Hi everyone. Sorry I'm so late posting this hit. My original request
was for a way to review all the different types of reference books.
Thank you to everyone who replied. I received some great responses.
Thanks again!
I am studying reference books with my third graders. I gave them a
list of questions and they had to figure out which sources to use to get
the answers. Then, we went over it as a class. Then, I gave each of
them a number and they had to answer the question that had their number
using the correct reference source.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I made up a racing game to review the reference books. I made a large
racetrack on poster paper and hung it on the wall. There are six lanes,
and I divide the class into six groups. The lanes are divided into
segments with pieces of velcro on each section. I made flat race cars
out of cardboard and colored them six different colors. They also have
velcro on them so that the "cars" will stick to the track. The groups
are given a paper with 10 questions. They must use the appropriate
reference book to find the answers. They don't have to write anything.
When they find the answer one of the group must show me the answer in
the book, at which point I move their race car to the next segment of
the track. It gets exciting as the students try to win the race.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have gathered a bunch of reference questions. I made a scoring board
by
pasting pockets on a poster. In the pockets I put cards with points that
go
from -5 to +5. They are placed randomly. We play in teams. I read the
reference question--like Suzie's mother wants a video of the movie that
won
the Academy award in1976 for Christmas. How can Suzie find out what this
video is? Teams decide what the answer is and the student whose turn it
is
says the answer (look in the almanac). They if they answer correctly
they
get to draw a point card. At the end of play (time is up) we total the
points to see which team got the most.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I got this somehow from LMNet a few years ago. I think it's one of my
more
successful lessons. First I go over what all the different reference
books
are. I wrote it on large chart paper and hung them up. I then divided
the
class into 5 groups. Each group had one almanac, atlas, dictionary,
thesaurus. I set up 3 sets of encyclopedias (that's all I have) for any
group to use. Each group was given 20 questions that they were
responsible
for answering. They could divide the work up any way they wanted. It
takes
2 - 43 minute periods.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I use Search! by Evan-Moor with my 3rd grade. We play it Jeopardy style
and
they love it!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I love the activities in Mysteries of Research, and I think they could
be
done by 4's and 5's. I do them at the end of 5th grade. They need
familiarity with a dictionary, encyclopedia, Biographical dictionary,
almanac(i think) and atlas. I think the author's name is Sharron Cohen
In
each activity a "crime" has been committed. There are 4 or 5 people
involved, and each has a story. But one or more of the "suspects" tells
lies
in the course of his or her testimony. The liar is the guilty party.
The
things the kids have to look up are like: "I was born the year Judy
Garland
won the Oscar for Wizard of Oz." Then they have to figure out if that
make
sense in the context of the story. There are always words they have to
look
up (my favorite: lepidopteran--if they don't look it up they miss the
whole
thing because they don't know what it is) Sometimes the liar will say he
was
born in a place that isn't where he said it is--things that can be
verified
in a print reference source. The final part is to figure out what really
happened.
My 5's love this activity, and it's a great way to wrap up a unit on
reference books.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just developed an activity that can use all the reference resources in
print using one subject like Apples or Trees. For example, you can
entitle
a page " " Scavenger Hunt. Use apples as an example. Then ask
questions about apples where they have to look up the answers in the
reference books you have. Like: 1. Find Johnny Appleseed in the
biographical dictionary. What was his real name and why is he
well-known?
2. Find "apple" in the encyclopedia. Name four varieties. 3. Find a
term
in the dictionary that contains the word "apple". Write its definition.
4.
What is the Apple Capital of the World? Locate it in an atlas. What
are
its coordinates? 5. Find a quotation that you are familiar with which
uses
the word "apple" in it. Who said it and what does it mean? (you are
the
apple of my eye, etc.) This is just an example of how kids can use many
references resources for one subject.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know if this will help, but what I do is have a series of
questions and have one child use a reference book while another uses the
internet. The rest of the class can suggest the best print resource. I
start with two volunteers. The child who starts with print moves on to
the internet while the internet user picks (from volunteers) the next
print user.
I think I still have the list of questions I used if you want it. I
give the whole class the list of questions at the beginning. The
internet user gets to pick the question.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I use questions that require students to use all of the reference
sources we've covered (almanac, dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas,
thesaurus) -- the questions are typed on large index cards, numbered and
laminated. Students work on these individually using a form that is the
size of a half sheet of paper. Students answer their question (often
having one or more parts) on the form and circle the reference they used
to find the answer. Students may work at their own pace and will often
have time to answer several in a library session -- other times they may
work on just one question the whole time. They seem to enjoy it and are
using the skills we covered. I keep a record of the cards each student
has completed. Some cards tell them what resource to use while others
require them to decide which reference source they should use. It's a
good way to give them hands-on practice without really using a
worksheet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did this activity with 6th graders but it might work for younger.
After I showed the class how each Reference book worked I put the kids
in groups of two. I then assigned each group to a different reference
book. The students had to write two questions, one from each kid, using
the reference book they were assigned to answer the questions. I then
created a worksheet that included all the questions (sometimes I had to
modify the questions as they didn't give enough info for the others to
find the answer.) and the students then working with their partner had
to answer all the questions thus seeing and actually using all of the
reference books I had introduced them to.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Something I have done to test their knowledge of the books is to create
a list of all the books you have taught, then have a second column that
list scenarios and the students have to decide which book is the best
reference source to use for that particular case. Some may have two
books.
Also, I have used this activity by writing the scenarios on index cards
instead. Each group gets a set and they have to test each other on
which book is the best book. They seem to like this format better.
Missy Small, Media Coordinator
Moss Hill School
Kinston, NC
msmall@lenoir.k12.nc.us
"All e-mail correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North
Carolina Public Records Law, which, may result in monitoring and disclosure to
third parties, including law enforcement."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
* LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
* LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
* EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/
* LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home