1. Modified from Bedford High School
Reference Materials
Review Lesson
Library Science
Modified from Bedford High School
Slideshare.net

2. Six Common Types of Reference Materials
Dictionaries
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Atlas
Almanac
Periodicals

3. 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
There are also many different types of specialized dictionaries such as a Biographical or Geographical dictionary.

4. Biographical Dictionary
Biographical dictionaries are used to find information about famous people.
They usually contain brief facts about the person’s life such as: birthdate, major accomplishments and events that have made the person famous.
If you wish to find MORE information, you will need to go elsewhere. 4

5. Geographical Dictionary (Gazetteer)
Geographical dictionaries contain information about places. They ARE NOT, however, a book of maps.
Geographical dictionaries provide information about a place such as location, population, industry and famous landmarks.
The information is very brief but will provide you a starting point to go elsewhere for additional information. 5

6. 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).

7. 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 high school students.
Example: Wikipedia!

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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?

12. Answer
Encyclopedia
Great Job!!!

13. Challenge Question Two
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?

14. Answer
Atlas
Great Work!!!!

15. Challenge Question Three
You want to find out which NFL player had the most touchdowns in
Which reference material would you use?

16. Answer
Almanac
Fantastic!!!!!

17. Challenge Question Four
You are writing an essay on Old Yeller. You want to find another word to use instead of saying ‘great’.
What reference material would you use to find another word for ‘great’?

18. Answer
Thesaurus
Wonderful Job!!!!

19. Challenge Question Five
Jane is beginning to write an essay in English. She is trying to find the birth date of Ernest Hemingway.
What reference material would she use to quickly find this information?

20. Biographical Dictionary Fantastic Job!!!!
Answer
Biographical Dictionary
Fantastic Job!!!!

21. Challenge Question Six
You are looking for what state Wyomising County is located in. You have tried to find the answer in an atlas, but cannot find it.
Where else could you look?

22. Geographical Dictionary Excellent Job!!!!!
Answer
Geographical Dictionary
Excellent Job!!!!!

23. 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!