INFORMATION LITERACYLocating Information

Five Common Types of Reference Materials

DictionariesThesaurusEncyclopediaAtlasAlmanac

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.

7

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!