NAME DATE USE THE INFORMATION ABOVE TO CHOOSE WHICH RESOURCE WOULD BEST HELP YOU FIND THE INFORMATION:

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1 RESOURCES YOU NEED TO KNOW An almanac is a book of facts that is printed at the beginning of each year. It will give you important facts or information about the events of that year. Some information in almanacs is in the form of tables, graphs, or charts. An atlas contains maps of the world or of certain regions. It may contain road maps or highway maps and is used by many people to plan trips by car. A dictionary gives meanings of words, the correct spelling and pronunciation of words, and shows how a word is divided into syllables. An encyclopedia is a set of books with information, usually in alphabetical order. There are general encyclopedias with general information about all topics, and there are special encyclopedias that have information about a specific topic. USE THE INFORMATION ABOVE TO CHOOSE WHICH RESOURCE WOULD BEST HELP YOU FIND THE INFORMATION: 1. Which of the following would BEST help you to find the meaning a word? a. atlas b. almanac c. encyclopedia d. dictionary 2. Which of the following would BEST help you to find a map of India? a. almanac b. atlas c. dictionary d. encyclopedia 3. Which of the following would BEST help you find information about when the full moon is in December of this year? a. dictionary b. encyclopedia c. almanac d. atlas 4. Which of the following would BEST help you find general information about the history of the Olympics? a. encyclopedia b. almanac c. atlas d. dictionary abcteach.com2002 1

2 An almanac is usually a pamphlet, or small book, that is published each year. It contains a calendar, facts about the phases of the moon, changes in the ocean s tides, holidays during the year, and general information of interest about that calendar year. Many farmers use almanacs to help them decide when to plant certain crops. Some almanacs are published just for children to use a reference tool, and some almanacs are published for use by anyone. Nathaniel Ames wrote the first almanac, which was published in America in Benjamin Franklin published Poor Richard s Almanac between 1732 and Almanacs have been in use for many years in America, and are used by many people in their daily lives. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: 1. An almanac is published. a. every five years b. every three years c. once each year d. each month 2. What is a pamphlet? a. a large collection of books b. a small book c. a small book with many volumes d. none of these 3. All of the following would be found in an almanac EXCEPT. a. phases of the moon b. ocean tides c. current news d. calendar 4. Who published the first almanac in America? a. Ben Franklin b. Nathaniel Ames c. Poor Richard d. King George abcteach.com2002 2

3 An atlas is a collection of maps or charts. It will help you find where places are located on a map. An road atlas is sometimes used by people to plan trips by car. A general atlas will have collections of many different maps and charts. Some atlases are regional, and will contain maps and charts about a particular area. Many of the maps and charts in an atlas will give you the distance from one location to another. The first known atlas was made by a Greek geographer named Ptolemy in the 2nd century A.D. Today, atlases can be found in schools, libraries, homes, and on the Internet, and are used as reference tools by many people. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: 1. Which of the following is NOT true about an atlas? a. An atlas can be used to find the meanings of words. b. An atlas is a collection of maps. c. An atlas has many interesting facts. d. An atlas is used to plan trips. 2. Which of the following maps would BEST help you to plan a trip from Idaho to California? a. a world map b. a map of Maine c. a map of North America d. none of these 3. Which of the following maps would BEST help you to find the distance from China to Japan? a. a map of North America b. a map of Utah c. a map of South America d. a map of Asia 4. Atlases can be found a. in the library b. in homes c. in schools d. all of these abcteach.com2002 3

4 A dictionary is probably the most frequently used reference tool. School children use it on a daily basis in classrooms, and adults use the dictionary in their jobs. Dictionaries give the correct spelling of words, their meanings, how words are pronounced, and tell how to divide words into syllables. Some dictionaries also give the etymology, or origin, of a word. Dictionaries list words in alphabetical order. The two words at the top of each page of a dictionary are called guide words. These guide words are the first and last word on that page of the dictionary. Noah Webster wrote the first American dictionary. It took him over 27 years to complete this dictionary. It was completed in ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: 1. What is probably the most frequently used reference tool? a. the encyclopedia b. an atlas c. the dictionary d. the almanac 2. The two words at the top of a page in the dictionary are called. a. alphabetical words b guide words c. meanings d. pronunciation 3. The dictionary does all of the following EXCEPT a. give pronunciation of words b. give meanings of words c. divide words into syllables d. show the distance between two different places 4. Noah Webster was the of the first American dictionary. a. author b. illustrator c. publisher d. none of these abcteach.com2002 4

5 The dictionary is an excellent reference source for the meanings of words, pronunciation, and the division of words into syllables. Read each of the following and answer the questions. This is an entry for the word extinguish. ex-tin-guish ( ik. sting. gwish) verb 1. to put an end to; destroy 2. to put out (a fire, for example); to quench 1. How many syllables are in the word extinguish? a. 3 b. 4 c. 2 d What definition of extinguish is used in the following sentence? They will extinguish the Olympic Flame during the closing ceremony. a. definition 1 b. definition 2 c. neither of the definitions in this entry 3. What part of speech is the word extinguish? a. noun b. adjective c. adverb d. verb 4. The (ik.sting.gwish) in the parentheses after a word in a dictionary, shows the. a. part of speech b. syllables c. pronunciation d. both b and c 5. Which definition of the word extinguish is used in the following sentence? The goal by England s David Beckham extinguished all hopes of the other team playing in the World Cup. a. definition 1 b. definition 2 c. neither of the definitions in this entry abcteach.com2002 5

6 USE THE DICTIONARY ENTRY IN THE BOX BELOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. TAKE YOUR TIME AND CHECK YOUR WORK. han-dle (han.dl) verb 1. to touch, pick up, or hold with the hands. 2. to deal with or have responsibility for 1. What part of speech is the word handle? a. noun b. verb c. adjective d. adverb 2. How many syllables are in the word handle? a. one b. three c. two d. four 3. Which definition of the word handle is used in the following sentence? Be careful when you handle that vase, because it is very expensive. a. definition 1 b. definition 2 c. neither of the definitions in this entry 4. The (han.dl) in the parentheses after a word in a dictionary, is the. a. pronunciation b. meaning c. syllables d. both a and c 5. Which definition of the word handle is used in the following sentence? I will handle assigning students to their research groups. a. definition 1 b. definition 2 c. neither of the definitions in this entry abcteach.com2002 6

7 Use a dictionary to answer each of the following. Please take your time and write neatly. 1. How many syllables are in the word cauldron? 2. How many syllables are in the word terse. 3. What are the two guide words at the top of the page where you found the word falcon? 4. Write a meaning for the word persevere. 5. What part of speech is the word shale? 6. Write a meaning for the word verbena. 7. What part of speech is the word ocular? 8. How many syllables are in the word conformity? abcteach.com2002 7

8 An encyclopedia is a reference book or a set of books, usually organized in alphabetical order. A general encyclopedia contains general information about various topic. Encyclopedias are widely used to gather in formation for writing reports, or to find information about a particular topic. An encyclopedia will give exact information about an event in history. Each book in a set of encyclopedias is called a volume. Each volume is given a number. Information is easily found using an encyclopedia. There are also encyclopedias on specific topics. For example, The Encyclopedia of Cats would have information about cats. The encyclopedia is a widely used source of information and is available in schools, homes, libraries, and on the Internet. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: 1. What are the individual books in a set of encyclopedias called? 2. Where are encyclopedias found? 3. How is information organized in an encyclopedia? 4. What are encyclopedias used for? abcteach.com2002 8

9 VOLUME I VOLUME II VOLUME III VOLUME IV VOLUME V A-C D-G H-K L-P Q-Z USE THE INFORMATION IN THE BOX ABOVE TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING: 1. When looking in the encyclopedia for information about the rhinoceros, which volume would you probably look in FIRST? a. Volume III b. Volume IV c. Volume II d. Volume V 2. When looking in the encyclopedia for information about California, which volume would you probably look in FIRST? a. Volume II b. Volume IV c. Volume I d. Volume III 3. When looking in the encyclopedia for information about jellyfish, which volume would you probably look in FIRST? a. Volume I b. Volume III c. Volume V d. Volume II 4. When looking in the encyclopedia for information about the weather, which volume would you probably look in first? a. Volume V b. Volume II c. Volume IV d. Volume III 5. When looking in the encyclopedia for information about basketball, which volume would you probably look in first? a. Volume II b. Volume I c. Volume III d. Volume V abcteach.com2002 9

10 WHAT DID YOU LEARN? CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. 1. Which informational resource will have a collection of maps for planning a trip? a. almanac b. encyclopedia c. dictionary d. atlas 2. Which informational resource should be used to find the correct pronunciation of a word? a. dictionary b. atlas c. encyclopedia d. almanac 3. Which informational source is organized in alphabetical order and in volumes? a. atlas b. encyclopedia c. dictionary d. almanac 4. Which informational source is a pamphlet? a. encyclopedia b. dictionary c. almanac d. atlas 5. Which informational source would tell you how to divide a word into syllables? a. dictionary b. atlas c. almanac d. encyclopedia 6. Which informational source would give you information about the United States branches of government? a. almanac b. encyclopedia c. dictionary d. atlas abcteach.com

11 ANSWER PAGE PAGE 1: 1. d 2. b 3. c 4. a PAGE 2: 1. c 2. b 3. c 4. b PAGE 3: 1. a 2. c 3. d 4. d PAGE 4: 1. c 2. b 3. d 4. a PAGE 5: 1. a 2. b 3. d 4. d 5. a PAGE 6: 1. b 2. c 3. a 4. d 5. b PAGE 7: ANSWERS WILL VARY ACCORDING TO DICTIONARY USED 4. to keep trying to do something in spite of difficulties 5. noun 6. a garden plant with fragrant leaves with white, pink, red, blue or purple blooms with 5 petals 7. adjective 8. 4 abcteach.com

12 PAGE 8: 1. volumes 2. homes, libraries, schools, and the Internet 3. alphabetical order and volumes 4. to find general information on a topic PAGE 9: 1. d 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. b PAGE 10: 1. d 2. a 3. b 4. c 5. a 6. b abcteach.com