Homework & Research Help for Kids

Homework Tips

There are loads of resources to help you with your homework. Library databases have lots of useful information that’s not necessarily available through Google. Plus, you know you can trust this information. Many websites can also help you with your homework, but make sure you’re safe while surfing the Internet, that the websites you find are from reliable sources, and learn how to cite those sources.

Library Databases

The “databases” here have lots of information not typically available through the Internet. You’ll need your library card to log into some of them.

	NoveList K-8 – Discover the fiction titles that are popular with young readers
	Explora Primary Schools – A research interface for K-5.  Simple search that quickly delivers relevant results including articles, essays, and primary source documents to help students feel successful in their research. Easy-to-browse categories organized by popular topic to give students research ideas. Topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research.
	Khan Academy – “Learn almost anything for free.” 3300 videos explain many subjects.
	LearnNowBC is a single point of entry to distributed learning in British Columbia through the use of Edmark Learning Software.

Websites

Many libraries have reviewed websites and created lists of recommended children’s websites.  Here are a few of our favourites:

North Vancouver District Public Library’s Homework Resources for Kids	Recommended websites for homework.
West Vancouver Memorial Library’s Homework Help	Separates topics by grade
Great Websites for Kids	A collection of amazing, spectacular, colourful and mysterious sites for kids, parents, teachers and other caregivers (from the American Library Association).

We’ve also created a list of recommended fun websites for kids.

Can You Trust That Website?

Anyone can build a website, so you need to make sure the ones you’re looking at are from people you can trust. Here’s how:

Evaluating Websites	A How-To Guide for Middle-School Students
Evaluating Websites	From Talawanda School District
Evaluating Websites	A Checklist [PDF]

Internet Safety

PBS Webonauts	An online game for 8- to 10-year-olds that teaches kids about good citizenship: identity‚ privacy‚ credibility and web safety.
MediaSmarts Games	Online games that teach kids in fun ways all about internet safety, privacy and more. From MediaSmarts: Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy.

Citing Sources: Writing a Bibliography

What’s a bibliography?

It’s a list of all the books, articles, websites, interviews or movies that you used to create your project or report.

Why do I need a bibliography?

It’s important to give credit to the people whose work you used for your report. And it gives you, your teacher and anyone else who reads your report a chance to refer to those sources for more information.

How do I write a bibliography?

There are different ways you can do this and your teacher will tell you which they prefer (if they haven’t, just ask them).

How to Format Your Bibliography	From ClassBrain.com
Write a Bibliography	By infoplease

Looking for more information?

Check our Kids page for more information on library programs for kids and other websites to help support kids as they grow up.