CultureGrams

I was so excited when I learned that our public library had the online database called CultureGrams!  About 15 years ago I bought a hard-copy set, which is pretty bedraggled now, and was thrilled to find that my students could access the materials if they had a public library card (which they all do . . .but that's another post!).

Remember encyclopedias? :0) Well, CultureGrams are like encyclopedia articles, BUT BETTER!  They have reports for over 200 countries, all the states in the U.S. and all 13 Canadian provinces and territories.

What makes them better, in my opinion, is the amount and type of material they have for each country/state . . . there is all of the information that you would expect: climate, resources, population, etc. . . . but the user will also find information in graph and table forms, currency calculator for the country, as well as multimedia features such as photos, slideshows and videos.  The media may be downloaded and used by students for reports and may be share via school INTRA-net, but not on the Internet.

Here is a screenshot of the homepage for India:

Here is a screenshot of homepage for India in the KIDS EDITION (written at a lower grade-level):

Finally, here is a screenshot of the U.S. database . . . it is written at the same grade-level as the Kids Edition of the world database: (Also note the pink arrow on the Ohio image . . . each country/state report is downloadable!)

Be sure to check to see if your school or public library has bought a subscription to the Online Edition of  CultureGrams!

So, what did my cutie-pattooties do with CultureGrams recently you may be asking?  Check out my next post!