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 * Team 1, Reference log 1 ||  ||<   ||
 * Reviewed by Team member 1
 * Science**. (2010). In //UXL Encyclopedia of science//. Retrieved January 29, 2010, from UXL Encyclopedia of Science online: ** []. **

The //UXL Encyclopedia of science// is a 9-volume print encyclopedia, reviewed in its online format, containing 600 topics in the life, earth, and physical science, engineering, technology, math, and psychology. It is arranged alphabetically in ten volumes. The goal of the resource is to present the entire world of science in easily understandable, nontechnical language. The essays are between 250 and 2500 words and include color illustrations and a “words to know” section for many topics. There is a complete index and a reader’s guide included in each volume as well as a section on where to learn more, including books, periodicals, and websites. Instead of a table of contents at the beginning of each volume, there is a list of entries arranged by scientific field which tells the volume and page number for each topic. A student might use this to get basic information about a science topic. They could get an overview of a topic and find out if they are interested in it before doing more extensive research. Some questions that could be answered by by source include: “What exactly is biological warfare?”, “What is CAD/CAM?”, What is the study of ballistics all about?” While I found it interesting to flip through, this resource is probably in the category of “nice-to-have” since the information is available in many other sources that might be more attractive to students. Grades: 6-12 Rating: 8 out of 10 ||  ||< Team member 2 comment :

The entries categorized by scientific field would be helpful to teachers deciding upon the range of topics to assign for student research (and obviously for the student researchers.)

Team member 3 comment : UXL publishes reference materials targeted at students who are reading below grade level. Since most reference resources seem to be aimed at older students and adults, UXL products are worthy of consideration. ||
 * Reviewed by Team member 2 :
 * Antonym**//. (1995). Roget's II: The New Thesaurus,// 3rd ed. Retrieved January 27, 2010, from Yahoo! Education: [].

This thesaurus is based on the print edition from the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. The print version is 1200 pages in length, is arranged alphabetically, and has tabs like a dictionary. The goal of this resource is to help users find appropriate words to express thought or ideas. In particular, it helps users find the “right words to express thought precisely and add colorful variety to expression.” (from the intro) Each entry is identified by part of speech, gives a brief definition and synonyms including idioms and slang or informal synonyms. There may also be related words and words with opposite meaning listed. There are also cross references to a category index which provides more choices. This source would be used by writers as they strive to find just the right word. It is another essential reference source in the media center. High school students should also own a thesaurus (more concise than this one which is too heavy to carry around in the backpack). Grades: 6-12 Rating: 6 out of 10 ||  ||< Team member 1 comment:

Thesaurus.com entries are based upon the 3rd edition of Roget's, too, but shows "Copyright © 2003, 1995." Perhaps this site would, then, be more up-to-date than what's available through Yahoo's Education site. Both are freely available.

Team member 3 comment: The thesaurus would be more useful, particularly for students, if it included examples of the various words used in sentences. Simply listing the terms, without any context, isn't enough for many students. ||
 * Reviewed by Team member 3 ||  ||<   ||