LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Recognizing reference sources

Students will become familiar with five different reference sources in the Media Center: Atlas, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Card Catalog (Look Up Station), and the internet. Students will be able to decide which is the BEST source to use to answer specific questions.

A lesson plan for grade 4 Information Skills

By Marybeth Hauss

Learn more

Related pages

  • Research frenzy: Students will use a variety of reference materials to complete a trivia-question scavenger hunt assignment. Within the context of this assignment, students will be exposed to questions in many curriculum areas.
  • Subject search in card catalog: This lesson encourages students to engage in independent research through providing them with experience in accessing the variety of library materials available to them. This lesson is good for those schools who do not have online catalogs.
  • How to identify search terms in an index: Students will learn to use the index to determine if the source has information about a topic and, if so, how to find the information.

Related topics

Help

Please read our disclaimer for lesson plans.

Legal

The text of this page is copyright ©2008. See terms of use. Images and other media may be licensed separately; see captions for more information and read the fine print.

Learning outcomes

Students will select the BEST source to use to find answers to specific questions. Reference sources include atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, card catalog (Look Up Station), and the Internet.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

30 minutes

Materials/resources

  • All available Reference Sources
  • Overhead Projector
  • Transparencies on all Reference Sources
  • F/S and/or Video on Reference Sources
  • References
  • Answers

Technology resources

  • computers with internet access
  • NC Wiseowl online encyclopedias

Pre-activities

Students should already be familiar with these reference resources and what information is presented in each source.

Activities

  1. Students make a list of reference sources available in their Media Center.
  2. Students describe what information is found in each type of reference source.
  3. Students understand that a specific question may be found in a variety of sources or in only ONE source. Students are asked to identify the BEST reference source for each of the items on References worksheet.

Assessment

Students complete a worksheet of 20 questions choosing the BEST source to locate the answers on the Answers handout.

Play a Tic-Tac-Toe game. Divide the class into X’s and O’s. By asking a question, the X or O group (whichever gets the first question) will give the best reference source to use to answer the question. If they are correct they get the square. If they miss it, the other group gets to answer. Continue the game until one group gets 3 squares in a row. You can use the questions available on the handout or create your own.

Supplemental information

Comments

The 30 minute time period is per reference source. This may take about four 30 minute class times to cover all reference sources.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Information Skills (2000)

Grade 4

  • Goal 2: The learner will IDENTIFY and USE criteria for excellence to evaluate information and formats.
    • Objective 2.02: Apply identified criteria to select resources.
    • Objective 2.04: Develop and express personal criteria for selecting resources for information needs and enjoyment.
    • Objective 2.05: Determine usefulness of information resources.