Great Websites for Kids

The Association for Library Services to Children’s Great Web Sites Committee has announced their Spring 2012 selections of web sites.  Great Web Sites for Kids are those considered the best web sites for children ages birth to 14, outstanding in both content and conception. As applied to web sites for young people, “great” should be thought to include sites of especially commendable quality, sites that reflect and encourage young people’s interests in exemplary ways.  Selection criteria for these sites can be found at: http://www.ala.org/alsc/greatwebsites/greatwebsitesforkids/greatwebsites

Here is the list of the selections:

ABCya!
www.abcya.com
Make learning fun with a variety of educational computer games for kids. Learn new skills and improve old ones in areas such as math, language arts, and typing.

All About Birds

www.allaboutbirds.org
Learn all about birds in this website created by the Cornell Lab of Orinthology. Bird names, species, location and history are all featured. Also included are bird songs and videos.

CIA for Kids-Games

www.cia.gov/kids-pages/games/index.html
Find out what the CIA is all about, play games, and solve puzzles. Resources for various audiences including parents and teachers.

Common Sense Media

www.commonsensemedia.org
Common Sense Media helps parents make decisions about media and technology for their families. Information and advice is provided in a variety of formats including reviews, videos, and even lesson plans.

Generation on Youth Advisory Council

www.generationon.org
Whether you are looking for something to do after school or to fulfill a service requirement, you'll find inspiration to change the world around you here. This interactive website has a volunteer position search, blogs full of personal stories, and offers project tips from young people like you!

 Judy Schachner

www.skippyjonjones.com
Fun, festive, and full of fantastic resources, this author webpage includes interactive stories, games, print-outs, and educator resources.

PBS Kids Raising Readers Kids Island

www.pbskids.org/island
Helps children develop and practice basic reading skills through online games and activities with their parent, teacher or caregiver.

Poptropica

www.poptropica.com
Created by Jeff Kinney of "Wimpy Kid" fame, this virtual world invites young gamers to create a character and to undertake age-appropriate quests on over a dozen "islands" based on themes from history, nature, and human culture.

Seymour Simon

www.seymoursimon.com
Called by the New York Times "the dean of [children's science] writers," Simon offers information about himself and his books (over 250 and counting!) on his official site, along with study guides, science news and videos, a science dictionary and more.

The New York Times Learning Network

www.nytimes.com/learning
The New York Times Learning Network provides teaching and learning materials and ideas based on NYT content. It includes lesson plans and resources for teachers as well as quizzes and activities for students 13 and older.

We Give Books

www.wegivebooks.org
We Give Books enables children to read a book online and after doing so, a physical book will be donated to a child in need through literacy programs around the world. Created by the Penguin Group and the Pearson Foundation, it combines the promotion of literacy, both to the child reading online and the giving of books, and the concept of giving.