Learning about basic reference sources

Age/Skill Level: For middle school students/beginners

Curriculum Core Standard Tie:
Standard 2
Objective 1a (in preparation for moving to 1b)
AASL Tie: 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to
analyze and organize information (we’ll be focusing on “the
other” to begin with.)

Language Arts, History, and class requiring basic research writing.

50 minutes

1-2

 

Materials:

          Variety of reference books from library—titles covered—on display table.

Introduction/Informal Lecture:

          Assess students’ familiarity with topic through a class discussion asking them if they are familiar with the following sources: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Directory, Atlas, Dictionaries. Ask for volunteers to explain to class what they could expect to find in each (be prepared to help refine response). Building on student responses, offer more in-depth look at resources.

 

Activity One:

          Hold up one of the books with a hidden title. Open to a random page and read passage or explain what you see on it and ask students to guess which kind of book it comes from. Continue with all the books you have, showing them after each one what the book was.

 

Activity Two:

          Pass out copies of the “Hide and Seek” worksheet giving students some time to work on it. (This should take 10 minutes at most). Follow this with the Hide and Seek Powerpoint presentation. The slides have been spaced to foster discussion and answers are provided in case the students would like to guess the answers without using the reference books.

 

Application:

          If this lesson is to be used in collaboration with a different subject teacher, ask them for a list of “who is/was,” “when was,” “what is/was,” and “where is/was,” type of questions corresponding with their current project for students. Assign (or draw) each student one topic. If this is to be a stand-alone library assignment come up with a list of random factual questions to be found in the library’s reference section (double-checking to ensure you have the appropriate resource to answer it.) Have students use new-found knowledge to find answers to these questions and help them understand how this is a good foundation for further research. They can use the rest of the class time to accomplish this and time from the next class time could be made available to complete if needed.

 

Optional Follow-up Activities:

          Presentation—students can present their answers to their class-mates in oral presentations in their classes or in next library class time.

          Research—students can use this assignment as a foundation to a bigger research project.

          Technology—when you feel students have a sufficient understanding of the sources and their purposes, show them some of the outstanding on-line versions available and allow them some time to play with these.