Worldmapper is a site that provides more than 350 world maps and accompanying data tables that show comparative information. Countries are sized to match their rank in the list, so the countries with largest populations appear largest on the maps. Shapes are distorted from their actual geographical appearance, of course, but the information is clarified by that distortion. Data seems to be current, highly varied in theme, and maps are easy to print as colorful pdfs. Free.

Electronic Reference Shelf comes to us from Princeton University, and it's just amazing. It is a collection of links to almost everything informational that you might need to find out almost anything you might want to know. A middle-school student might find it a bit daunting, but it's well organized and easy to drill through to the stuff you actually want. The only problem is that it is so distractingly rich that you might never get around to finding the thing you went there for in the first place because of being drawn away to explore so many other nifty sites.

CLN Theme Pages What a treasure trove! This site, part of a larger Canadian effort, contains links to information and lesson plans for K-12 on an amazing list of topics: bubbles, Antarctica, human digestion, pirates, math history, Shakespeare, whales . . . it just goes on and on. It's well-organized through an index, and you could spend an entire day just browsing your favorite topics. Useful for students as well as teachers and parents.

The Probert Encyclopedia is a fast-loading online reference source with well-organized subtopic headings that encourage browsing as well as quick research. Not deep or comprehensive, it's a good place to start looking for the answer to a basic question.

FactMonster  is a multi-topic resource center for students from Information Please. Great! Ads are minimal and appropriate. The "Homework Center" includes advice on how to use it effectively.

The Canadian Encyclopedia contains detailed and interesting information about most things Canadian. Available in English and in French.

LetsFindOut.Com is a "knowledge adventure" website for kids. It's well organized, and the first page offers a search box. Type in a keyword (such as "California") and get a list of 163 possible links! The search will accept Boolean operators OR and NOT. Alternatively, you can go to the SUBJECTS menu and have a choice of 16 major topics, from AMERICA to UNDERSEA.  Looks very useful for elementary and middle school kids, including curious kindergarteners. Sponsored, and carries ads, but they are not intrusive and are age-appropriate.

The Virtual Library is an exciting site developed by the public schools in Greenwich, CT. It's a mix of information on the site and links to places off-site. Covers many subject areas. Looks really useful. It seems to be updated fairly often, so the disappointment of dead links is less likely to happen.

How Stuff Works is another astonishingly rich site. This is not a list of links but a huge archive of information about technology, nature, economics, and world affairs ... everything from lasers and chewing gum to terrorists and spiders. If you're trying to find out about something, check here. Is it bad to "pop" your knuckles? How does a curve ball work? Why do leaves change color in the fall? It's all here along with some nifty experiments you can try with your new knowledge. Highly recommended.

Ask Jeeves for Kids is part of the larger Ask Jeeves! question-answering database of links to what you'd like to know. Fun to visit, even if you don't have a question.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online is now free (used to be a subscription service) and is rich with not only its own content but also excellent links to other Web resources. Some multimedia, printable maps, and more. Might be faster than digging out your Encarta CD, although not as many bells and whistles in the content.

Scholastic. com  Previously available only by subscription, Scholastic's full website is now free and open to everyone. This site is rich in ideas for using the Internet, features live interviews with authors, and contains a lot of useful information in many subject areas for parents, students, and teachers. Check it out!

Time For Kids is the name of a current events magazine we receive in the classroom and also a site for students, teachers, and parents. It covers news of all kinds and includes some games and activities. There are often links to this site in the magazine, which your child should have in his/her notebook or cubby. Today as I checked the site (August 6, 2008) I found an article on the recent discovery of the world's smallest snake, news about the Olympics, a large section about China, information on the Presidential race, a trivia challenge on world-famous places, a "homework helper" that looks very useful, an article about the recent NASA confirmation of ice on Mars, and much more. One thing this site does well is finds ways to connect large and confusing issues (the attack on the World Trade Center or the creation of a new cabinet post) with things that middle-grade students can understand. Highly recommended.

ABC Central is a good site with a very uninteresting front page. But click on the first item in the list, and you'll find a gateway to a lot of stuff about a LOT of stuff. Last time I checked, most of the links were good and it was updated recently. The quality of the links is uneven, but some are truly worthwhile.

The United States Census Bureau contains lots of information about the people of the United States, and the 2000 Census figures are included. Your tax dollars have paid for this site, so you ought to take an owner's tour around it! Maps, statistics, all kinds of stuff are buried here. It has amazing bits of trivial information. Did you know that in 1990 "Lynn" was the 166th most common first name for females in the census data? "Mary" was #1, by the way, while "James" led the male list.

StudyWeb is a well-organized collection of links to almost anything you may be studying. Highly recommended.