1. Reference Materials HOW and WHEN to use a/an: Dictionary Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Internet (Search Engines)
Atlas
By Mrs. S. B. Davis
If you wanted to find your neighbor’s address and phone number, what kind of book would you use? (telephone book) A telephone book would be the best place to find the information. Could you find your friend’s address in the encyclopedia? (no) Although an encyclopedia has a lot of information on many subjects, it would not be a good source to find an address. You would be wasting your time trying to find what you needed. So because answers can be found in more than one book. We will learn to save time by first identifying the best source. The best source is the book most likely to contain the information you want.

2. A dictionary is a book of words
If you want to know about a word, the dictionary would be the best resource to use.
A dictionary will tell you many different things about a word (definitions, pronunciation guides, parts of speech, sample sentences, and sometimes synonyms). One of the most commonly used reference books is a DICTIONARY.

3. A thesaurus is a book of synonyms
If you want to find a word that has the same meaning of another word, the thesaurus would be the best resource to use.
It helps when writing and you want to use a different word that has the same meaning.
Example
We had a fun time at the zoo. It was a fun day.
We had a great time at the zoo. It was an
enjoyable day.

4. An encyclopedia is set of books with general information
If you want to know about a person, place, or thing, (nouns)an encyclopedia would be the best resource to use.
Encyclopedias have pictures and very specific information on most topics.
The information in an encyclopedia is factual.

5. Internet (Search Engines)
If you want to know about a specific topic, a search engine would be the best resource to use on the internet.
Search engines use key words to find information from websites on the internet.

6. An atlas is simply a book of maps
If the information you are looking for can be found on a map, then an atlas would be your best source.

7. Guide words:
Alphabetical order:
can be found in a dictionary, thesaurus, and in an encyclopedia.
is used in most reference books.

8. References can be found in the library in their own section and can not be checked out.

9. Other References An almanac changes every year and has fun facts.
Newspapers can be used to find daily stories important locally and around the world.
A phone book is used to find a phone number and/or an address for people and businesses.

10. Answers are often found in more than one book
Answers are often found in more than one book. One can save much time by first identifying the best source. The best source is the book most likely to contain the information you want.

11. References
Adapted from: dards_docs/english/2010/lesson_plans/index .shtml