Did You Look it Up?
By Lisa Von Drasek

The dictionary race is on!

Reference Books. When reading that phrase, what comes to mind? A. Multi-volume encyclopedias? B. Five-pound doorstop dictionaries? C. An exciting resource for information? C.! That's right!

Dictionary skills range from understanding alphabetical order, spelling, finding definitions and identifying parts of speech. It's truly amazing how rich a dictionary lesson can be.

But why use the book when the Internet is so speedy? Tom Harrington, a sixth grade teacher, guides his class through dictionary races each September. He notes that the physical book is often faster, especially if you are not sure of the spelling of a word.

How a dictionary race works
Students are paired each with his or her own dictionary. We use a collection of different dictionaries from Scholastic, Macmillan, Merriam-Webster and American Heritage and begin by holding up a dictionary and asking the students to estimate what letter the book is open to. Then the students do the same in their pairs three or four times.

Supplies for the race are pencils, and paper and a dictionary for each participant. After the preliminary discussion of alphabetical order, we talk about the distribution of the letters.

The teacher then gives a word like lion. The students open their dictionaries to the page they think the word is on. Their partner writes down the page they went to and they then look for the word and write down the exact page lion is on. The score is the difference in pages. Then it is the partner's turn. The students soon become adept at estimating where a word might be found and their scores grow progressively lower.

This lesson can be followed up with a discussion of the guidewords found at the top of each page. The students also realize that the ones who were lucky enough to use our copies of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ISBN: 0-395-82517-2) have the advantage. Weighing in at eight pounds, it's no one's first choice but the students soon discover that the handy thumb index enables them to quickly go to the section they're looking for.

Of course, I don't know any classroom teacher with the budget for 30 copies of a $60.00 dictionary therefore, my recommendation is to have one copy that can only be used with the permission of the teacher. It's a valuable resource that the teacher will model using. When reading aloud The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick, 2003, ISBN: 0-763-61722-9) to our third graders and the author firmly instructs the reader to look up perfidy (treachery), I nearly leapt off my tall stool for this teachable moment.

For more lessons, take a look at www.macmillandictionary.com/essential/resources/classroom-tips.htm for easy-to-follow lesson plans for increasing dictionary skills in the classroom. This site gives tips on looking up words and finding the necessary information, learning more about words and language and using the extra information about words and language.

Another great website is the www.wordcentral.com, sponsored by Merriam-Webster. The word of the day is displayed with its definition, how it is used in a sentence and a pronunciation guide. If you click on "Hear it," you can hear the word said aloud.

Recommendations for each desk
First and second grade:
American Heritage First Dictionary (Houghton Mifflin, 2003, ISBN: 0-618-28007-3). Each entry contains one and two syllable words, full-sentence definitions and full color photographs and drawings.

Scholastic First Dictionary (Scholastic Reference, 1998, ISBN: 0-590-9678-6).This first dictionary is illustrated with full-color photographs and features the main entries in bold green. The easy-to-read format with early elementary vocabulary lends clarity to the full sentence definitions.

Third to sixth grade:
Webster's New World Children's Dictionary (Wiley, 1999, ISBN: 0-028-63125-0) was written and designed specifically for children ages 8 to 11. This is a terrific resource for bridging up to the more hefty volumes. The definitions are clear and contain example sentences to place words in context. In addition to full-color photographs and maps, there are spelling tips.

American Heritage Children's Dictionary (Houghton Mifflin, 2003, ISBN: 0-618-28002-2) With over 13,000 entries, this updated edition is an essential purchase if your present volumes are missing words like Internet, byte, cyberspace. Contains more that 1,000 full-color photographs and drawings.

Sixth through eighth grade:
The American Heritage Student Dictionary (Houghton Mifflin, 2003, ISBN: 0-618-25619-9). This revised and updated edition is designed for middle school and early high school students. Contains more than 3,000 new words. The new full-color design includes 2,000 informative photographs and drawings.

Merriam-Webster's Intermediate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 2004, ISBN: 0-877-79579-7) This revised edition contains over 70,000 entries and includes over 1,000 illustrations that will help middle school students improve their dictionary skills.

And don't forget about spelling dictionaries! These special volumes are a fast way for budding writers to access correct spelling of commonly used words. I like The Scholastic Dictionary of Spelling by Marvin Terban (Scholastic, 2000, ISBN: 0-439-14496-5).

SPECIAL SECTION
Listen Up to Audiobooks
For preK through first grade, these audiobooks provide quiet time to follow along with the text.
Frog and Toad Audio Collection. Written and performed by Arnold Lobel. (Harper Audio, 2004, ISBN: 0-060-74053-1, $17.95, two compact discs, 90 minutes). Ages 4-7.

This classic audio now available in CD format includes Frog and Toad Are Friends, Frog and Toad All Year, Frog and Toad Together and Days with Frog and Toad. These stories are expressively read by the author with charming musical accompaniment.

Jamie Lee Curtis Audio Collection. Written and performed by Jamie Lee Curtis. (Harper Audio, 2004, ISBN: 0-060-52233-X, $13.95) Ages 4 to 6.

Six stories read aloud with enthusiasm by the actress/author: When I was Little, Tell Me Again About the Night I was Born, Today I feel Silly, Where Do Balloons Go, I'm Gonna Like Me and the brand new Hard To Be Five.

First through third graders will enjoy these audio selections.

cEllabrations: A Tribute to Ella Jenkins (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, $11.98, order at www.folkways.si.edu) Music, poetry, stories and rhymes by this American treasure are interpreted by her biggest fans including Tom Paxton, Bill Harley, Pete Seeger and Sweet Honey in The Rock.

And let's not forget our fourth through sixth graders!

Heartbeat by Sharon Creech (one cassette, Recorded Books, 2004, ISBN: 1-402-58482-2, $10.75 ).

Annie and her best friend Max both love running – the pounding of their feet matching the beating of their hearts. This novel in free-verse perfectly illustrates that poetry begs to be read aloud. The rhythm and timing of the sentences are apace with the parallel stories of Annie's grandfather, her pregnant mother and that of Max's money troubles. Mandy Siegfried realistically voices a young adolescent certain and uncertain within minutes.

If you're looking for information on how to use audiobooks in your classroom, be sure to check out the excellent free 12-page brochure, "Audiobooks & Literacy: An Educator's Guide to Utilizing Audiobooks in the Classroom." This helpful guide was written by Frank Serfini, an assistant professor of literacy education and children's literature at the University of Nevada. Contact Scarlett Grant at Listening Library/Books on Tape at (714) 327-0356 or via e-mail at scarlettg@booksontape.com

Lisa Von Drasek is Children's Librarian at the School for Children, Bank Street College of Education, in New York, NY.