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Reference Material Study Guide
1. An almanac is a book of brief facts, figures, and information on many different topics or a
specialty topic.
Facts that may be found in an almanac:
Weather info (such as average temperatures), sports records, zip codes, famous people,
government leaders, laws, country/state info
2. An atlas is a book of maps.
3. A dictionary is a book or online resource (example: dictionary.com) that provides definitions,
spelling, pronunciations, etymology, parts of speech, guide words, and sometimes syllables. If
you’re not sure how to spell a word, a dictionary is a good place to start. Words are in
alphabetical order, and guide words are at the top of the page to assist you in finding a words
more easily.
4. An encyclopedia is a book or set of books containing brief articles on a wide variety of topics.
The topics are organized in alphabetical order. You can find articles about people, places, and
things in an encyclopedia. An encyclopedia could also be found in an online version, for example:
Grolier’s Online Encyclopedia.
5. If I need to find a synonym or antonym for a word I use frequently, a thesaurus may help me find
a better word choice.
6.
In a nonfiction book, such as a text book, you can use these two resources:
a.
An index is an alphabetical listing of all topics in a book, along with the page numbers
where information can be found on that topic. An index is found in the back of the book.
b. A glossary is a list of definitions for specific words from that nonfiction book. The words
are in alphabetical order. Often, these words are bold or highlighted in the text of the
book so you know that you can find the meaning in that book’s glossary.