Appropriate Research Sources SPI

Learning Goals.. By the end of today’s lesson I will be able to determine the most appropriate research source to find information about a given topic. I will create questions using a variety of research sources. Sentence frame example: “I use a dictionary to define a word.

Pre-assessment (whisper to your neighbor) If you wanted to find information about the moons of Jupiter, which reference source would you use? a. Dictionary b. Encyclopedia c. Thesaurus d. Atlas

The correct answer should be… Encyclopedia

Why??? When you have a specific question you should decide which source is most likely to contain the answer. We are going to look at seven references sources to find out which is best. Ready????

My Turn… Get ready to write notes….. Here we go!

Nonfiction A nonfiction book will provide facts and information that can be proven. The author is an expert!

Thesaurus A thesaurus lists synonyms and antonyms for commonly used words.

Dictionary A dictionary is an alphabetized listing of words, including their spelling, pronunciation, meaning, and sometimes its history.

Atlas An atlas contains maps and index that tells where to find maps of various places.

Almanac An almanac is updated every year. It contains brief facts about history, sports events, countries, and other subjects.

Encyclopedia An encyclopedia summarizes major facts about a variety of subjects, which are listed alphabetically.

Internet Sites An internet site has information found in most other reference sources.

Our Turn… Which source would help you find information about this subject? The definition of cycle?

Dictionary Yes, a dictionary would give me the definition of cycle.

Our Turn… Where would I find where Mount McKinley is located?

Atlas Yes, an atlas tells where to find maps of various places.

Our Turn.. A synonym for sparkling

Thesaurus Yes, a thesaurus lists synonyms and antonyms for many words.

Our Turn… The life among the Cherokee people.

Encyclopedia Yes, the encyclopedia will give you a summary of major facts about a variety of subjects.

Your Turn… You will be working with “research stations” for references today. Each group will have 5 minutes per station. You should create a question for each research source at the table. A collection of questions will be selected for you to answer at a later time.

Did we??? Identify the best print reference source to find information about a certain topic? Sentence Frame: “I use a _____ to ______.”