Reference Materials Lesson Plan

Day 1
Math SOLS: English 3.4 b, 3.4 g, 3.7
Materials:
Computer Paper
Pencils
Markers, crayons, coloring pencils
Chromebooks
Dictionaries (book and online)
Thesauruses (book and online)
Blooms: Apply
Today we are reviewing the purpose of dictionaries and thesauruses, and we are
applying our knowledge to look up word meanings.
To be able to do this TSW use dictionaries (book and online) to define words and will
use thesauruses (book and online) to find synonyms and antonyms of words.
You will show you can do this by
The students will be given a blank booklet, which will become each students My
Reference Guide. In this booklet, the students will create a title page and table of
contents (which will list the four reference materials: dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and
encyclopedia). Next, students will label one page dictionary and will write the definition
of a dictionary. Students will be given a list of words, and they are expected to define
four of these words using a dictionary. Two of the words will be looked up in a book
dictionary, but the other two will be defined using an online dictionary. The students will
label another page in their My Reference Guide as thesaurus and will write the
definition of a thesaurus. The students will be given a list of words, and they are expected
to find four of these words in a thesaurus. They are required to list 2 synonyms and 1
antonym (if one exists) for each word. Two of the words will be looked up in a book
thesaurus, but the other two will be found using an online thesaurus.
You will know you hit the learning target...when the teacher observes the students
using the reference materials and when the teacher evaluates the My Reference Guide
booklets.
Differentiation:
An instructional aide, special education teacher, and the teacher will be available
to give extra guidance to the two special education students.
Remediation: A lesser amount of words to define and to find synonyms/antonyms
will be provided for struggling students.
Challenge: A list of extra words is provided for students who finish early.

Day 2
Math SOLS: English 3.4 b, 3.4 g, 3.7
Materials:
Computer Paper
Pencils
Markers, crayons, coloring pencils
Chromebooks
Atlases
Encyclopedias (book and online)
Blooms: Apply
Yesterday we learned how to to use dictionaries and thesauruses to find word
meanings.
Today we are reviewing the purpose of atlases and encyclopedias, and we are applying
our knowledge to look up information.
To be able to do this TSW use atlases to answer questions about the world and will use
encyclopedias to gather information on a given topic.
You will show you can do this by
The students will be given their My Reference Guide booklets. They will update their
table of contents. Then, the students will open to the next blank page, label it atlas, and
write the definition of an atlas. The students will be given a list of questions and will be
expected to answer four of these questions using an atlas. Also, the students will label
another page in their My Reference Guide as encyclopedia and will write the definition
of an encyclopedia. The students will be given a list of topics. They are expected to find
four of these topics in an encyclopedia and write at least 1 interesting fact about each
topic. Two of the topics will be looked up in a book encyclopedia, but the other two will
be found using an online encyclopedia.
You will know you hit the learning target...when the teacher observes the students
using the reference materials and when the teacher evaluates the My Reference Guide
booklets.
Differentiation:
An instructional aide, special education teacher, and the teacher will be available
to give extra guidance to the two special education students.
Remediation: A lesser amount of words to define and to find synonyms/antonyms
will be provided for struggling students.

Challenge: A list of extra words is provided for students who finish early.