Websites
Chess
www.minnesotachess.org
The Minnesota State Chess Association site
www.mnchess.org
This is the site for The Chess Club of Minnesota, formerly the West Suburban Chess Club, which meets in Eden Prairie and other locations.
College Information
www.collegeboard.com
The College Board site has more than information about their tests (PSAT, SAT, SAT II, AP). You can get a lot of information about colleges here, including side-by-side comparisons.
www.mnonline.mnscu.edu
Information about online education offered by schools in the MNSCU (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities) system to students officially enrolled in the college offering the course.
www.mnprivatecolleges.com
This site will tell you about the 17 Minnesota colleges that offer four-year, liberal arts degrees.
www.petersons.com
Peterson's will help you identify colleges that match your personal profile and provide detailed information about the colleges.
www.review.com
The Princeton Review website, with its counselor-o-matic feature, will help identify colleges that fit with the student profile. Select "Colleges" and "Counselor-o-matic." You must enter high school, GPA and test score information along with other personal information.
Finances
www.ed.gov/thinkcollege/early
Think College Early is a federal government Department of Education site that provides downloadable publications on Funding Your Education, an overview of federal student aid designed for students who are not yet seniors in high school, and The Student Guide, which is a comprehensive source of information about federal aid programs that gives seniors detailed information about the application process.
www.edenpr.org/ephs/students/scholarships.pdf
This is a brief list of scholarships available at the Career Resource Center of Eden Prairie High School. These scholarships are not just for seniors. More details and applications about these scholarships are located in the file cabinet at the CRC. The web listings are generally updated every Wednesday.
www.fafsa.ed.gov
This is the official site of FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on the Web. FAFSA is the government financial aid program that every student needs to apply to before receiving any type of government of school-based aid. Look for the updated information in January of each year.
www.fastweb.com
Students input personal information (along with opt-in or opt-out for mailing lists) and view scholarships that may be applicable to their profiles. This is a free service.
www.iseek.org
The Minnesota Internet System for Education and Employment Knowledge will provide information about high demand/high pay jobs projected for Minnesota in the upcoming future, along with careers, jobs, and higher education options.
www.meso.state.mn.us
The Minnesota Higher Education Services Office provides a "Get Ready for College" website that includes a financial aid estimator to estimate financial aid eligibility using the Minnesota State Grant formula with personal information supplied. You can also apply for tuition reciprocity here (for Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota) or download a number of brochures about various topics like filling out the FAFSA or the broader "Get Ready for Your Child's Higher Education."
www.mnsaves.org
Find out about The Minnesota College Savings Plan which allows tax-deferred earnings and tax-free qualified withdrawals, along with matching state grants to eligible Minnesota families.
Giftedness and Related Issues
The Davidson Institute for Talent Development - see Talent Centers, "Davidson Institute," for more information.
www.hoagiesgifted.org
Hoagies' Gifted Education Page is probably the most complete source of information and support for gifted students, parents and educators. You can find just about anything here, including information on testing, highly gifted, social/emotional, books and other resources, identification, twice-exceptional, etc.
www.hollingworth.org
The Hollingworth Center for Highly Gifted Children is a national volunteer resource and support network for highly gifted children, their families, schools and communities. The Center has been in the process of reorganization for some time (currently 4/07), but we leave the reference here because there is still information to be found at the site.
www.int287.k12.mn.us
Intermediate District 287 is a consortium of school districts in the Minneapolis metropolitan area that offers services to teachers and students within its member districts. Includes links to Minnesota Scholars of Distinction, Destination Imagination, Fermi, Northern Star Online, and its West Suburban Summer School program.
www.ldanatl.org
The Learning Disabilities Association of America website is for parents and teachers of children with learning disabilities and also for adults with learning disabilities. Become an associate member; follow legislative updates; take a 4-hour training course at your own pace on getting needed services for your child (free to association members); check out information on early childhood, special education, mental health, practical assistance for your child; purchase books, journals, or handbooks.
www.mcgt.net
The Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented is the parent organization of EPCGT. You can also link to them from our sidebar.
www.megt.org
The Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented website includes position papers on responding to the needs of learners at different school levels, diverse gifted learners, and learners in rural settings.
http://nationdeceived.org
A Nation Deceived is the website where you can download the Templeton National Report on Acceleration, A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, or request a free copy.
www.nagc.org
The National Association for Gifted Children has information and resources, convention and seminar details, legislation information, news articles about gifted from U.S. and international sources, frequently asked questions, a holiday toy list, a summar program search capability, publications and membership details.
www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt.html
The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented
www.sengifted.org
SENG, Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted, is a nonprofit organization "dedicated to fostering environments in which gifted adults and children, in all their diversity, understand and accept themselves and are understood, valued, nurtured, and supported by their families, schools, workplaces and communities." Included are articles, resources, community forums and information about upcoming conferences and SENG support group facilitation.
Homework Helpers
www.ajkids.com
Ask Jeeves for Kids will take questions online and provide immediate links to another webpage onsite or to another website for further information.
www.homeworkspot.com
Homework aid for K-12 with ideas for research papers, facts, lists, maps, education links and virtual field trips or themes on outer space, the rainforest, etc.
ww.quickstudy.com/
At this site you will find a number of handy laminated study guides covering a variety of subjects. These would apply mainly to high school classes, and on to college, business and home. The range is considerable, and you can find any math, English, science or social studies are in addition to such items as The Periodic Table of Elements, Shakespeare plays, various foreign languages and computer topics. (A subset is available at Barnes & Noble.)
Language Arts
www.ala.org/greatsites
American Library Association list of great websites in the areas of Animals, Literature & Languages, Sciences, The Arts, History & Biography, Mathematics & Computers, Social Sciences and Reference Desk. The literature section includes links to websites of a number of authors and illustrators, with indication as to age-appropriateness.
www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/recreading/recommendedreading.htm
Find Good Reads for Teens at this American Library Association site. You can choose from "Alex Awards" (10 books published for adults that have potential appeal for teens), "Best Books for Young Adults" of the past year, "Outstanding Books for the College Bound," "Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults," the "Printz Award" (young adult books that best exemplify literary excellence, and "Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers."
www.grammarbook.com
This website touts a great grammar book, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Straus. It also gives grammar, punctuation and capitalization rules, provides quizzes and interactive tests, and provides a question-and-answer service for any grammar or punctuation questions.
www.rhymer.com
An Online Rhyming Dictionary to help poets and songwriters with Ending rhymes (blue/shoe), Last syllable rhymes (timber/harbor), Double rhymes (conviction/prediction), Beginning rhymes (physics/fizzle) or First syllable rhymes (carrot/caring).
Mathematics
http://agutie.homestead.com/files
This website, created by Antonio Gutierrez, provides an eclectic mix of sound, science and Incan history intended to interest students in Euclidean geometry. The site includes geometry problems, proofs, quizzes, puzzles, quotations, scientific speculation and more. Students can explore archaeological topics from a mathematical perspective, including the design of Cuzco, the ancient Incan Empire capital, and Machu Picchu, the famous Lost City of the Incas, while listening to Incan music.
www.artofproblemsolving.com
The Art of Problemsolving site has much to offer mathematicians in grades 4-12. Please see the EPCGT summary of this fabulous site at AoPS.
www.cogito.org/default.aspx
This Johns Hopkins University site, new in 2007, offers interviews, articles, summer program ideas and other resources of interest to talented youth in areas of math and science.
http://lar5.com/cube/
Rubiks cube info from an expert
www.mathgoodies.com
Math lessons, puzzles, worksheets and forums for homework help, parent and teacher forums, suggested resources, etc.
www.stetson.edu/~efriedma/numbers.html This website for math addicts talks about the significance of numbers. One of the features, Number Gossip, will give you a detailed description of the mathematical and philosophical properties of any number you enter.
www.unl.edu/amc
Website about The Mathematical Association of America mathematics competitions: the American Mathematics Contests (AMC 8, AMC 10 and AMC 12), the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
http://users.cis.net/cmeyer/HSHelps/Algebra
Have a student who is bright but struggles with Algebra? Check out this website which offers a creative approach to grasping the basic ideas of Algebra using LEGOs.
Math Facts
- www.aaamath.com
Hundreds of pages of basic math skills with an explanation of the topics, interactive practice and challenge games. - www.aplusmath.com
Help students improve their math skills interactively. - www.coolmath.com
Math activities for the younger age set and links to other math-oriented sites for young children in addition to math for "ages 13-100" including a graphing calculator (lots of advertising aimed at parents, but has worthwhile content) - www.funbrain.com
Many math games - www.mathfactcafe.com/
Math fact sheets and flash cards for elementary grades. Access hundreds of sheets or generate your own. - www.naturalmath.com/mult/
Multiplication: An Adventure in Number Sense - www.redshirt.com/~bonajo/mmathmenu.htm
A great way to introduce and systematically teach the times tables so they will stick - www.resourceroom.net/Math/1timestables.asp
Times quizzes
Science
Astronomy
- http://amazing-space.stsci.edu
Check out topics like black holes, comets and asteroids, light and color, galaxies, gravity, history of science, Hubble Space Telescope, the solar system, stars and stellar evolution. Get help with homework answers or project ideas. - http:antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
See a different astronomical image daily, with a brief explanation by a professional astronomer. Archived pictures are available. - www.astronomy.com
Home of the online Astronomy magazine, with varied access to articles depending on whether or not you are a subscriber. Amazing photos of the Aurora Borealis, in addition to lots of introductory information, including the Astro for Kids section. - http://heritage.stsci.edu/
Hubble telescope information and gallery of pictures. - http://lynchandthestars.com
Website of local weatherman Mike Lynch. Fun activities, a monthly sky map and constellation of the month. - www.mnastro.org/onan
Minnesota Astronomical Society site that includes information about their "star parties," which are free to the public for the price of a park sticker. - www.nasa.gov
Check out the kids pages on aeronautics and space research that are Written to appeal to the elementary ages. - www.npr.org/programs/sfkids/
NPR Science Friday Kids Connection - listen to past shows, find resources for all sorts of science topics and learn about the scientists on the NPR radio program. - www.redcolony.com
The latest news, images and happenings on the future of Mars. - http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/
Winner of numerous website awards, this NASA site includes games, projects, animations, amazing facts and more. - http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov
Learning center for young astronomers with level 1 views for younger children and level 2 for grades 5 and up. - www.the-solar-system.net
Solar system pictures and quizzes.
www.cogito.org/default.aspx
This Johns Hopkins University site offers interviews, articles, summer program ideas and other resources of interest to talented youth in areas of math and science.
www.froguts.com/
Dissect a frog online - free demonstration.
www.howstuffworks.com
Find out how stuff works - from engines to sunglasses, nuclear reactors to cell phones, plus Question of the Day, Gadget of the Day and much more.
www.insects.org
This site offers incredible graphics and fascinating stories of insects and the roles they play in our lives. It covers cultural entomology, insect macrophotography, educational resources and links to other web sites. "Bugbios: Shameless promotion of insect appreciation."
www.jshs.org
Information about the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, sponsored by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force
www.madsci.org
Scientists provide answers to your questions. MacSci in the classroom is a guide for teachers. Grade-specific exploration.
http://nobelprize.org/about/outreach.html
Aimed at students, especially ages 14-18, that may know about the Nobel Prize but lack a deeper understanding about the work that garnered the distinction. Games, experiments and simulated environments expand upon a Nobel Prize award with a high level of interactivity.
www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives
This website of the PBS show, "History Detectives," includes past case files, insight into investigative techniques such as DNA and handwriting analysis, forensic technology and ballistics, as well as a Do-it-yourself section to teach you how to start solving your own mysteries.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program_d.html
"The Elegant Universe" is a TV series produced by PBS/Nova. The show explores the big questions being asked and topics being studied by top physicists and scientists about our Universe. At this site you can watch the show's episodes which delve into the very nature of our universe, and the evolution of cutting-edge physics such as String Theory.
www.PhysLink.com
Physics and Astronomy newsletter, Ask the Experts, Reference for Educators, scientific software reviews (at the Education link), great eStore of science gift ideas, forums and Youth Education Resources.
http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih!/cancer/default.htm
The national Institute of Health developed this site with the help of the National Cancer Institute. It acts as a creative tool in educating students about cell biology and cancer and inspiring further interest in important medical topics. This is a self-contained curriculum complete with Lesson Plans, Student Activities and a Teacher's Guide.
www.sciserv.org
Science Service is the home of the Intel Science Talent Search and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
www.snowschool.com
This site has some good experiments for teaching science using snow plus other snow links.
Social Studies
Castles
www.eyewitnesstohistory.com
Educational eyewitness accounts of important moments throughout history from the Ancient World to the 20th Century.
http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il
Travel back in time to view ancient maps, literature and other documents of the world's historic cities at different stages of their evolution. A Map Makers section tells about some of the legendary cartographers such as Sebastian Munster, Giambattista Albrizzi and John Stockdale.
www.historyforkids.org
Learn about the following areas: China, India, West Asia, Greece, Egypt, Africa, Rome, Islam, Germany and the Middle Ages. Information will be provided about history (with timeline), environment (with maps), religion, clothing, food, people, art, science, architecture, books and websites for further information, crafts and projects, and teacher's guides.
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/lewisandclark/
Walk in the historical footsteps of Lewis & Clark. Click on any of the 20 points along the map to see a quick "movie" of actual journal entries they made. (includes advice from Thomas Jefferson)
www.nationalgeographic.com
Useful information on maps, countries and more, including a Geography Bee challenge that is continually updated.
www.usa.gov
The entry to the federal government e-information, with links to all government sites and also including "Kids.gov" which includes links to federal kids' sites and kids' sites from other organizations covering a multitude of topics.
Testing
www.act.org
About the ACT test and the new writing option, including which colleges and universities are requiring or recommending the writing option.
www.collegeboard.com
College Board administers the SAT I and II, the PSAT and the AP tests. There is a lot of information here about each, including sample tests.
www.number2.com
Free help in preparing for SAT and ACT tests. Includes a vocabulary-only option and capability for parent coaches to oversee progress.