Recommended Website:
Barnes & Noble SPARKNOTES
Age Range: 11 and up (approximately middle school, high school, and beyond)
ClickSchooling list member Tiffany Davis in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma recommended today’s site. She wrote:
“I just discovered a great resource for study guides at this site from Barnes and Noble. There is great information on classic and popular books and authors, much like ‘Cliff Notes.’ Free!”
When you get to the site you will see a menu of free online study guides in a variety of subject categories. You can read most of the Study Guides for free online. They are punctuated with advertisements (some are distracting), but it’s a small price to pay for the free resource. The good news is that if you want to avoid the nuisance of the ads, you can download and print out the pdf file for a slight fee (about $5).
To give you an idea of what you can expect in the field of Language Arts — under “Spark Notes: Study Guides” you’ll find:
- Literature – A stunning array of free study guides for book titles spanning
from “Across Five Aprils” to “Walden.” Pick a title, click, and a new page
opens that contains the plot overview, character list, a chapter by chapter
summary and analysis, study questions and essay topics, a quiz, and
suggestions for further reading. - Shakespeare – The works of The Bard are summarized and analyzed by act and scene, and includes study questions, a quiz and more.
- Drama – Find summaries and analysis of plays by Edward Albee, Euripides,
Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill, and more. Explore the
suggestions for further study. - Poetry – From Chaucer to Yeats read the summaries and analysis of the work of great poets and try the suggested activities.
- Writing – A remarkable grammar glossary with easy-to-find answers on
everything from proper usage of commas and semicolons to superlatives and more.
But there’s MUCH MORE beyond Language Arts! In the History category you’ll
find study guides on important eras in American and European history along
with biographies of people of historical importance. In Math and Science
you’ll find guides to Algebra, Precalculus, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy
and more. Other subject areas include Film, Health, Philosophy, Psychology,
and Economics.
Bookmark this website to keep for easy reference.
