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Homework Help

Page history last edited by Carolyn Garner 1 mo ago

 

Homework Help

A Research Guide

 

What key words will help me find information about homework help?

Where can I find print resources about homework help?

What are some good internet sites about homework help?

 

SELECTED SOURCES AT PAMUNKEY REGIONAL LIBRARY

 

This guide shows you how to find information about homework help and information literacy in and outside of the library.  How is homework help related to information literacy?  Homework is meant to develop a student's independent study skills, which reinforce the following basic points of information literacy:

  1. the ability to identify what information is needed
  2. the understanding of how the information is organized
  3. identification of the best sources of information for a given need
  4. locating those sources
  5. the critical evaluation of the sources
  6. and the sharing of that information.

In essence, an important part of homework help is made up of resources that help develop information literacy.  But homework help can also include test preparation and practice tests, brain games, online tutoring, and more, whatever it takes to help you succeed.

 

If you need assistance, please feel free to ask a library staff member or contact a Reference Librarian. 

 

1. What key words will help me find information about homework help?

 

To find books that can be checked out, choose the SUBJECT search in PamCat, the online catalog, and type (one at a time) these subjects:

 

  • Homework

  • Study skills

  • Study guides

  • Motivation in education

  • Report writing

  • Research

  • Information literacy

 

You may also want to browse subjects: when in the catalog, choose BROWSE and type in “Homework” or "Report writing". This will allow you to browse narrower subjects related to more general subject of homework help.

 

2. Where can I find print resources on Homework Help in the library?

 

Most of the books will be shelved according to their Dewey Decimal Classification number in the Non-fiction areas at:

 

025.5 Library services to users

371.3

 Methods of instruction and study 
372.1 Organization and management of elementary schools; curriculums
373.1 Organization and management of secondary schools; curriculums
378.1 Organization and management; curriculums
808 Rhetoric & collections of literature

 

Keep in mind that Juvenile non-fiction is not separated from the Adult non-fiction.

 

When you are doing research, make sure that you search in the reference area, as well.  Reference books (those with an "R" on the spine) cannot be checked out, but they have a lot of valuable information available.  Some reference books you may want to consider include the following:

 

R 808 MLA

MLA handbook for writers of research papers

 Available at All Branch Libraries

R 808.02 TUR 7TH ED

 A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations : Chicago style for students and researchers Available at All Branch Libraries.

R 808 SAB

 The Gregg reference manual : a manual of style, grammar, usage, and formatting Available at Ashland, Atlee, Goochland, and Mechanicsville.

R 808 PUB

 Publication manual of the American Psychological Association Available at Ashland, Atlee, Goochland, and Mechanicsville.

 

Your library may not have all these titles, but other resources will be available at other branches, or we can request them through interlibrary loan from other library systems.  When in doubt, just ask a library staff member or a Reference Librarian.

 

3. What are some good internet sites about homework help?

 

There are a variety of reliable resources on homework help online.  The library also subscribes to several online databases that offer homework and research help to students.  To find age appropriate sites, look for the following codes next to the site's title:

  • E - for elementary school students
  • M - for middle school students
  • H - for high school students

Databases

These databases are available free of charge to Pamunkey Regional Library cardholders.  You can log in with your library card number to these databases from work, home, or school.  If you are not a PRL cardholder, check with your local library to see what databases it may offer.

 

  • Kids’ Info Bits (login from the Library or from Work, Home, or School) E

    Geared for students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 and features a developmentally appropriate, visually graphic interface, a subject-based topic tree search, and full-text, age-appropriate, curriculum-related magazines, newspapers and reference books on a variety of subjects.

    ReadSpeaker, a new audio feature available for many articles in Gale databases, is designed for vision-impaired readers and aural learners, those whose learning style is reinforced by listening.  In Kids InfoBits, there’s a link to Teachers Toolbox that has tips and tools that will help him do this.  Teachers Toolbox is divided into two parts – Tools for Getting Started and Tools for Wrapping It up

    Tools for Getting Started is made up of five different parts, Judging Information, Creating A Web, Choosing a Topic, How to Write a Topic Sentence, and Creating an Outline. 

    • Judging Information covers choosing the best sources of information using three factors – reliability, details, and currency (or up-to-dateness).
    • Creating a Web shows you how to organize your thoughts using circles of different sizes – big for broad ideas and smaller for more specific ideas.
    • Choosing a Topic directs you on how to approach general, specific, and in-between topics.
    • How to Write a Topic Sentence teaches you how to summarize your main idea into a clear sentence.
    • Creating an Outline gives you tips on how to organize your ideas for a report or short paper.

Tools for Wrapping It up is made up of four parts, How to Cite a Source, Organizing a Report,  How to Write a Conclusion, and How to Create a Visual Representation. 

    • How to Cite a Source provides examples of how to create a simple bibliography with different sources.
    • Organizing a Report covers the beginning stages of writing a report
    • How to Write a Conclusion shows you how to summarize your report
    • How to Create a Visual Representation gives you tips on how to show the information in your report in graphs, charts and other visual aids.

       

A version of the teacher's toolbox designed for a slightly older audience is also available in InfoTrac Kids’ Edition (for elementary school students; Library or Work, Home, or School) E M and InfoTrac Junior Edition (for middle school students; Library or Work, Home, or School) M.  Both databases search full-text magazines, newspapers and reference books for information on current events, the arts, science, pop culture, health, government, history, sports and more.

 

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Try these widgets for instant searching!

 

  • Encyclopedia Britannica Online for Kids (Library or Work, Home, or School) E M H

    Lets elementary and middle school students search Compton's and the Elementary Encyclopedia, as well as magazines, web sites, and videos. They can also explore age-appropriate features like a dictionary and thesaurus, atlases, timelines, and more.

    EBKids's Homework Help feature is its Student Center.  There are guides for creating four major types of writing assignments.           

    • How to Write a Research Paper 

      Beginning a research (or term) paper can be daunting, but this section lists the step to creating a well-written paper.

    • How to Write a Book Review

      This section takes the book report a step further and introduces the student to literary criticism.

    • How to Write a Science Report 

      Writing up a Science, or laboratory, report is somewhat different from the general science fair projects that we do throughout school.  These tips are targeted to high school students.

    • How to Prepare an Oral Presentation 

      Few resource have specific guides for oral presentations.  This guide contains material similar to the guides in the World Book Encyclopedia (print) and Teen Health and Wellness (online).

  • Testing and Education Reference Center (Library or Work, Home, or School) M H

    A great resource for test prep, college placement, and career resources.  TERC also offers Academic Skills Question Banks for students in middle school (Grades 6-8) or students in high school (Grades 9-12) to figure out their strengths and weaknesses, and to practice their basic skills. You'll need to register for a free account to use the Question Banks.  The Question Banks can be used to drill and practice with grade-appropriate content in four subjects: Mathematics, Reading, Writing, and Science.  Each Question Bank contains several question sets, broken down by subject. After finishing each question set, you will be able to view complete explanations for each question, and see a report on your score.

    There are also Advanced Placement (AP) Exams test prep for AP students.  TERC provides Practice Tests, eBooks, Online Articles, Resources, and Related Links to help these students.

  • eLibrary (Library or Work, Home, or School) E M H

    Search for magazine articles, newspaper articles, pictures, maps, book excerpts, and TV or radio transcripts.  One of the benefits of making an eLibrary account is that teachers and parents, too, can use them to create timelines, bookcarts, slideshows and quizzes

  • Teen Health & Wellness (Library or Work, Home, or School) M H

    Developed with teens' concerns and perspectives in mind.  Teen Health & Wellness provides students with comprehensive curricular support and self-help tools on topics including diseases, drugs, alcohol, nutrition, fitness, mental health, diversity, family life, and more. All content is reviewed by leading professionals in medicine, mental health, nutrition, guidance, and career counseling.

    You may not expect to get homework help on a health site/database, but Teen Health & Wellness has a whole section on Skills for School, Work, and Life.  Under "Online Skills," the section on Cyber Literacy is relevant to Information Literacy, especially in the areas of judging valid information online and what to do with the different qualities of information you find.  The "Intellectual Property" section goes into detail about the hot topics of copyright and plagiarism online.  Under "Skills for Success," the articles on Communication, Critical Thinking, Critical Writing, and Public Speaking expand on some of the guides from other databases and the print resources mentioned above.  Each article has a “Ten Great Questions” section, which suggests questions for teens to ask themselves or a professional about the topics covered in the corresponding article.  There are also links to additional resources, a bibliography for further reading and a glossary for each article.

  • Biography Resource Center (Library or Work, Home, or School) E M H

    BRC has an expanded toolbox for several different audiences, including teachers, librarians, and students and other researchers. There's a "how to cite" page where the citations for each feature of BRC are presented in MLA format.  The Research Guide is the meaty part of this section.  It’s also unique in that the tips are not general but are more guided to research conducted within BRC.

 

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Homework Help Web Sites

The sites listed below are collections of Homework Help sites or sites that cover more than one subject, to save you time when you're looking for help.

 

 

Personalized Help

Sometimes using study guides or web sites isn't enough and you may need some one-on-one assistance.  Here are several sources of online and real-life help.

 

  • Reference Services

    We have four Reference Librarians at PRL who are ready to help you in person at our Ashland, Atlee, and Mechanicsville branch libraries.  If you are at another branch library, see a staff member about contacting us for assistance.

    • Ask-A-Librarian

      There are two ways to send mail to Ask-A-Librarian.  You can go to www.pamunkeylibrary.org/askalibrarian.htm and fill out the form or e-mail ask@pamunkeylibrary.org. 

    • Chat Reference - www.pamunkeylibrary.org/Default.htm

      This is our newest service that we started during the beginning of the school year.  We have a meebo chatbox on the front page of the web site, for those times when e-mailing a Reference Librarian may take too long.  Instant messaging is a bit snappier, with a faster response time between the asker and the responder.

       

  • Ask Dr. Math http://mathforum.org/dr.math/dr-math.html

    Do you have "math anxiety?" This site is devoted to math for K-12 students and their teachers.  Ask Dr. Math is a question and answer service staffed by Swarthmore College math students. A searchable archive is available by level and topic, as well as summaries of Frequently Asked Questions.

  • The Center for Engineering and Science Education - Ask an Expert

    http://www.k12science.org/askanexpert.html

    CIESE at Stevens College was founded in 1988 to improve K-12 science and mathematics education through the use of technology.  Ask an Expert features links about science subjects for a variety of age levels where students can ask questions and get reliable answers.

 

 

 

If you have a particular search term that you would like to use, go to our Rollyo page to search all these resources at once.

 

You may also want to check out other sections of the Internet Public Library. These websites will provide you with reliable information.

 

As always, please feel free to ask a Library Staff member, or e-mail us at Ask a Librarian!

 

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compiled by the PRL Reference and Training Department (2009) 

 

 

E-mail: ask@pamunkeylibrary.org  

 

 

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