Post on 20-May-2015
What is an encyclopedia?
We use an encyclopedia to get
information for a report, to find an
answer to a question, or to read about
something in which we are interested.
An encyclopedia is a reference source
Why would we use an
encyclopedia?
If you are looking for information about a topic for a report the encyclopedia is a good place to start. The article will give you a good general overview of the topic. You will want to find additional information sources as well.
The encyclopedia gives you information about persons, places and things and answers the questions “who?” “where?” “when?” and “how?” But an encyclopedia does not usually answer the question “why?”
Two types of encyclopedias: print encyclopedias online encyclopedias
What is a print encyclopedia?
A print encyclopedia is a set of books
that contains information about
many different subjects. Because
the amount of information cannot all be put into one book, it is divided into many smaller
books. Each book is called a volume.
How are the volumes of an encyclopedia organized?
The volumes in each set are arranged in alphabetical order to make it easy to find the information. They are also numbered to make it easy to keep them in order.
How are the subjects in an encyclopedia organized?
On the pages, the subjects are arranged in alphabetical order with
guide words on each page like a dictionary.
To find a subject, look for the letter it begins with and choose that volume. The subjects on each page are usually printed with large, dark letters.
Example: dinosaurs
To find a person, look for the person’s last name.
Example: George Washington
If a person has a title, you will find information about him or her
under the last part of his/her name.
Example: Queen Elizabeth would be found under “E” for Elizabeth
To find a place named with two parts, look for the first
part.
Example: Grand Canyon
No one knows the answer to everything, but clever people know where to find answers.
Many answers to questions can be found in the
encyclopedia. But you must know what to look for. When you
have a question, look for the most important or specific name (key word or
words).This will most likely will be the topic, or subject, to look under for the information
you want.
In which volume of an encyclopedia would you find
the answers to these questions?
What is a UFO?
In what year was George W. Bush
born?
When was the first Thanksgiving Day celebrated?
Who is Prince Charles?
Where is Easter Island?
What does a python eat?
How many legs does an
arachnid have?
What are the names of the
nine planets in our solar system?
Let’s go find it in the
encyclopedia!
Number Your Paper• Your name & McKee at the top
• Number your paper 32-62
• Skip a line between each number.
• 32
• 33
• 34
• 35
• 36