An excellent source of reliable information for student research projects.
Encyclopedia Britannica This link opens in a new window The joy of learning, at home or on the go. Whether you need homework help, background for a business proposal, or you simply want to learn, Britannica delivers trusted information wherever you want it, wherever you need it, in new and enjoyable ways.
ERIC This link opens in a new window ERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, provides access to education literature and resources. The database contains more than 1.3 million records and provides access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index.
Explora Primary This link opens in a new window Simple search that quickly delivers relevant results including articles, essays and primary source documents to help students feel successful in their research.
Explora Secondary This link opens in a new window Designed for high school students, students can look up articles and facts for research papers, class projects, or homework from the world’s leading magazines and reference materials.
FactCite This link opens in a new window FactCite Lincoln Library Online supports student research at school or from anywhere! Here is information about accessing award-winning FactCite: Lincoln Library Online, a collection of research databases from Lincoln Library Press!
Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window Provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries. Searchable by subject or keywords within the entry. Perfect for homework help and research.
Global Issues in Context This link opens in a new window Designed to support global awareness, Global Issues In Context ties together a wealth of authoritative content that empowers students to critically analyze and understand the most important issues of the modern world.
Health Source This link opens in a new window This database is the richest collection of consumer health information available to libraries worldwide, providing information on many health topics including the medical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine and general health. Health Source: Consumer Edition provides access to nearly 80 full text, consumer health magazines.
History Reference Center This link opens in a new window Designed for academic research, this database features full text for more than 1,990 reference books, encyclopedias, and non-fiction books. This content comes from leading history publishers such as Branden Publishing, Compass Point Books, Houghton Mifflin, Lerner Publishing Group, Mason Crest Publishers, Morgan Reynolds Inc., Oliver Press, Oxford University Press, Rourke Publishing LLC, Salem Press, Stackpole Books, and Toucan Valley Publications.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
Kids InfoBits This link opens in a new window Kids InfoBits is the perfect educational product for today's young learners. It is a content-rich, authoritative, easy-to-use digital resource featuring age-appropriate, reliable, curriculum-related content covering a broad range of educational topics. The modern design and simple navigation makes it easy for users to explore content and gain comfort with database searching.

Lightbox Interactive ebooks
On this site you can use our Destiny Discover search engine to find educational content appropriate for a variety of purposes, across grade and interest levels. Click MORE to see login information.
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Log in steps:
1. Go to destinydiscover.com.
2. In the Location box, it says “Any Location.” Do not change. In the School box, enter
“Follett eLearning, McHenry, IL” and click Go!
3. To log in, click on the “Log In” button at the top right of the screen.
Username: guest
Password: follett

Literary Reference Center This link opens in a new window Combining information from major respected reference works, books, literary journals, and original content from EBSCO, Literary Reference Center features an expansive collection of author biographies, plot summaries and work overviews, full-text essays from leading publishers, literary reference books and monographs, cover-to-cover full text for literary magazines and journals, book reviews from the most prestigious publications, poems from hundreds of sources, short stories, classic texts, author interviews, and much more.

MyOn
Free ebooks (fiction and nonfiction) during school shutdowns.
Username: readnow
Password: myon
Newsela Free Access Engage students with thousands of texts on topics they care about most. Parents can sign up for free or with a class code.

Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for more than 330 regional (U.S.) newspapers.
NoveList This link opens in a new window NoveList, the complete readers' advisory solution, empowers librarians and teachers, engages readers and connects communities.
Points of View This link opens in a new window Points of View Reference Center contains many topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument) and counterpoint (opposing argument).
Professional Development Collection This link opens in a new window Designed for professional educators, this database provides a highly specialized collection of nearly 520 high quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. This database also contains more than 200 educational reports. Professional Development Collection is the most comprehensive collection of full text education journals in the world.
Science In Context This link opens in a new window Gale In Context: Science is an engaging online resource that provides contextual information on hundreds of today's most significant science topics. Gale's authoritative reference content is merged with full-text magazine, academic journal, and news articles; experiments, images, videos, audio files, and links to vetted websites organised into a user-friendly portal experience.
Science Reference Center This link opens in a new window This comprehensive research database provides easy access to a wealth of full-text, science-oriented content. Designed to meet every student researcher's needs, Science Reference Center contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, and other sources. Topics covered in Science Reference Center include biology, chemistry, earth and space science, environmental science, health and medicine, life science, mathematics, physics, science and society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology, and wildlife.
Student Resources in Context This link opens in a new window Student Resources In Context offers cross-curricular content aligned to national, state, and Common Core State Standards, and presents that material in the way most useful for students. This unique database provides stellar support for papers, projects, and presentations while reinforcing the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation.
Teen Health & Wellness This link opens in a new window The award-winning Teen Health & Wellness provides middle and high school students with up-to-date, nonjudgmental, straightforward curricular, and self-help support. Articles are correlated to state, national, and provincial standards, including Common Core Health and Science.  Topics covered include diseases, drugs, alcohol, nutrition, mental health, suicide, bullying, and more.

Time for Kids TIME for Kids has published a weekly magazine for elementary school students.

WebPath Express This link opens in a new window WebPath Express is a safe, credible and fun educational search tool for PreK-12 students and teachers. WebPath Express integrates more than 85,000 trustworthy, relevant websites into your library catalog while filtering out questionable and irrelevant content.
World History In Context This link opens in a new window World History In Context takes learners from the ancient world to today's headlines, delivering a chronicle of the great cultures and societies that have formed the history of the human race. Rare primary sources, reliable reference and multi-media content put this vast topic into context for students.

Research Resources: Building Background Knowledge

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Research Databases

General Reference

Comparison