Did you know that on this day Martin Luthar King, Jr. was assassinated (in 1968), the ribbon was cut to open the World Trade Centre in New York City (in1973) and the town of Kangra in India suffered an earthquake which killed more than 20, 000 citizens (in 1905)?
If its timely facts like this which fascinate you then you ought to visit Factmonster (www.factmonster.com). This vibrantly coloured website is aimed at kids (aged 8 – 14 yrs) and has a number of daily updated features including “today in history”, “today’s birthday”, a “word quiz” (with a sound file attached for pronunciation), a daily “analogy” and a “spelling bee”. All of these elements are just as entertaining and educational for adults!
However if you are on a mission to do your homework (or assist your child with their homework) then Factmonster can offer you easy access to an online atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia and several almanacs (which feature current facts on a wide range of topics). It’s a single search engine which allows you to search several sources at the same time.
To conduct a search, enter a keyword into the search box at the top of the homepage and click on “go”. Factmonster will trawl through all the almanacs, the Columbia Encyclopedia and the Infoplease Dictionary at once. On your search result page you’ll be able to easily identify from which source the information has been extracted. Be aware that Factmonster is a US site and therefore presents information primarily of interest to North Americans. Consequently, a search on an Australian topic may return limited information.
Standard, clickable categories presented on the homepage include Sports, Science, Math, Games & Quizzes and a Homework Centre. Click on one of these topics to drill down through subcategories. The Homework Centre features six subjects (English, Math, Science, Geography, Language Arts and Social Studies) as well as tips to improve writing, speaking and listening skills.
Don’t miss the Help button to access a list of frequently asked questions and the details of the actual information sources (encyclopedia, almanacs etc) used by the search engine. If you are engaged in serious research don’t miss the “Citing Fact Monster” link down the very bottom of the homepage for helpful instructions on how to reference the information you have found in your assignment or project.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
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Searchlight is a weekly column written by CityLibraries Townsville. It is published in the Townsville Bulletin newspaper and on this 'blog every Monday. Searchlight aims to make your internet searching more effective, efficient and fun by reviewing search tools, providing searching hints and tips, and helping with tricky search topics.
