How To use Your Dictionary ????

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                                          The secret way to use DICTIONARY  SKILLS



        The Dictionary is often regarded as the most important book that we have in the classroom. Just imagine living in a country that doesn't have a dictionary (and there are still many of these)! Just how well do students know the dictionary? Can we use it adequately? Is it just for spelling or does it contain a wealth of other information?
FIRST STEPS

Find out what we know about the purpose of a dictionary, eg

•It is for finding the meaning or words


•It can be used for checking spelling


•It tells us how to say (pronounce) words correctly.

Ask ourself how a dictionary is organised, eg alphabetical order. Why we think this is a good way to arrange a dictionary?

What problems can we see if it just contained words in any order?

         Find out if we are confident with the alphabetical sequence (often this can be taken for granted).
On a daily basis, play regular simple alphabetical team or group games such as …

•what letter comes after the letter L

•what letter comes two before the letter N etc.

PLACEMENT OF LETTERS

Have we discover that when we open the dictionary in the middle we will find words which start with l and m. What do the words start with if we open it in the first quarter? (d and e)

What do the words start with if we open it in the third quarter? (r and s.

Develop the idea that if we remember this it is a lot quicker to find words rather than scrolling from the first pages until you find the correct letter.

SIMPLE ALPHABETISING

Start off by  place lists in alphabetical order in which no two words begin with the same letter, eg

bill meaning carport


soil unmask mask


bevel lump world
Next  place words of the same initial letter into alphabetical order. Talk about how it is necessary to go to the second letter as the first letters are all the same, eg ?

early egg extra


enemy enclose extra


equator ear eat

        What would we have to do with words that have both first and second letters the same? (We have to go to the third letter),

Try the following:

gloss glib glaze


glass glance glacier


gloom glad glitch

          

Done!! Let's Try this.