Writing Resources

Ebrary - Writing and Grammar ebooks, includes:

• Webster's New World Student Writing Handbook by Sharon Sorenson. Wiley, 2010. Need to write a comparison/contrast paper? Outline for a persuasive speech? This book and the accompanying downloadable samples show you how - plus book reports, email, letters, application essays, resumes, essay tests and much more.
• Schaum's Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers by Laurie Rozakis, McGraw-Hill, 2007. Focusing just on the research paper, from choosing a topic through to proofreading the finished product.
• The Cambridge Guide to English Usage by Pam Peters. Cambridge UP, 2004. Choosing your words carefully? This will help. Also grammar and punctuation, organized alphabetically by topic.
• Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus in Dictionary Form edited by Barbara Ann Kipfer, Delta, 2005.
  

Oxford Reference Online features several English language dictionaries and thesauruses of English as well as references specific to grammar and usage.

GED Resources

Short URL of this page: http://bit.ly/cbcged

Handout: Top 10 Things GED Students Should Know About the Library

Books

• Search the CBC Library Catalog with the keyword “GED” to find relevant books. View results. 
• Browse CBC Library reference books on statistics. Browse shelf around call number HA202. 
• You can also browse the LOC/GED books on the Reserve Reference shelf near the reference desk. (Consumer Reports, which we subscribe in print, is also a good source for statistics.)
• GED books from the Mid-Columbia Library (38 items as of 5/2011)

Online Library Reference Databases
(You don't need a password to use these on CBC campus, but you can login from home with the quarterly library password)
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
Oxford Reference Online
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Daily Life Online Essays about the domestic, economic, religious, and other aspects of people's daily lives, ancient to modern.
CultureGrams Concise, readable information about countries and cultures.

Online Test Prep
1. Free online practice tests from Mid-Columbia Library

• Go to their Electronic Resources page;
• Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Learning Express Library;
• Click on "New User" to register for free;
• The Username should be your 14-digit mid-columbia library ID card number;
• Make up a Password for yourself;
• Once logged in, click on GED tests to practice

2. Free online practice tests from Steck-Vaughn Adult Education. It has practice tests with immediate feedback.
3. GED Practice Tests from TestPrepReview.com (Scroll down until you see the list of "Self-Assessment Modules".)

Classes

• CBC Adult Basic Education/GED Program
• CBC Learning Opportunities Center (LOC) CBC Learning Opportunities Center (LOC) offers test preparation classes and materials. LOC is located in the A building.

General Info on the Web

• Official GED tests website from American Council on Education (ACE) with Test-Taker information, Test-Taker FAQs, and sample questions.
• General information about GED from WA State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. (Use the menu on the left to jump to different parts.)

More GED Online Resources
(Based on list provided by the CBC ABE/GED department from the orientation packet, links updated Feb. 2010)

• http://vcabe.unm.edu/html/vc_abe_resources.htm
  Links to a wide variety of sites for all GED subjects.
• http://www.nwlincs.org/NWLINCSWEB/student.htm
  Student Study Page – an excellent site with 45 different activities and tutorials. Includes daily lessons in many subject categories, computer tutorials, a student help page, and links to many of the best educational sites.
• http://www.petersons.com/testprep/default.asp?id=1077&path=ug.pft.ged Peterson’s Prep Central: GED– Only the links "Get going ..." in the light orange square are free. The "Test Info, Dates, and Deadlines" includes the number of questions and time allotment on each subject that the GED covers. You can also take a free "quick quiz".
• http://www.math.com/ This is a very good website ~ it contains math lessons and practice tests on a wide range of math topics, from fractions to calculus.
• http://www.glencoe.com/catalog/contemporary/freeged.html GED Satellites Internet-based Supplemental Study Center. These McGraw Hill websites review everything covered in the Contemporary GED subject books we have in the classroom. You can choose a chapter from the table of contents, and you’ll also find Chapter Review Quizzes, Chapter Outlines, Interactive Flashcards, Web Links, GED practice tests, and more. Direct links to the five specific subjects are listed below.
• http://www.gedmath.com/
• http://www.gedreading.com/
• http://www.gedwriting.com/
• http://www.gedscience.com/
• http://www.gedsocialstudies.com/

English, Sentence Skills, Reading

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/
• http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/tips.htm
• http://home.earthlink.net/~ruthpett/safari/index.htm (Online vocabular game)
• http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/topic.html
• http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwrtp/instrdg.htm
• http://www.vocabulary.com/
• http://www.study.net/
• http://literacynet.org/cnnsf

Mathematics

• http://www.math.com/
• http://mathwizz.com/
• http://www.freeuniv.com/
• http://www.algebrahelp.com/
• http://www.mathgoodies.com/
• http://mathpower.com/
• http://www.funbrain.com/fract/
• http://www.mymathtest.com/
• http://www.homeschoolmath.net/
• http://pbs.org/literacy
• http://www.mathvids.com/ (Math Videos online. Note: This is a link added by librarian.)
• http://www.khanacademy.org/ (Math Videos online. Note: This is a site recommended by a CBC GED student.)

Other Useful webpages:

• ESL 
• Compass Test Prep 
• Evaluating Sources| UC Berkeley Library "Evaluating Web Pages"
• CBC's Financial Aid page 
• CBC's New Student page

updated by y.y. 5/15/2012

ESL Resources

Short URL of this page: http://bit.ly/cbcesl

Handout: Top 10 Things ESL Students Should Know About the Library

Online Library Reference Databases
(You don't need a password to use these on CBC campus, but you can login from home with the quarterly library password posted in Angel "Library Research" open course.)
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
Oxford Reference Online
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Daily Life Online Essays about the domestic, economic, religious, and other aspects of people's daily lives, ancient to modern.
CultureGrams Concise, readable information about countries and cultures.
MAS Ultra - School Edition


Books
List of CBC Library books on ESL (mostly for ESL instructors)
List of CBC Library language dictionaries

A few sample books
Author: Blamires, Harry.Title: The Cassell guide to common errors in English /Publisher: London : Cassell, c1997.Call Number: PE1460 .B64 1997Location: Reference

Civics and citizenship toolkit: a collection of educational resources for immigrants / Publisher: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 2007. Information about the toolkit.

Practice Makes Perfect : English Grammar for ESL Learners/by Swick 2005
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/cbcpasco/docDetail.action?docID=10155012&p00=practice%20makes%20perfect


Local Public Library (Mid-Columbia Library) Resources

Online Database Learning Express: free online practice tests from Mid-Columbia Library:
• Go to their Electronic Resources page;
• Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Learning Express Library;
• Click on "New User" to register for free;
• The Username should be your 14-digit mid-columbia library ID card number
• Make up a Password for yourself;
• Once logged in, to practice TOEFL: search "toefl" and you will find TOEFL iBT Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing Practices and lessons
• Or click on "US Citizenship" tab and you can practice the 100 civics, history, and government sample questions for the citizenship test. (The USCIS government website also has Study Materials for the English Test  and Study Materials for the Civics Test.)
  
Tumblebooks: "An online collection of animated,talking picture books which teach young children the joys of reading in a format they'll love."

Free Websites

Free Online Learning at Goodwill Community Foundation (‘hundreds of free online lessons on Computers, Reading, & Math)

Agenda Web (‘hundreds of free English exercises’)

Typing Web (‘free online typing tutor’)

Free Rice (‘vocabulary builder that helps to fight world hunger’)
Spelling City
OWL resources for ESL from the Purdue Online Writing Lab for second language writing.

Vocabulary Builder from Vocabulix, a commercial company (you can hear the pronunciations)
Activities for ESL students by The Internet TESL Journal

Learn English lessons from U.S.A Learns (for beginning and intermediate learners, you can hear the lessons with videos)

ESL Video Lessons from Real English (you can hear the lessons with videos)

Learner.org Interactives: Spelling Bee

Learner.org Storytelling: Cinderella

List of Resources for ESL students designed by Ampheon, a commercial web development company .
Dave’s ESL Café resources for students
Starfalls Learn to read website.
English Health Train: English language skills for health care

More Links:
www.manythings.org
www.eslpod.com
www.learn-english-online.org
www.welcometousa.gov
www.lingual.net
www.studyguidezone.com/ged
www.usalearns.org
www.newsforyouonline.com
www.conquiztador.com *
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com
http://www.typingtest.com/
www.freetypinggame.net
http://www.learn2type.com/TypingTest

Other Useful webpages:

• GED
• Compass Test Prep
• Evaluating Sources| UC Berkeley Library "Evaluating Web Pages"
• CBC's Financial Aid page
• CBC's New Student page
• Occupational Outlook Handbook - Narrative descriptions about occupations, particularly about training and advancement; by United States Dept. of Labor
  • Sample occupation profile in Spanish using the free Google Translate service.
• Occupation Explorer by Washington State Employment Security Department
• Occupation Profile search by CareerOneStop, Sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Labor
• go2web20.net: hundreds of “Web 2.0 Tools and Applications” for your computer

ESL Goals and Orientation

updated y.y. 5/15/2012

Finding Additional Topics

CBC Library Databases

• CQ Researcher - search, or browse by topic
• Facts.com
  
  • Issues and Controversies in American History: Research Topics
  • World News Digest: Research Topics

CBC Library Books

• Opposing Viewpoints
• Taking Sides
• Reference Shelf (Information about the Reference Shelf 2008 from the publisher)

Web

• PBS FrontLine
• ProCon.org - presents both sides of controversial issues; nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.
• Hot Paper Topics (Lists relevant websites selected by librarians)

Public Library Databases - Students of CBC are eligible for a library card for free at both the Mid-Columbia Libraries (See Policy; Get a card) and the Richland Public Library (See Policy; Get a card), regardless of where they live (proof of enrollment will be required).

• Mid-Columbia Library: Points Of View Reference Center (This database is no longer subscribed as of Mar. 2012)
  
  1. Go to Mid-Columbia Library's Research Tools page;
  2. Scroll down to the end of the page to find Points Of View Reference Center
  3. Click on "from home";
  4. Type in your 14-digit Mid-Columbia Library ID card number to log in.
• Richland Public Library: Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
1. Go to Richland Public Library's Web site iLibrary page;
2. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center is listed under "Additional Reference" on the left hand menu.
3. Click on Opposing Viewpoints-get started;
4. Enter your 14-digit Richland Public Library card number to log in.

updated 3/7/2012 y.y.