Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.

Students 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 reference...

Students explain the meaning of "use value" of nature's resources by researching and writing studenT books personifying an aspect of nature. They produce public service announcements regarding use value for their local community.

Students practice using a World Almanac by completing the provided worksheet on animals.

Middle schoolers review library skills by rotating through teacher-created learning stations covering various topics. They discuss plagiarism, work on Almanac practice as a team, complete practice using indexes, and an abstracts handout...

Learners explore a variety of reference resources while seeking information. atlases, almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri, and online search engines as well as library card catalogs are utilized in this lesson.

Eighth graders examine, brainstorm, cluster, and skim how to use a variety of information resources to assist them in projects or reports. In addition, places to find those information resources as well as the parts of a book is covered...

A virtual field trip takes enthusiastic travelers to the pyramids of Giza. Using Google, scholars explore the grounds of the ancient pyramids found in Egypt then complete three worksheets: a photo analysis page, a reflection sheet, and a...

Benjamin Franklin famously had an aphorism for every situation—most of which we still use in modern vernacular. Introduce class members to Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack with a presentation that details the characteristics of aphorisms.

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,...

Students visit appropriate websites to discover quotes from Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. Working in pairs, they choose three quotes on which to elaborate and then write two original quotes.

For this reference material worksheet, students choose the correct reference for each question given. Students discover the differences in the materials found in the dictionary, the almanac, the atlas, the newspaper, and the thesaurus.

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...

Talk about intrinsic motivation! Begin where your learners' natural interests lie  -- with themselves -- and launch a variety of projects with this activity. Class members research important events that took place on their...

Here is a instructional activity which may be best suited for a library science teacher, or one that can be done by a regular teacher when in the library. In it, learners explore the best ways to use print and electronic resources to...

A class discussion on reference materials opens up a lesson on how to use these important resources. They discover that dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses are called word reference resources, and they practice using them. The...

Students particpate in a simulation as hosts for a visiting family of aliens. They work in small groups deciding what 10 pages of information from an Almanac the aliens need before they arrive.

What information would you find in an almanac that you would not find in an atlas? What is the difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus? Using a Cite Your Sites worksheet on which they record their observations, groups participate...

Students explore an assigned state. In this United States geography lesson plan, students identify facts and figures related to a particular state. Students use the Internet for research and create a PowerPoint presentation displaying...

Keep your class in conversation with others across the country or across the sea by writing letters to pen pals. The activity calls for students to be pan pals with pupils in Africa; however, the listed steps could be used for any...

What a cool way to incorporate art and use reference materials. Learners use classroom reference materials such as almanacs, encyclopedias, and dictionaries to answer one of four questions, and then they use the information to create a...

Students formulate guiding questions to use as an aid for research and then use the guiding questions worksheet to help gather information necessary for meeting all criteria for completing the project. They then work together to collect...

Fourth graders use research tools to access and synthesize information. They gather and manipulate data using technology. Research and study the components of an electrical circuit. Create a brochure that demonstrates knowledge of how to...

Students participate in a role play as an employee of a country's tourism bureau. They research their country using a variety of resources and create a travel brochure encouraging travel to their country.