Dictionary Skills

Dictionary Skills

Sandy Mann, Library Media Specialist The Department of Multicultural Education The School District of Palm Beach County

2004

These activities are designed to provide ESOL teachers with a format for teaching the basic skills necessary for using a heritage language dictionary. They are not a replacement for the excellent instruction provided by the educational professional.

Alphabetizing by the first letter. Number the words in alphabetical order:

__2__ go

__1_ at

__3_ see

so

but

he

can

do

and

are

we

it

of

yes

no

pig

dog

cat

car

zoo

her

is

pet

ant

Example:

eat

to

ink

bag

ask

fun

Alphabetizing by the first letter. Number the words in alphabetical order:

__2__ lime

__1_ apple

__3_ pear

fox

lion

bear

ant

beetle

fly

lamb

chicken

cow

soccer

baseball

football

eagle

robin

canary

turtle

snake

lizard

horse

mule

pony

potato

carrot

bean

blue

yellow

green

Alphabetizing to the second letter. Number the words in alphabetical order:

__2__ lime __1_ lemon __3_ luck

nose

number

near

egg

elf

easy

cut

cap

cow

down

dash

dream

money

market

mule

duck

dog

dish

seal

sleep

saw

trip

toy

team

like

lace

low

Alphabetizing to the third letter. Number the words in alphabetical order:

__2__ lime

__1_ lemon

__3_ luck

seal

seem

sent

game

gate

gaze

power

pop

pole

calm

cat

cable

mouse

mole

moth

rot

route

roll

trip

tree

try

lime

lint

little

front

free

frame

Alphabetizing Fruit

blueberry

banana

grape

date

apple

kiwi

lime

peach

strawberry

orange

lemon

pear

fig

cantaloupe

cherry

watermelon

Cut out the squares. On a separate sheet of paper arrange them in alphabetical order and then glue them in place.

Beginning, Middle or End?

If you think of the dictionary as being divided into three sections, the words in each section would begin with these letters:

Beginning Middle End

A-H I-Q R-Z

Place the following words in the correct section of the record sheet:

bicycle stuff grade fox flag level clue study mild one happy offer view words money sad get film wolf apple you book bag good week pizza music zoo one funny under sun quiz protect eyes bus automobile rat run movie hungry zebra tired share People cafeteria quiet important hard thirty five flag car cherry ten ball yes blue team man

Beginning, Middle, or End Recording Sheet

Beginning Middle End

I-Q R-Z A-H

Guide Words At the top of each page in a dictionary there are guide words. These words tell you the first word and last word found on that page. All the other words on the page will be in alphabetical order between these two words.

Guide Words

Each box has guide words. Place the words in the correct box.

sand / smoke

suit / swim snail / stop

sweat snake sugar swear

sure sponge sat square

sun soup

sweet sheep sleep spell

seat slow

something seven swill soap

side squeal

super school

Practice with the Dictionary Better than Worksheets

Alphabetizing

Use vocabulary from your thematic units. Make word cards on 5X7 or larger index cards.

• Have students hold cards and line up in alphabetical order. The class can be divided into teams and race to see which group can correctly line up in alphabetical order first. Give each group a dictionary. Have them place the vocabulary cards in the dictionary to check their accuracy.

• Divide students into pairs. Give each pair 6 vocabulary cards. Have one student place the cards in alphabetical order, the other student checks for accuracy using a dictionary. Students can then call for the teacher to assess. Rotate the vocabulary cards between pairs of students.

• Allow students to cut out words in magazines or newspapers and arrange them in alphabetical order on their desk. Have them use a dictionary to check for accuracy and then glue the words onto a record sheet for documentation.

• Have the students make nametags for themselves. Ask students to line up in alphabetical order according to first name or last name.

Categorizing

• Make word cards based around common categories, ie: fruits, vegetable, colors, things in a kitchen, and things in a classroom. Mix two or more of the categories cards. Have students determine which category to put each card in. Students should use a dictionary to check their work. This is a good way to expand vocabulary. For example one category could be words that describe size and the words on the list could extend the students knowledge to include words like gigantic, miniscule, massive, etc.

• Keep large vocabulary displays where students can add new words. Have the students group words in to common categories like things you wear and things you eat.

Guide Word Game

• Give students a mixed set of vocabulary cards and a dictionary. Ask the students to locate the page where each word would come in the dictionary. Have the students record the vocabulary word and the guide words on a record sheet and then mark the place by placing the card in the dictionary. When the students complete their set of cards they can ask a friend to check their work.

Location Skills Games Rapid Relay

• Divide students into groups. Make sets of vocabulary cards for each group using a different color for each vocabulary word. There should be one word for each student. Each team has one dictionary and students take turns finding their vocabulary word in the dictionary and placing their card as a bookmark. The final group member marks their word and holds the dictionary over their head to signal they are through. The group that finishes first with all the words marked correctly wins.

Multiple Meanings

• Using words from the students’ curriculum have them locate the correct word from a heritage language dictionary for English words with more than one meaning. This would be an excellent group activity with the students helping each other as needed. For example:

Will you light the candle? (verb) That package is light. (adjective)

Students should be able to tell why they chose a particular word.