Great Reading: Bookmark It!

Volume 31, Number 1, October 2003.

Ken Haycock

Kids’ Search Engines:
The Best for Grades 4-10

--excerpted with permission from The Neal-Schuman Authoritative Guide to Kids’ Search Engines, Subject Directories, and Portals, by Ken Haycock, Michele Dober, and Barbara Edwards. Neal-Schuman, 2003. 1-55570-451-4.

The Best Overall

ranked by number of stars and then alphabetically

Best Language Level

suitable comprehension and interest level for young people ages 9-14
ranked by number of stars and then alphabetically

Best Readability

paragraph length, text justification
ranked by number of stars and then alphabetically

Best Content

Educational Focus
Awesome Library
Bigchalk
Discovery School
Fact Monster
Homework Planet
Internet Detectives
Internet Public Library KidSpace
Kid Info
Kids Konnect
Kids Search Tools
700+ Great Sites from ALA
Tek Mom

Educational and Recreational Focus
Ask Jeeves for Kids
Berit’s Best Sites for Children
Cool Network
Cybersleuth Kids
Internet Public Library TeenSpace
Kids Click
Lycos Zone
Yahooligans

Searching

Best Help/Search Instructions
ranked by number of stars and then alphabetically

Keyword Searching
Ask Jeeves for Kids
Awesome Library
Berit’s Best Sites for Children
Bigchalk
Cool Network
Cybersleuth Kids
Discovery School
Fact Monster
Homework Planet
Internet Detectives
Internet Public Library TeenSpace
Kids Click
Kids Search Tools
Lycos Zone
Tek Mom
Yahooligans

Boolean Searching
Awesome Library
Homework Planet
Internet Detectives
Internet Public Library TeenSpace
Kid Info
Kids Click
Lycos Zone

Hierarchical Subject Headings
Awesome Library
Berit’s Best Sites for Children
Bigchalk
Cool Network
Cybersleuth Kids
Fact Monster
Internet Detectives
Internet Public Library KidSpace
Internet Public Library TeenSpace
Kid Info
Kids Click
Kids Konnect
Lycos Zone
700+ Great Sites from ALA
Yahooligans

Natural Language Searching
Ask Jeeves for Kids
Awesome Library
Bigchalk
Discovery School
Internet Detectives
Kid Info
Kids Click
Tek Mom
Yahooligans

Advanced Searching Options

Awesome Library

• limiting to “star-rated” or highly rated sites
• searching in following languages: Spanish, Italian, French, German, Portuguese

Bigchalk

• limiting by grade

Fact Monster

• limiting results by format: lesson plan, online course, video, book, etc.

Internet Detectives

• option to search within the Internet Detective site or within the Madison Metropolitan School District site
• searching by subject heading

Internet Public Library TeenSpace

• limiting by length of record
• automatic truncation

Kids Click

• truncation (using *)
• limiting by field: all fields, subject, title, and description
• limiting by reading level
• limiting by no. of illustrations: some or no pictures, some pictures, many pictures
• searching by Dewey Decimal number

Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)

• limiting by reading level and by no. of illustrations via Kids Click!
• searching within ThinkQuest Junior database or Tomorrow’s Teachers via the ThinkQuest Library.

Lycos Zone

• limiting results to a specific reference source
• limiting search to type of source: encyclopedia, almanac, atlas, dictionary, photos, rhyme zone

Tek Mom

• not specified – depending on the engine or search tool used

Design and Appearance

Best Visual Aspects
layout, choice of color, font, background graphics, animation
ranked by number of stars and then alphabetically

Ease of Navigation through Different Layers
ranked by number of stars and then alphabetically

Display Consistency through Different Layers
ranked by number of stars and then alphabetically

Documentation for Sites Retrieved

URL
Cybersleuth Kids
Internet Detectives
Internet Public Library KidSpace
Internet Public Library TeenSpace
Kids Click
Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)
700+ Great Sites from ALA
Tek Mom (depending on the search tool selected)

Source
Fact Monster
Internet Public Library KidSpace
Internet Public Library TeenSpace
Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)
Tek Mom (depending on the search tool selected)

Content Description
Awesome Library
Berit’s Best Sites for Children
Cool Network
Cybersleuth Kids
Discovery School
Fact Monster
Homework Planet
Internet Detectives
Internet Public Library KidSpace
Internet Public Library TeenSpace
Kid Info
Kids Click
Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)
Lycos Zone
700+ Great Sites from ALA
Tek Mom (depending on the search tool selected)
Yahooligans

Rating
Berit’s Best Sites for Children
Cybersleuth Kids
Discovery School
Homework Planet
Internet Detectives
Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)
Tek Mom (depending on the search tool selected)
Yahooligans

Reading Level
Berit’s Best Sites for Children
Homework Planet
Kids Click
Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)
Lycos Zone (reading levels only available for subject browse results)
Tek Mom (depending on the search tool selected)

File Size
Berit’s Best Sites for Children
Internet Detectives
Kid Info
Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)
Tek Mom (depending on the search tool selected)

File Type
Kid Info
Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)
Tek Mom (depending on the search tool selected)

Date
Internet Detectives
Kids Search Tools (depending on the search tool selected)
Tek Mom (depending on the search tool selected)

Best Documentation

Quality of Documentation for Ownership, Selection and Privacy Policy
ranked by number of stars and then alphabetically

--excerpted with permission from The Neal-Schuman Authoritative Guide to Kids’ Search Engines, Subject Directories, and Portals, by Ken Haycock, Michele Dober, and Barbara Edwards. Neal-Schuman, 2003. 1-55570-451-4.