• World Book Web is online at the library, or at home by using your HPL card number. 
• Use Global Road Warrior to research the geography, history, customs, languages, and data of a country. 
• LitFinder covers authors and literature throughout history.

Here you'll also find Indiana's online portal, INSPIRE. Indiana residents also have home/office access to INSPIRE (those who use nationwide Internet Service Providers such as America Online, Comcast, etc. may need a password, obtainable from INSPIRE.) Here's some of what can be accessed through INSPIRE:

• Kids Search offers a dictionary, encyclopedia, and images. Broad topic categories provide further resources.
• K-12 offers Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, as well as access to many popular magazines for all grade levels. Full text articles are assigned Lexile indicators.
• KidsClick is a search engine that searches by category, alphabetical heading, as well as pictures, sound, and video.
• Student Research Center is similar to Kids Search. Check out the "Resources for Teachers" tab at the far right, too!
• Testing and Education Resource Center offers online tools for high school, college prep, and career. TERC offers timed practice versions of standardized tests (GED, CLEP, ASVAB, ACT, SAT, etc.) plus Test of English As a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), and US citizenship practice tests.

Hammond Reads' annual essay contest is open to kindergarten through senior adults. This year's theme is, "What Is Your Favorite Animal Character in a Book, and Why?" Essays must include the title of the book, and the author. Essays will be accepted from Nov. 26, 2012-Jan. 25, 2013, with awards presented next Spring. More details will be available soon. 

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Lexus, Scholastic Launch Annual Environmental Contest for Middle, High School Students

A program of automaker Lexus and children's publishing company Scholastic, the Lexus Eco Challenge is an educational program and contest designed to inspire and empower middle and high school students to learn about the environment and take action to improve it. In its sixth year, the program will award a total of $500,000 in grants and scholarships.
 

The competition is open to students in grades 6-12 who are either registered and home-schooled or enrolled in a public or accredited private school, and who are legal residents of the U.S. or the District of Columbia. Teams of students can enter if they are part of an afterschool science or environmental club, but the challenge is not open to clubs outside of school.
 

Middle and high school teams comprised of five to ten students and a teacher-advisor are invited to participate in one or both of the two initial challenges, each addressing different environmental elements - land/water and air/climate.
 

For each challenge, teams define an environmental issue that is important to them, develop an action plan to address the issue, implement the plan, and report the results. The submission deadline for Challenge 1 (land/water) is October 29, 2012; the deadline for Challenge 2 (air/climate) is December 17, 2012.
 

Each challenge has 16 winning entries - 8 middle school and 8 high school teams. The winning teams each receive a total of $10,000 in scholarships and grants to be shared among the students, teacher, and school.

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National Science Teachers Association Accepting Entries for Shell Science Lab Challenge
Deadline: November 12, 2012
  

The National Science Teachers Association, with support from Shell Oil Company, is accepting entries for the third annual Shell Science Lab Challenge.

The challenge invites middle and high school science teachers (grades 6-12) in the United States and Canada (with special attention to urban and underrepresented groups) to illustrate replicable approaches to science lab instruction utilizing limited school and laboratory resources.  

Entries will be judged on the basis of a number of criteria, including demonstrated science inquiry and innovation in the classroom with limited laboratory equipment, materials, and resources; demonstrated impact and engagement with students and the school community; and demonstrated need for support to improve science laboratory experiences. Complete details are found here. 

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