7th – 8th grade
Research/
Reference
Skills
Hardcopy References
• Encyclopedia
• Atlas
• Almanac
• Dictionary
• Thesaurus
• Magazines
• Newspapers
Encyclopedia
• Includes information on
a wide range of topics
or subjects
–Arranged in
alphabetical order by
subject
Atlas
• A bound
collection of all
types of maps of
the world, a
country, or state
World Almanac
• A yearly calendar providing a
wide variety of information on
the times of certain events
– Dates of holidays
– Rising and setting of sun and
moon
– Range of important events
Reader’s Guide to
Periodicals
• The Reader's Guide is an alphabeticallyarranged index to magazine articles
which you locate by looking up either
subjects or authors. The subject
approach is most commonly used. All
abbreviations used in the guide can be
found in the front of the issue.
Newspapers/Magazines
• Many cities in America publish
daily newspapers (Ex: The
Abbeville Meridional) and
• Magazines (Ex: Newsweek) are
available on almost any subject
• Newspapers and magazines are
referred to as periodicals because
they are published on a regular
basis
Dictionary
• Spellings
• Definitions
• Pronunciation
• Parts of speech
• An unabridged
dictionary also gives
the origin of the word
Thesaurus
• A book of synonyms and
antonyms
Some Features Reference
Sources may have in Common
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Glossary
• Index
• Bibliography
Title Page
• Title
• Author
• Publisher
• Place of publication
• Don’t forget the back of page
– Copyright date, publisher, city of
publication, other information
about the book
Table of Contents
• What the book contains is broken
down by
– Chapters
– Page Numbers
– Includes where to find
Glossary
Index
Glossary
• Includes important words
from the textbook along with
their definitions; it is the
dictionary of a textbook
• Located at the back of the
book, before the Index
– It is in alphabetical order
Index
• Includes information
about everything in the
book and which page(s)
to find the information in
the book
– located at the very back of
the book
– listed in alphabetical order
Bibliography
• Reference page for list
of other sources for a
book/paper
–Alphabetical order by the
author’s last name
•Also includes book title,
where published,
publisher, copyright date,
page numbers (if cited)
Which is the reference page
or list of sources for a book?
• Index
• Glossary
• Title Page
• Bibliography
Which source would be used
to learn to pronounce a
word?
• Thesaurus
• Dictionary
• Almanac
• Encyclopedia
Your family is driving to Boston,
Massachusetts, this summer.
Where would you look
to find out how
long the drive will be?
• Globe
• U.S. Atlas
• Encyclopedia
• Geography book
John wants to find out which football
team won the Rose Bowl in 1992.
What resource would help him
find this information?
• Dictionary
• The Readers’ Guide to
Periodical Literature
• The World Almanac
• An Atlas
What is the reference page
for a list of sources
for a book?
• Index
• Glossary
• Title page
• Bibliography
Jamal is reading a book about
dinosaurs. Where should he look to
find the definition of a word
he doesn’t know?
• Title page
• Table of contents
• Index
• Glossary
Which of the following is an annual
publication with a calendar
for the year?
• Atlas
• Almanac
• Thesaurus
• Dictionary
What question can Anna
answer using a thesaurus?
• What is the capital of Maine?
• What words means the same
as funny?
• What do bears do when they
hibernate?
• Does it ever snow in Spain?
While doing math homework,
Taquila became confused by two
words, numerator and denominator.
Where in her book would she most
likely find correct definitions of
these words?
•
•
•
•
Table of contents
Glossary
Title page
Index
In which of these resources would you
find a listing of major earthquakes
during the last century?
• Almanac
• Thesaurus
• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
Which resource would contain
information on the
development of electricity?
• Atlas
• Almanac
• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
Which part of the book gives the
name of the book and
the name of the publisher?
• Index
• Glossary
• Title page
• Table of Contents
Which would be the best source
for info about the years
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was alive?
• Atlas
• Thesaurus
• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
The part of the book that contains
references to other sources
is called the…
• Atlas
• Index
• Glossary
• Bibliography
Where would you find
a brief summary of
Abraham Lincoln’s life?
• Atlas
• Thesaurus
• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
What piece of information
would be found
on a title page?
• Author’s name
• History of the publisher
• Number of pages in the book
• Number of other books by the
author
Pat is looking for info on fossils.
Which resource would give him a list
of articles on rocks and fossils found
in magazines and other
publications?
• Thesaurus
• Textbook glossary
• Poor Richard’s Almanac
• Reader’s Guide to
Periodicals