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"Welcome to
High School!" Toolkit |
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what other resources for reference and organization we recommend for
high school students. Below is a detailed list of books,
online references, study tools, and software recommended for your
student's success. [To order from Amazon: 1) click the link; 2) add the
item to your cart; 3) click "back" on your browser twice to return to this page; 4) when ready to purchase, click any Amazon link on the page and press the "Cart" button on the Amazon page. A percentage of ANY purchase made on Amazon after using our links goes to help support the GLAC.]
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The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition
Everyone needs a Bible in hand to read and use for prayer and devotionals. We use the RSV from Ignatius Press for our courses, but any Catholic Bible will suffice.
Links to compare translations:
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
If you are Catholic, you need your very own CCC. It is fine to occasionally pick out an article or two by using the Vatican's website, but the context of the articles are very important. It was systematically arranged as a book, not a wiki.
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Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Vatican has posted the Compendium online, but it is much easier to find what you need when it is in hand as a printed book. |
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www.NewAdvent.org
This site has posted for free the 1914 Catholic Encyclopedia as well as the
Summa Theologica and many other writings from saints and Church Doctors. The top right corner of every page on the site has a search box.
www.Catholic.com
Faith Tracts.
"We offer over 120 tracts to address some of the most common questions about the Catholic faith. They focus on Sacred Scripture, the Early Church Fathers, and church history."
EWTN - Global Catholic Network
In addition to a large collection of documents and devotionals, the EWTN website offers a free
"listen live" option and podcast subscriptions.
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Students: Find a good dictionary that is about the size of a paperback novel to keep beside you always. These small dictionaries typically exclude information about the roots or history of the words, but they often have sample sentences for each entry. You might prefer to purchase your portable dictionary from a brick and mortar store, such as Barnes & Noble or Borders so you can compare features. Examples of fine choices:
When working online, or wishing to hear a word spoken aloud, consider these two handy sites:
The downsides to both sites are that they have far too many distracting ads and, unlike when you look words up in a printed dictionary, you will not be exposed to any words besides just the ones you type in. |
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The Synonym Finder
This tome is the best paperweight to have within arm's reach when writing papers, reflections, poems, or stories. Since composing rough drafts is best done by hand, with pen and paper, it is best to have
a printed thesaurus readily available. |
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7th Edition
Any MLA handbook with the 2009 updates will work. Using a quality online resource like the Purdue Online Writing Lab is also handy. |
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Learn-to-type software. Our favorite is Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Deluxe 20 . Most high school and college coursework in
the humanities and mathematics is done by hand with a pencil and paper, so learning how to type accurately and speedily is secondary to fluid, neat penmanship. However, papers must be typed and some online courses--even the GLA courses--have online testing where typing is required. |
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Copy/Laser/Inkjet 3-Hole Paper, 20 lb, Letter Size (8.5 x 11), White, 500 Sheets
Yes, printer paper comes pre-punched for just a tiny bit more than paper
that is not punched. Having the holes already made encourages the immediate filing of all papers. |
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Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
or MS Office 2010 or MS Office 2003
or Microsoft Works 9.0
The student will need a word processor like Microsoft Word that can create documents with at least one of the following extensions: .rtf, .wps, .doc, or .docx. The GLAC instructors use MS Word 2007 and will be moving to MS Word 2010 sometime in Spring 2011, so if you anticipate having questions about how to format documents, use headers and footers, use page numbers, create hanging paragraphs for the Works Cited page, double-space text, remove unwanted leading spaces, and the like, we recommend you purchase the same version.
(There is a free word processor available from Open Office. Explore it at http://www.openoffice.org/. We have no experience with the Open Office software.) |
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CutePDF Writer or PrimoPDF
Portable document files--files that use the .pdf extension--are designed to preserve the look and feel of the original document complete with fonts, colors, images, and layout when someone viewing it on a computer that is not exactly the same as the one the creator made the document with. Any time a student's assignment incorporates atypical fonts, colors, images, or special table layouts, he will need to convert his word processing document into a .pdf document. CutePDF Writer and PrimoPDF are free programs that do just that.
Adobe Reader (keep it updated!)
Adobe Reader is the free software program you must have installed on your
computer in order to read PDF documents. |
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Access to the
Local Library Libraries typically have several collections of
encyclopedias and high school students should be encouraged to utilize the
collections. Ask your librarian to take a few moments out to explain
which collections they have available at your library and share the access
codes needed for any online reference databases available. With such
resources available, it is not necessary to invest in an encyclopedia set. |
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