Dictionary Skills

A dictionary is a great tool that readers and writers use to check the spelling and meaning of words in a language. With so many words in a language, dictionary makers needed to have a system to help them organize the words so people could find them. Just imagine if the words were in order of the dictionary author’s most to least favorite. My order would go like this: shopping, bike, ice cream…Anyway, it would be impossible for people to quickly find the word they were looking for. This is why words are put in alphabetical order; it helps people find the words they are looking for.


You all know the alphabet. You can sing that song all day long. So, I know you would go straight to the back if you needed to find a “z” word. What do you do once you find the section that applies to the first letter? You look for the guide words! They are located in the top outer corners and will help you narrow your search. The first guide word indicates the first word on the page, and the second guide word indicates the last word that will be found on that page. Look/think about your word and decide if it falls between the two guide words alphabetically. If it does, move down the page to locate the word. When you find your word, make sure to read all the definitions. Many words have more than one. Use the context clues in the sentence to help you decide which definition is appropriate.

Remember, you don’t only use a dictionary when you’re looking up a word you don’t know. You can also use it look for brand new vocabulary words to use in your speaking and writing. Try using one this weekend to help you write your own ABC order poem like the “Pirates” poem we read in class this week. Be sure to post it as a comment so we can all enjoy it! I worked on one last night about my nephew, Murphy. Check it out!


Murphy
Murphy, Murphy, Murphy
Cuddly, Curious, Cute Murphy
Divine, Docile, Drooling Murphy
Heartbreaker, Hiccupping, Huggable Murphy

P.S. If you have access to the Internet, you can use an online dictionary. This allows you to just type in the word you’re looking for and…Presto, there’s the definition. This is a great one for third graders.