Overcoming Obstacles
Using Appropriate Resources
A lesson dives deep into reference materials. The class begins with a discussion of which resources are best used for specific purposes and how to identify ways to get the needed information. Learners share information about the internet...
Library Sparks
Reference Tools Vocabulary Challenge
Young scholars love the opportunity of going to the library to jump into that one comfy chair in the whole room with a book, or be a lucky one to get to the computers before anyone else. But knowing how to locate books and other...
Curated OER
Learning Vocabulary by Using Reference Materials
Finding engaging ways to help your middle schoolers build their vocabulary is not easy to do. The lesson presented here offers a great way to motivate them to build vocabulary by making it into a game. Teams of pupils use a dictionary...
Curated OER
Reference Materials
After a class discussion where kids share how they find answers to their questions, learners explore the world of reference materials such as, an atlas, an almanac, and an encyclopedia. The Internet is also discussed as a way to access...
Curated OER
Word Reference Materials
A class discussion on reference materials opens up a instructional activity on how to use these important resources. They discover that dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses are called word reference resources, and they practice...
McGraw Hill
Vocabulary Power
Augment your language arts units with a set of vocabulary worksheets. The packet is an excellent support to your vocabulary instruction that covers a variety of skills, including context clues, Greek and Latin roots, reference materials,...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Meaning, Word Wrap
Support young learners' acquisition of new vocabulary with this pair of graphic organizers. Using context clues and reference materials, children complete each section of the activity, including the definition, synonyms, examples and...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Analysis, Meaning Map
Lead young learners to understand new vocabulary with this series of word maps. The first of these organizers asks children to determine the definition and provide examples and descriptions of each word with the help of dictionaries,...
Curated OER
Using Por and Para
Clear up confusion around por and para. These words can be very difficult, especially for learners who are native English speakers. The information section describes when to use each word and provides examples of specific situations....
NSW Department Mineral Resources
Aboriginal Use of Raw Materials
What's the difference between base metals and precious metals? Experimenting with natural metals is an interesting way for kids to learn about the world around them. Use a resource that contains over 30 pages of worksheets and...
Curated OER
Reference Materials
3rd graders will learn how to use four types of reference materials (Atlas, Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus). Each slide includes the purpose for using that specific reference. There are challenge questions included that give mock...
Scholastic
What’s the Good Word? Etymology Project Guidelines
Who named the shapes, or the days of the week? Should words be removed from the dictionary if they're no longer commonly used? Are there too many words in the English language? Language arts students explore these and additional...
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Using Our Senses to Observe
Look around and explore. Little ones use their five senses with some day-to-day activities designed to guide observation and apply STEM strategies. Young scientists learn through comparing/contrasting and observing with magnifiers as...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Words in Context, Meaning Maker
Support children with finding meaning in unknown words using this graphic organizer. While reading a piece of writing, learners identify unfamiliar words, using context clues and reference materials to find and record definitions before...
Curated OER
Reference Materials
Students discuss reasons to use reference materials, identify correct reference material to use for specific information, find answers to specific questions by locating information in encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, almanac, glossary,...
Council for Economic Education
Using an Excel Checkbook
High school is the time that many scholars get their first jobs. Help young entrepreneurs apply economic principles to crucial skills for their new jobs and for functioning in society in general. They use Excel to balance a checkbook by...
Curated OER
Times & Dates in Spanish
Use this information, presentation, and infographic to build several lessons on telling the time and expressing the date in Spanish. The information is broken into topics and includes many examples and exceptions to the standard rules....
PBS
Copyright and Fair Use
When is using someone else's copyrighted material appropriate? Learn about copyright and fair use with a lesson from PBS.org. Scholars read through a reference sheet about authors' rights and users' rights, and then create posters for a...
Student Handouts
Graphic Organizer: Reference Citations
Pupils practice researching sources and logging citation information with this graphic organizer. After posing a general topic, groups of students are asked to devise general questions about that topic, and to research sources that they...
Curated OER
Using Ser and Estar
While ser and estar both mean to be, they are each used in different situations. This is often confusing for Spanish language learners. Clarify these verbs for your class with direct instruction. The information included on this page...
Curated OER
Using Prefixes, Suffixes and Root Words to Improve College Level Vocabulary
Grow vocabulary skills with an understanding of affixes and word roots. Included here are a few activities and plenty of materials you can use to support your learners as the focus on building vocabulary.
Curated OER
Europe Maps
A series of maps depicts pre-WWI to post-WWII Europe for your geographers. They use reference materials to help them correctly fill in the countries and the borders as they changed through time. A great resource for a history lesson, or...
Curated OER
Aquatic Roots
Young scientist use reference materials to research various local aquatic plants and or animals to find out whether they are natives or exotics. They investigate their impacts on people, other animals and the environment. Students...
PBS
Using Primary Sources: Wide Open Town
A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...