Alphabets licensed from LetteringDelights.com

• World Digital Library   The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and 32 partner institutions today launched the World Digital Library, a website that provides free, unrestricted public access to unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world. The site includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, prints and photographs. The World Digital Library functions in seven languages―Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish―and includes content in more than 40 languages. Descriptions of each item and videos, with expert curators speaking about selected items, provide context for users and are intended to spark curiosity and encourage both students and the general public to learn more about the cultural heritage of all countries.
• Big, Huge Thesaurus containing synonyms, antonyms, and rhyme
• Google WonderWheel graphically displays search terms related to your original search that will be very helpful to students in need of assistance in refining searches or help in thinking of alternative search terms.
• Google News Timeline--a new feature on Google Labs that organizes many different types of search results on a zoomable, graphical timeline. Using the timeline option, you can narrow your search by dates referenced in the content. Blog Post about this option for searching.
• An online thesaurus and dictionary of over 145000 words that you explore using an interactive map. It's a tool for people who think visually.
• Quintura for Kids  is a search engine that works on the basis of cloud computing (which was one area of computing the Horizon Report says is an emerging use of technology). You begin by typing in a word, or by clicking on the broad general search terms which are represented by the icons on the kites to the right. Then you can click on words and phrases that appears above the search box to refine your search. After you get results you can embed the search into your blog or webpage by getting the embed code by clicking on the picture of the sun, copying the code and pasting into your blog or webpage. It's a great way to get ahead on research by giving students search results you've already reviewed and deemed appropriate. Just be sure you narrow your search so your embedded results are huge. Quintura is based on Yahoo kids so I wouldn't complete trust results without first checking them out. 
• Lessons on Teaching Copyright: There's a lot of misinformation out there about legal rights and responsibilities in the digital era.
• HowStuffWorks: Your students can find easy to understand information about how anything and everything works on this site.
• Infoplease: Infoplease combines an encyclopedia, almanac, atlas, dictionary, and a lot more, all in one place.
• Refdesk: Find kid-friendly research resources through Refdesk.
• OneLook: This no-frills online dictionary lets you look up basic definitions, related words, phrases and more. You can even customize your experience with different searches.
• RhymeZone: Type in a word to find rhyming words, synonyms, definitions, Shakespeare references and more.
• Strange and Unusual References: Head to this site to look up all-vowel words, magic words, magic archetypes, how to identify unicorns and other odd material.
• freedict.com: This online translator can find words in Dutch, Afrikaans, Russian, Portugese, Swedish, Japanese, Hungarian and more.
• The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Search through topics like technology, American history, literature in English, proverbs and more to become a more "active citizen in our multicultural democracy."
• Word Spy: Search for a specific word to bring up funny quotations and a definition, or you can browse categories and sub categories like aging and death, hacking and hackers, entrepreneurs, jargon and buzzwords, art and design, drugs, euphemisms, sleeping or cell phones.
• Slang Site: Look up Web words, slang and even made up but often used words here.
• Behind the Names: Find out the history of your name or search names by categories like English, Spanish, mythology, Biblical names, African and more.
• Factbook helps you find countries. You can search by text, or choose attributes on the left to sift through nations. Play with it, and you'll quickly get the idea. Click on a flag, see some details. Click a few grey "select" boxes near the flags, and you can compare countries. Add some to a list. Bookmark a search or a country's page. Use it for research, for trivia, for studying - whatever. It's totally free.
• The Citizendium is a good online reference for everything that a typical encyclopedia would provide. The Citizendium's advantage over an encyclopedia found on a bookshelf is that the Citizendium is constantly evolving to account for new discoveries and developments.  Students can be directed to the Citizendium as a general reference. The links provided within each general reference article are good and reliable for further study within a topic. 

• Interactive "How to" Research Chart from the Kentucky Virtual Library could be a good resource to introduce, practice, and review steps involved in researching a topic