Welcome to Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12. Use this powerful resource to search or browse for information in encyclopedias, magazines, videos, and Web sites.
Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12 offers two ways to access this wealth of information.
1. You can search all the content at once to see results for students at every level.
2. You can choose a library appropriate for your grade level:
High School for high school students and up, includes Encyclopędia Britannica.
Middle School for middle school students and up, includes Compton's by Britannica.
Elementary School for elementary students and up, includes Britannica Elementary Encyclopędia.
You can search the chosen encyclopedia as well as magazines, Web sites, and videos. You can also explore Learning Materials, a dictionary and thesaurus, atlases, timelines, and other features -- all at the appropriate grade level.
NOTE: If you're not sure if you have selected a library, look at the top of the page. If you'd like to explore Encyclopędia Britannica and its features, you will see the words High School on a blue background in the upper right. If you would like Compton's by Britannica and its features, you'll see Middle School on a green background. If you would like Britannica Elementary, you'll see Elementary School on a purple background.
Learn more about using Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12, Encyclopędia Britannica, Compton's by Britannica, and Britannica Elementary:
Learn more about the content included in the site:
Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12 Features
To learn more about a topic, use the search box. It's at the top of every page. Just type words in the box and click Go. If you have chosen a library, you will see a list of Encyclopędia Britannica, Compton's by Britannica, OR Britannica Elementary articles as well as magazines, Web sites, and videos. When you find an encyclopedia article, video, or Web site, click the link to read more. If you have not chosen a level, you will see articles from all three encyclopedias.
For more help, see Search Tips
To find spellings, meanings, and word choices for writing, use the dictionary & thesaurus search. From the home page of any of the libraries, click the Dictionary & Thesaurus button under the search box. On any other page, double-click any word and a pop-up window will appear with the word's dictionary entry. The different libraries have dictionaries and thesauri for the appropriate grade level. High School comes with Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Middle School and Elementary School come with Merriam-Webster's Student Dictionary. In all cases, you can switch instantly from the dictionary to the corresponding thesaurus.
For more help, see Dictionary Tips
To focus on content and features of one of the encyclopedias, select from the three libraries. The three encyclopedias suit the needs and abilities of students at different educational levels. Encyclopędia Britannica's in-depth and detailed articles are ideal for high school students and up. Compton's by Britannica offers the same breadth, but written for middle school students and up. Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia is written for elementary students and focuses on topics of interest to this age group. After choosing a library, you can begin exploring features such as an atlas, subject browse, and timelines as well as magazines, Learning Materials, videos, and Web sites. All materials within each library are at the appropriate grade level.
You can switch from the library you are using to another library at any time. Just use the buttons that appear at the bottom of every page. You can also go to the home page for Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12 to search all the content by using these same buttons.
Using Browse and Other Features
After choosing a library, you can browse the corresponding encyclopedia. In A-Z Browse, you can explore a complete encyclopedia alphabetically. Subject browse allows you to find articles using an outline of topics. The Timelines list important events in history and links to related articles. In World Atlas, you will learn geography and facts about places by exploring maps.
For more help, see Browsing Tools
Get extra practice in language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies. Teachers can assign these fun activities and educational videos to supplement classroom lessons.
For more help, see Using Learning Materials
Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12 offers helpful suggestions for incorporating Learning Materials into the classroom. You will also find links to other Web sites for teachers and guides to common assignments.
For more help, see Using Teachers' Resources
Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12 Content
Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12 includes the content listed below. When you search for a keyword or phrase in all Britannica, we sift through all of this content for answers (Dictionary/Thesaurus searches are separate). Your search results can come from four encyclopedias, magazine articles, the Internet Guide, and Videos & Media. All results are ordered by relevance: how closely the content matches your search word(s).
High school students and up.
With over 73,000 articles, Encyclopędia Britannica is one of the most complete and accurate information sources in the world. It contains both short and book-length articles on every subject. If you are searching all the content, look in the first column on your search results page for links to this encyclopedia or choose the High School library. If you are in another library, you can find Encyclopędia Britannica and its features by clicking the blue button at the bottom of every page.
Middle school students and up.
Compton's by Britannica makes the authoritative content of our encyclopedia lively and easy to read. If you are searching all content, Compton's by Britannica articles appear in the second column on your search results page. You can access only Compton's by Britannica content by selecting the Middle School library. You can also find Compton's by Britannica and its features by clicking the green button at the bottom of every page.
Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia
Elementary students and up.
Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia has been created especially for readers at the elementary school level. Thousands of shorter articles cover subjects for school and fun, from nations of the world to animals and sports. If you are searching all content, Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia articles appear in the third column on your search results page or view only content from this encyclopedia by selecting the Elementary School library. You can also find Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia and its features by clicking the purple button at the bottom of every page.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Fast answers for middle school students and up.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia features over 28,000 short articles. These articles can provide quick answers to questions about history, art, science, and other subjects. A link to Britannica Concise Encyclopedia search results appears under "Additional Content" in the right column on your search results page.
A search of Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition K-12 includes selected magazines and journals from EBSCO. You can find links to relevant articles on the search result pages and at the top of each encyclopedia article. See the listing of magazine and journal titles.
Resources in Britannica's Internet Guide can complement the information found in the encyclopedias. Britannica editors have reviewed thousands of Web sites to ensure their quality and appropriateness. To view a list of Web sites that match your search, click the Web's Best Sites link that appears under "Additional Content" in the right column on your search results page. Click on an interesting Web site to open it in another window.
In addition to encyclopedias, magazines, and Web sites, Britannica provides hundreds of video clips. Videos appear in the right column on your search results page.
To enjoy the audio and video clips included in Encyclopędia Britannica Online School Edition K-12, the following software plug-ins are required. These plug-ins are generally included with your operating system or browser, or can be downloaded from the Internet for free using these links.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus and Merriam-Webster's Student Dictionary and Thesaurus
Thousands of entries with definitions, pronunciation guides, word histories, synonyms, and antonyms are available through the dictionary and thesaurus. You can search these valuable resources using the Dictionary & Thesaurus search on the library home pages, or, when you discover an unfamiliar word in an encyclopedia or magazine article, simply double-click the word to see the appropriate dictionary entry in a pop-up window.