HIT: Reference Lessons

[Julie Levy <JulseyL@AOL.COM>]

Thank you all for your reference activity ideas.  Here they are:

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Last year I ordered two excellent series that have been a real hit
with our students. The first is the World Almanac for Kids series.  It comes
with a video which shows the students how to use the almanac within a "game
show" type activity.  My grades 4 & 5 teachers love it.  They check out a
set of almanacs to use with their students in the classroom along with the
black line masters that came with the program.  However, the reading level
is a bit too high for Grade 3.

The other resource I purchased last year and started to pilot this year are
the "Know It All" video tapes and teacher guide from GPN (they also put out
Reading Rainbow).  This series introduces a 4-step research process for
primary and intermediate grades, as well as professional development videos
for staff.  It even introduces staff and students to using rubrics for
assessment.


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I would use this as an invitation to collaborate!  Offer to plan with the
teachers to incorporate research based upon their classroom units.  Whatever
they study dictates the content and activities the students research.  The
products can vary wildly.  Pamphlets, letters, slideshows, Powerpoint
presentations, posters, the options are vast.  Please keep in touch if you'd
like to discuss the topic off the list serve.


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For my first reference session, I set up centers for free exploration at
tables.  They really enjoy that.

Then, I take a month (2 class sessions) for each of the reference materials.
We did whole group activity at first for the thesaurus.  I read them a
letter which overused the word good.  We then took the thesaurus and
supplied new words.  The second visit they took famous sayings and changed
them using the thesaurus.

We did a whole group thing with the atlas, playing a quiz show type game.
Then we did small group activities using them, making up questions for other
groups using the atlas.

For the almanac, we did an entire session of free explore.  For the next
session, we played a quiz show type game.

For encyclopedias, we have a relay race for the first visit.  I pass out
cards to each team.  They have to find the thing on the card to get credit.
I rarely do paper and pencil things, but for the second visit, I do.  I have
a wonderful worksheet that involves finding a specific piece of information
on various animals.  They love it.

To use the electronic catalog, we do the old tried and true scavenger hunt.
For the other resources, we do centers where they make up questions for each
other.  We share the questions at the next session.


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Tie your reference lessons to social studies or science units being
taught in the classroom.  Kids can research animals, states, colonies, etc.
and learn reference and research skills as they complete these curriculum
related projects.  For example, this fall, we've covered in third grade -
deserts and Native Americans, in fourth - ocean animals and geographical
regions of Arkansas, in fifth grade - Vikings and colonies.  Kids learned to
use various reference sources and also learned a little bit about
note-taking, outlining, and citing sources.  With the colonial project,
we'll finish off by producing tri-fold brochures in the computer lab.


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Have you investigated the many books by M. Ellen Jay?  Titles such as The
Library/Coomputer Lab/Classroom Connection  Linking Content, Thinking,
Writing; or Designing Instruction for Diverse Abilities and the Library
Media Teacher's Role; or  Building Reference Skills i the Elementary
School; orMotivation and the School Library Media Teacher?  Interlibrary
loan for the older titles which are still very apt.  Neal Schuman for the
newer ones.

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 I recommend that you combine reference lessons with actual classroom
assignments when possible, but I know that that's often a utopian dream.
   I've sometimes done a lesson where I reviewed the atlas, almanac,
geographical dictionary, biographical dictionary and encyclopedia.  Then I
give each student a pack of five laminated cards with the name of one of
those sources on each card.  I ask a reference question and ask them to hold
up the card that they think would get them to the answer most quickly.  We
see which source gets the most votes and briefly discuss why they picked the
sources they picked.  The following week I have a reference contest.  Each
class at that grade level is given fifty reference questions on cards. (I
make them up to fit my sources.)  The whole class is a team and they have
thirty minutes to bring me the answers to as many of the fifty questions as
they can.  It's pretty chaotic, but they're definitely on task.  There is a
prize (I've sometimes made chocolate lollipops.) for the class with the most
correct answers.  (I did once have a fifth grade in which the three teachers
didn't get along, and there was some strife caused by the class-against-class
contest.  You might offer a small prize to any class that can answer at least
35, or some cut-off number.)

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If reference activities are linked to the classroom curriculum, there are an
endless variety of activities and products available. Beyond oral and/or
written reports, students can produce dioramas, timelines, brochures,
artwork, interviews, web pages, videos, etc. I think the key question for
each unit needs to be, "What are the key learnings involved, how and where
will the students find their information and in what format will the findings
be presented?"

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I "do" an atlas unit with 4th and 5th graders.  I have purchased a class set
of Scholastic paperback atlases, and make up a ditto with questions that
utilize the index, scale of miles, etc.  Then I make a quiz page with the
same skills on it, and the students have to work independently on the quiz.

Thank you everyone!  You are great!

Julie Levy
James Buchanan Elemenatray Library
Levittown, PA

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