Reference Sources Review

This week in the Media Center, we are reviewing reference books to help us get prepared for our state testing in a few weeks.

This year I have covered several different types of reference sources during our media lessons: atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary and glossary with first, second and third graders, almanac, atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia, and thesaurus with fourth and fifth grades.  After talking about these sources, students practiced finding different information in these books.  You can find the dictionary lesson here.  You can find the thesaurus lesson here.  I am still working on a post about our atlas and almanac lessons, but you can read about my previous years' reference lessons here.

During these week's lessons, I will be reviewing each reference source and when to use them.  I will be using my Reference Sources PowerPoint to review.  You can get a copy of the first grade Reference Sources PowerPoint here.  You can get a copy of the 2nd-3rd grade Reference Sources PowerPoint here.  You can get a copy of the 4th-5th grade Reference Sources PowerPoint here.

I created two different Reference Sources activities for students to complete as a review.  The 2nd-3rd grade version covers the atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary and glossary.  The 4th-6th grade version covers the almanac, atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary, and thesaurus.

 

Each activity includes a Reference Books definition sheet, 12 Reference Source question cards, a  Reference Source poster, and an answer sheet.  You can get the 2nd-3rd grade version here on my TpT store for $3.00 or the 4th-6th grade version here for $3.00.

Hopefully this little review will jog their memory and keep this info fresh in their minds for testing, but also for times when they need to use these resources in real life...which is really the point of this lesson, right?

Do you have any fun ideas for teaching reference sources?

Reference Sources Review

Our state testing is just around the corner so to help students feel better prepared, I have created a couple of reference sources review lessons.

In October, I went over several different types of reference sources: atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary and glossary with second and third graders, almanac, atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia, and thesaurus with fourth and fifth grades.  Then I had students practice finding different information in these books.  You can read about that lesson here.

So for my review lesson, I will be reviewing each reference source and when to use them.  I will be using my Reference Sources PowerPoint to review.  You can get a copy of the 2nd-3rd grade Reference Sources PowerPoint HERE.  You can get a copy of the 4th-5th grade Reference Sources PowerPoint HERE.

Then I have created two different Reference Sources activities for students to complete as a review.  The 2nd-3rd grade version covers the atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary and glossary.  The 4th-6th grade version covers the almanac, atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary, and thesaurus.

 

Each activity includes a Reference Books definition sheet, 12 Reference Source question cards, a  Reference Source poster, and an answer sheet.  You can get the 2nd-3rd grade version here on my TpT store or the 4th-6th grade version here.

Hopefully this little review will jog their memory and keep this info fresh in their minds for testing, but also for times when they need to use these resources in real life...which is really the point of this lesson, right?

Do you have any fun ideas for teaching reference sources?

Reference Lessons Updated

Today is my baby's third birthday, so I thought I'd post a few freebies in honor of his special day.

A few weeks ago, I reviewed reference books with second through fifth grade classes.  (You can get a free, updated copy of these lessons by clicking on the pictures above or by clicking HERE for the 2nd-3rd grade lesson or HERE for the 4th-5th grade lesson.)  I had already been over these books with them last year, so I knew they all should at least have heard of these books before, but I wanted to expand on the lesson a bit more by giving them some hands on practice choosing and using the correct reference book.

 

With second and third graders, I choose to use a dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas and glossary in the back of the atlas.  Students had to work together to find the answer to five different questions using these four resources.  You can get a free copy of the PowerPoint and activity HERE or by clicking on the picture below.

With fourth and fifth grade classes, I chose to use an atlas, almanac, encyclopedia, dictionary and thesaurus.  Again, students had to work together to find the answer to five different questions using these five resources.  You can get a free copy of the PowerPoint and activity HERE or by clicking on the picture below. 

How do you teach reference skills?