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INFORMATION LITERACY Locating Information. Five Common Types of Reference Materials. Dictionaries Thesaurus Encyclopedia Atlas Almanac. Dictionary. Dictionaries are used to look up words.
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Five Common Types of Reference Materials • Dictionaries • Thesaurus • Encyclopedia • Atlas • Almanac
Dictionary • Dictionaries are used to look up words. • They can be used for a variety of reasons: definition, spelling, pronunciation, word origin, part-of-speech and how it is used in a sentence. • There are also many different types of specialized dictionaries such as a Biographical or Geographical dictionary.
Thesaurus • A Thesaurus is used to find words that mean the same or opposite as another word. • These are called synonyms and antonyms. • They are simple to use - just look up your word and a thesaurus will give you the list of synonyms and antonyms for that word. • A Thesaurus, however, DOES NOT usually provide you with a definition (you need a dictionary for that).
Encyclopedia • An Encyclopedia is used to find information about a person, place, or thing. • Articles found in an Encyclopedia are usually longer and contain more information than a Dictionary. • Encyclopedias are a great place to start to find information about a topic you know nothing about, but are not usually accepted as a source for students. • Example: Wikipedia!
Atlas • An Atlas is a book of maps. • Atlases are used to find specific locations such as: country, state, city or geographic formation. • Many people use an atlas when they are going on vacation or traveling to another place. • There are also specialized atlases such as historical and geographic.
Almanac • An Almanac is a book of facts that provide brief, useful and interesting information relating to countries of the world, sports, entertainment, etc. • They are updated every year so they always contain the most current information available. 9
Do you know? • For the next few slides I will describe a situation. You must decide what type of reference material would be the BEST and FASTEST way to find the information.
Challenge Question One • Your family is going on vacation to see the Mayan ruins in Mexico. You want to find more information about the ancient civilization. • Where would you find this type of information?
Answer • Encyclopedia • Great Job!!!
Challenge QuestionTwo • Your family is planning a vacation to Florida. You are going to Universal Studios! Your father is trying to decide what interstate he needs to take. • What reference material should he use to find this information?
Answer • Atlas • Great Work!!!!
Challenge QuestionThree • You want to find out which NFL player had the most touchdowns in 2008. • Which reference material would you use?
Answer • Almanac • Fantastic!!!!!
Challenge Question Four • You are writing an essay on To Kill a Mockingbird. You want to find another word to use instead of saying ‘great’. • What reference material would you use to find another word for ‘great’?
Answer • Thesaurus • Wonderful Job!!!!
Reference Materials • Reference materials such as dictionaries, a thesaurus, atlases, encyclopedias and almanacs help us locate information QUICKLY and EFFICIENTLY. • Remember, the Internet is a great resource, but many times information can be found easier by using a reference book!