Reference Books

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Reference Books
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Reference books have a special purpose in the
media center. They are shelved in a special
area. They are used to

• gather information for a report
• find an answer to a question
• read about something youre interested in
• find words and their meanings or synonyms

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Reference books have Ref as part of their call
number. A call number tells you where the book is
located. You will find the call number on the
spine of the book.
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Types of Reference Books

• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
• Atlas
• Thesaurus

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Dictionary
A dictionary is a book of words listed
alphabetically. You can use a dictionary to

• find the meaning(s) of a word
• find the correct spelling of a word
• see how the word is used in a sentence
• see how the word is pronounced
• tell if the word is a noun, verb, adjective,
  etc.

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drum (druhm)
1. noun A musical instrument with a hollow
body covered with a stretched skin that makes a
loud noise when you hit it. 2. verb To beat a
drum or other surfaces with drumsticks or with
your fingers. Joe drummed his fingers on the
table.gtdrumming,drummedgtnoun drummer 3. noun A
container shaped like a drum. Oil is
stored in a drum.
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Guide Words Guide words are found at the top of
each page in a dictionary. These words can
guide you to the page where your word is
located. The guide words are the first and last
words on the page.
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• The Encyclopedia
• An encyclopedia is a set of books that contain
  information about many different subjects. There
  is to much information for one book, so it is
  divided into many books. Each book in the set is
  called a volume. In a set of encyclopedias
• subjects are arranged in alphabetical order
• there are guide words on each page
• each volume contains subjects that begin the
  same letter(s)
• use the guide words to locate the page of your
  subject
• subjects are usually printed in bold type
• find people by their last names
• find places by the beginning letter

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• Always take notes on the information you find.
  Never copy from the encyclopedia!
• It is always important to give credit to your
  information source.

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• Atlas
• An atlas is a book of maps and facts about
  geography. Generally an atlas has many different
  types of maps for all the areas of the world. An
  atlas usually contains
• a legend (or key)
• symbols (show railroads, airports, lakes,
  feature of the land
• an index ( alphabetical listing of places)

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• Thesaurus
• A thesaurus is a book of synonyms. Synonyms are
  words that have similar meanings. A thesaurus
  can
• give you new choices for words instead of using
  the same words over and over again.
• help you pick exactly the words you want to
  write.
• show you how the word is used in a sentence.
• give examples of antonyms (opposites meanings)

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Reviewing Types of Reference Books

• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
• Atlas
• Thesaurus

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Gather all the facts in the Reference Area!