-by Mimi Rothschild

The days when every home had an encyclopedia are past. The days when new computers came with an encyclopedia on CD-ROM are just about past. And yet, there are times when we need reference works for our homeschools.

For one thing, it can be faster to go directly to a reference work, whether paper or online, and look things up than to use a search engine and sort through the search results. Using the same reference work repeatedly over a period of time increases your speed with that book, too, as you learn how to use it well.

For another, the internet is a free and open system, and not every source of information is equally up to date and authoritative. Even checking the spelling of an item can give us false information – or information that isn’t false, but is just inappropriate. The British and American spellings of English words are both correct, but they’re not both appropriate in all situations. A quick Google search can leave you with the wrong information for your purposes, where using a trusted reference work can get the data for you without interrupting your workflow.

So what reference works should your schoolroom contain?

• A dictionary Having a physical dictionary on hand for quick spelling checks and double-checking a word is a big help, especially if you don’t always do your schoolwork at the computer or even in the house. A good dictionary will also include punctuation and grammar rules that can be very hard to find quickly online. Think, too, about bookmarking some specialized dictionaries: a science dictionary, a visual dictionary (these consist of labeled pictures showing the names of all the parts of a complex item or scene), a picture dictionary for young children, and translating dictionaries for languages you study are some examples of useful specialized dictionaries.
• A thesaurus The thesaurus is frequently misused. Since these reference books just give a list of related words without specifying the nuances of meaning that make them different from one another, thesauri are not good for learning new words. They’re great for reminding students of words when they need to add some variety to their writing, or for helping kids find other options when they can’t think of just the right word. Go for an online version, and encourage kids to use the dictionary to get a clearer idea of the exact meaning of a word.
• An atlas An out-of-date map or atlas is worse than no map or atlas at all, so this is another case is which online resources can be great. Just make sure to check when they were most recently updated. A historical atlas shows where the borders of countries used to be, and where groups of people lived in the past. This can be an extremely helpful resource, but finding this data online can be very time-consuming. Consider buying a hard copy of this resource.
• A gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical reference, giving information about places around the world. While you’ll probably rely on your history textbooks and online resources for most of the names and dates you need to look up, having a gazetteer either on your bookshelf or bookmarked can be a big help in quickly identifying the places that show up in your history and social studies lessons.
• A Bible Concordance You may prefer to bookmark this essential reference, since online versions often allow comparison of multiple translations, and quick navigation from one verse to another.

Beyond these basics, you’ll probably find that there are some particular works you need because of the kinds of study you do. Whether it’s a Chilton’s guide to a car you’re working on, an HTML desk reference, or a collection of great quotations, anything that you look up several times each week deserves to be on the bookshelf or in your favorites list on the computer.

Not only will you have the references on hand when you need them, but you’ll also be teaching your students how to check information quickly, and the value of doing so. This is a long-lasting advantage.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.