How do you spell great? G-R-E-A-T! Ensure that your pupils can spell great and so much more with this effective app.

Understanding a text can be a very interesting task. Fourth graders read a passage describing the origin of an Aboriginal myth. They answer 11 comprehension questions that require them to pull key details, use context, and think...

First graders explore how to use a dictionary. They discuss how the dictionary is organized and how to locate words in the dictionary and students use the dictionary to locate words.

What is the difference between a dictionary and a glossary? After looking at series of dictionary and glossary entries (included on the worksheet itself), learners are asked to explain the differences between these two reference...

Teams practice decoding and using context strategies to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words. After verifying the meanings of words through the use of dictionaries, the Internet, thesauruses, and other sources, learners write the...

Putting words is alphabetical order is a necessary skill. Use this resource to help your class learn how to put groups of words in order. This presentation could be augmented with more examples.

Three annotated passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on "Nature" provide young philosophers a chance to improve their reading comprehension skills as they gain insight into Emerson's ideas.

Here is a lesson plan which may be best suited for a library science teacher, or one that can be done by a regular teacher when in the library. In it, learners explore the best ways to use print and electronic resources to find...

In this understanding and using red and black words worksheet, students view a "Macmillan Dictionary" and observe all the different red and black words found in the dictionary. Students answer twenty-five questions about the colored words.

Middle schoolers engage in a lesson which reminds them that root words indicate the base meaning of a word, and that those roots are found in many different words that have similar meanings. Pairs of pupils use construction paper and...

Walt Whitman's "Captain, My Captain" and Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" provide seventh graders with examples of odes. After reading and discussing these and other examples, young poets craft an ode and respond to the ode of a...

Following extensive modeling about how to apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to learn new words, partner teams create brief word presentations to teach new vocabulary to the class. Preselect words from upcoming social studies,...

What fun! As part of a vocabulary exercise designed for Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida readers create word trees with the trunk representing the root word and the branches representing prefixes that can be added to the...

In this synonyms and antonyms activity, students explore three synonyms and one antonym for thirty two words using the dictionary. Students answer seventeen short answer questions about the words they found.

Third graders examine the concept of alphabetizing. They develop a class dictionary, creating definitions of themselves, and typing in their names, pronunciation, and the definitions, and inserting their picture into their document.

How do you know when to use a semicolon versus a colon? Middle and high schoolers choose between a colon and a semicolon to correctly punctuate sentences. They must complete 10 sentences, either electronically or on a printout.

Use primary text documents to learn word roots. Learners listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence and highlight words they don't know. They compile these words and guess their meanings. They discuss roots, prefixes,...

A class discussion on reference materials opens up a lesson on how to use these important resources. They discover that dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses are called word reference resources, and they practice using them. The...

Pare, pair, or pear? Learners explore homophones with this dictionary skills worksheet. They look up definitions to five sets of homophones to see how words can sound the same but have completely different meanings. There are plenty of...

In this language lesson, scholars use Greek root meanings to determine the meaning of words. After being shown how Greek roots are used in many words, such as, photosynthesis, pairs are given two excellent black line masters...

Students write and contribute one page for a class picture dictionary. They discuss how to alphabetize words, and examine both regular and picture dictionaries and how they are organized. Next they create a page for the class dictionary...

Young scholars discover how to use guide words when locating words in the dictionary.

In this guide words instructional activity, learners learn how to use guide words in the dictionary when looking for a word. Students circle the words that could be found on the page with the three examples of guide words. Then, learners...