Welcome, 5th graders!  The purpose of this pathfinder is to guide you to helpful websites and to give you tools to use when researching a specific state, and for research about U.S. history in general.

First, it is always a good idea to begin any research project by getting general information about your topic from an encyclopedia. In addition to our set of 2010 World Book Encyclopedias in the library here are two online encyclopedias to get you started.


World Book has two sections: Students and Kids.  Begin from the Student section (it's green), but select "Student and Kids" so that both versions will be displayed. You will usually be using the Student version, but it is a good idea to see the Kids column, too.
Encyclopedia Britannica contains elementary, middle and high school encyclopedias.  Enter your search word(s) in the "Search All Levels" box, and browse all three columns for the information you best understand (the purple column on the right is for elementary school students and will probably be most useful to you).

Do you need an image?
Britannica Image Quest contains over 2 million high resolution, rights-cleared images for educational use

State Websites...
U.S. Census Bureau: State Facts for Students is the official United States census website for students.  It contains population figures and other statistics from 2009.
Kids.gov has student-friendly official state websites.
U.S.A. Games includes a variety of geography games to test your knowledge of your state or all 50!
Class Brain Click on your state for a wide range of  articles and fun facts.


About Jewish Americans
Israel and the States from Jewish Virtual Library. Look up the Jewish population of your state and information on its trade with Israel. Be sure to scroll down for information on your state's Jewish organizations.




Public Library Websites
Los Angeles Public Library
Santa Monica Public Library
Beverly Hills Public Library