Menlo School Library: 8th grade: Decades: Project resources

Websites

10 Slang Phrases that Perfectly Sum Up Their Era
From the BBC, an explanation of words that are representative of their decade.
100 Famous Women of the 20th Century
A list of famous women in history. Use this list, then look for their biographies elsewhere.
Ad*Access
Pick a topic and click the "Browse" button to see a large list of 20th century print advertisements. This is a huge database!
Biography
Look here for biographical information on well-known people.
The Century: America's Time
Part 1 of a video series on America in the 20th century (45 minutes long).
dMarie Time Capsule
Find all kinds of information for any day beginning in 1800.
Film History
Click on a decade to find historical information, timelines, and lists of great films according to the year of release.
A History of American Snack Foods, From Waffle Cones to Doritos
Bon Appétit magazine presents popular foods organized by decade.
History Topics
Index to information from the History Channel, organized by decade and by topic.
Internet Archive
Large collection of historic images, text, sound files and video/film.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
A link to an index of many digitized documents housed by the Library of Congress.
Slang Terms by Decade
Use the arrows at the top of the page to move to your decade.
Telephone Ads Through the Decades
Print telephone advertisements from the 1920's through the 1970's.
Time Magazine Covers
Search the archive for historical front pages. An index to back issues is available; bound copies of Time Magazine from 1942 - 1979 are available in the Menlo School library.
WWW Virtual Library
American historical information organized by topic and decade.
Year By Year - 1900 - 2018
Historical, cultural and economic information for each year between 1900 and the present.

Library books

Books for this project are on a library cart and should only be used in the library. Please don't take them home!

Music from your decade

1950s
1966, plus Index to years through 2011
Look at the bottom of the page for an index of music of the past 50 years.
SongFacts
Searchable database of music and musicians.

Subscription databases

For overview information on your topic, try the databases listed below. Use your Menlo username and password to log into these sites.

AP Images Collection (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  This is a useful database to find non-text sources.
- What’s included?
  Photojournalism and audio files from over 100 years of news coverage from the Associated Press. Articles are generally more than 10 years old.
Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  Begin your research by reading authoritative tertiary sources like the ones found here.
- What’s included?
  In-depth overview articles, often with links to supporting primary source materials. Also includes a world atlas with statistical information on individual countries plus the ability to compare any two countries.
Daily Life Through History (ABC-Clio) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  Find tertiary and primary information about the lives of people from prehistory through modern time.
- What’s included?
  Reference articles, biographies, and a variety of primary source documents.
Historical Newspapers: U.S. Major Dailies (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Read articles on the events and important people of your decade.
Image Quest (Britannica) This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  Look here for images and photographs with citation information provided.
- What’s included?
  Over two million photographs, artistic works and political cartoons.
World Book Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  This reference encyclopedia is a good starting point for research projects.
- What’s included?
  This large reference encyclopedia is available in several reading levels, and also includes a Spanish language version.