Types of Reference Books

We talked about two reference books yesterday. What were they?

What will a dictionary tell us about a word?

•Spelling•Pronunciation•Number of Syllables•Part(s) of Speech (May be more than one!)•Meanings•Etymology (where the word comes from . . .)

What does a thesaurus give us?

SynonymsSynonyms

And antonyms too sometimes . . . .

Now . . .

. . . on with more reference books!

Any guesses?

AlmanacContains current facts about:•Weather•Population•Currency•Geographical data•Country Flags•State flowers, birds, and flags•Statistics about cities in the U.S. and around the world•Fascinating things that have happened during the year in science, economics, sports, art, and media

Another famous one: The Old Farmer’s AlmanacWeather forecastsGardeningMoon calendar

Atlas

•Road maps•Mileage charts and calculators

Most also list:•Notable Attractions•Shops•Restaurants•Hotel phone numbers•Tourism websites and phone numbers

Encyclopedia

An encyclopedia is a huge set of articles full of information about many, many topics. It provides a general, basic overview of each topic.

The articles are in alphabetical order, and there is an index so that you can find each one.

You can either use an actual encyclopedia book set in a library or at home, or you can use one of the online encyclopedia systems available.

Besides the standard encyclopedia, there are also specialized encyclopedias that provide information on specific time periods or topics.

Knowing when to use each type of reference source is important. Probably the two most difficult sources to choose between are the encyclopedia and the almanac. Discuss the most ideal uses for each.

Let’s Play a Game!

Which Reference Book?

Which Reference Book?

NOTE: The sound doesn’t work on this game.