Scott Foresman Reading Street

Reading Online

	Examine the features of online reference sources.
	Compare and contrast across texts.

PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES

As students preview “Country to City,” have them look at the photos and the maps. Ask:

What person and places will you learn about on this Internet site? (Romare Bearden, North Carolina, and New York)
In what other reference sources might you find maps like the ones on pp. 274 and 275? (You might find similar maps in a printed atlas or encyclopedia.)

If students have trouble identifying online reference source features, use the Technology Tools.

Link to Art

Invite students to look for examples of different art forms on the Internet as well.

Whole Group Discuss the Question of the Day.

Group Time
Differentiated Instruction

"Country to City ." See
pp. 244f–244g for the small
group lesson plan.

Reading

Language Arts
Use pp. 275e–275h and
275k–275m.

Whole Group Use pp. 275a
and 275j.

Grouping Options

NEW LITERACIES: ONLINE REFERENCE SOURCES

Use the sidebar on p. 272 to guide discussion.

Explain that online reference sources allow people to find a wide variety of information quickly and easily.
Tell students that online reference sources contain the same kinds of information that printed reference sources do. For example, they might have maps, photographs, and bulleted lists of facts.
Have students read the facts about Romare Bearden on this page. Then discuss whether students would use the online atlas, almanac, dictionary, or encyclopedia to learn more about each fact.

AudioText

Possible response: I know that he is an artist who makes collages; that he grew up in Harlem, New York; that he sometimes visited North Carolina when he was a boy; and that he likes baseball.

Access Content Have students preview the text by locating the words North Carolina and New York in the encyclopedia entry on Romare Bearden, and then finding the atlas and almanac entry for each state on the following pages.

She remembered seeing a link to online reference
sources when she was on the Internet. It had links to an
atlas, almanac, dictionary, and encyclopedia.

You can find
reference sources,
such as atlases,
dictionaries, and
encyclopedias on
Internet Web sites.

Genre

Online Reference
Sources

Denise learned a little
about Romare Bearden from
reading Me and Uncle Romie.
She was curious to learn more
about his life in the country
and in the city. She wondered
how the cultures were different.
Denise knew that she
could look up information
about Romare Bearden in
an encyclopedia, but she
didn’t have one handy.

This is what
she saw when
she clicked on
Encyclopedia.

Romare Bearden

After finding an article on Romare
Bearden, she learned these facts.

Some Web sites give
you several different
reference sources all
in one place.

Now that Denise knew where Romare Bearden
lived, she wanted to know more about those
places.

• He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• He lived in Harlem, which is in New York City, New York.
• He is best known for his collages, but he created
paintings as well.
• He was part of the Harlem Renaissance, a period of
time when African American art flourished.

Find examples of art
forms in newspapers,
magazines, and books.
Bring examples of your
favorites to class.

Link to Art

These reference
sources look a lot like
printed sources, and
they’re organized the
same way.

Text Features

What do you already know about Romare Bearden?

Prior Knowledge



	Close
	References Sources Almanac: a reference source published yearly, with tables of facts and information on many subjects Atlas: a collection of maps Online Reference Source: a source of information, such as an atlas, dictionary, or encyclopedia, found on an Internet Web site Online Reference Sources Tell students that while checking online reference sources is a quick and efficient way to conduct research, there are rules of etiquette they should follow: Online reference sources are similar to traditional print references. Make sure to spell words correctly to find the correct information. Follow classroom rules for saving files, bookmarking Web sites, and printing. If a reference source is very long, skim the text for headings to see if you can pinpoint the information you are looking for. Do not print the entire page if it contains a lot of information that you do not need.