Woohoo! ARBA recommends FactCite Defining Moments for middle and high schools!

Great news to share! FactCite Defining Moments in U.S. History was reviewed (and recommended) this month by ARBAonline, a site for reviews accessible by subscription (www.arbaonline.com). 

Here's the review (highlighting is ours!):

FactCite: Defining Moments in U.S. History. [Website] Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln Library Press, 2016. $249.00 (annual subscription).

     Databases are clearly a preferred resource format for students today. FactCite: The Lincoln Library Online has partnered with Omnigraphics to create Defining Moments in U.S. History based on the Defining Moments print series by Omnigraphics. This database includes 2,800 entries and more than 1,000 photos evaluated by an elite advisory board. Defining Moments is exceedingly easy to search. Topics are discoverable via a keyword search, from an alphabetical list (Civil War: Gettysburg to Zoot Suit Riots), or a timeline (1804-2011). Once a topic like Gilded Age is selected, researchers can click on a variety of sublinks: Topics in Depth, Timeline, Topic Spotlights, Primary Sources, Biography, Glossary of People, Places, and Terms, Research Topics, and Resources. Each of these sublinks connects to further sources of information. Topics in Depth, for instance, links users to eight essays on such issues as the rise of labor, robber barons, and the legacy of the Gilded Age. The ten primary sources include Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth," the text of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and much more. As of this review in October 2016, the database covers 34 major events in American history; more topics will be added annually and updates will be made as needed. None of these changes affects the moderate annual subscription price of $249.00.

     Information is thorough and will make history come alive for students. Features that will be most captivating for educators and students are the primary source documents. Important documents, journal entries, memoirs, and speeches bring the account to life. An abstract before the primary source content will provide an engaging overview for students. Secondly, the Glossary of Peoples, Places and Terms shows students the relationships during that era and clarifies wording. The Research Topics and Resources sections will provide teachers and students with extended subject ideas and further avenues for classroom investigation. Lastly, citing may be linked to NoodleTools, a certain advantage to this historical database.

     Defining Moments in U.S. History is both easily navigated and richly engaging for middle school and high school students. Lesson plans and teaching information make this invaluable for history teachers.

     Additional databases available from FactCite, will further enhance the usefulness of Defining Moments in U.S. History when used in combination.

     Recommended.—Janis Minshull

 November 2016 ARBA Online

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