Dictionary Skills

Grade 4 Lesson 2

Refer to a dictionary

When you want to know:

What a word means How to spell a word How to pronounce a word The part of speech for a word

Dictionary

Throughout the dictionary you will find many helpful resources along with the definitions, pronunciations, parts of speech, and spelling of the words.

We talked about some of these things last time.

In the Dictionary

We talked about:

Cross References: See saxophone

Usage Guides: Informal Slang

New Words and New Definitions

The English Language is always growing and changing.

New words are added every year.

Old words often take on additional meanings.

New Entry Words in.ter.net (in-tur-net) noun The

electronic network that allows millions of computers around the world to connect together. We can access the internet on the school computers.

couch po.ta.to (kouch puh-tay-toh) noun (informal) Someone who spends

most of his or her time watching television rather than being active.

New Additional Meaningsmouse (mouss) noun 1. A small, furry animal with a pointed nose, small

ears, and a long tail.2. A small control box that you use to move the cursor on your computer screen.

rap (rap)

1. verb To hit something sharply and quickly. 2. noun A type of song in which words are spoken

in a rhythmical way to a music background.

Scholastic Children’s Dictionary

Now we’re going to take a closer look at this particular dictionary and what it has to offer.

Scholastic Children’s Dictionary

Contains several helpful resources. At the beginning of the dictionary

you will find: Pronunciation Guide How to Use This Dictionary Initials, Acronyms, and

Abbreviations

Initials, Acronyms, and Abbreviations

An initial is a letter, usually followed by a period, that takes the place of a whole word.

An acronym is a group of initials that forms another word or phrase.

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word, followed by a period.

Initials

F. Farenheit

T. Tablespoon

g. Gram

Acronyms ASAP As Soon As Possible

NASCAR National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

WWW World Wide Web

CIA Central Intelligence Agency

Abbreviations Aug. August

min. minute

no. number

ft. foot

Scholastic Children’s Dictionary

Throughout this dictionary you will find Word Boxes.

Word boxes give you extra information about the origin or usage of a word.

Word Boxes

“About This Letter” “Language Notes” “Prefixes” “Suffixes” “Synonyms” “Word History”

About This Letter Box

These boxes appear on the opening page of each new letter. In each one, you will find a fact about that letter or a spelling tip for words containing that letter’s sound.

Example Letter Box

Ee About EE is the most commonly used letter in

the English language. In order of use, e is followed by t and

then by a, i, s, o, n, h, r, d, l, u, c, m, f, w, y, p, g, b, v, k, j, q, x, and z.

Language Notes Box

These boxes tell you more information about the words and grammar that people use to talk and write.

Language Note Example

Aloha is the Hawaiian word for “love”, so when Hawaiians use aloha to greet someone or say goodbye, they are also wishing the person love. Hawaii’s nickname is the Aloha State.

Prefixes

A word part added to the beginning of a word or root to change the meaning.

Root Words

A word to which a prefix or suffix is added to make another word.

Root word war Prefix pre

prewar-before the war

Example Prefix Box

The prefix bi- adds one of the following meanings to a root word:

1. Twice every, as in bimonthly (twice every month). 2. Having two, as in bicuspid (a tooth having two points).

Suffixes

A syllable or syllables added at the end of a word or root that changes its meaning.

Example Suffix Box

The suffix –est means “most” when added to a root adjective or adverb, as in hottest (most hot), biggest (most big), slowest (most slow).

Sometimes the final consonant in the root word is doubled before the –est is added. Always look up the word if you’re not sure how to spell it.

Synonyms

A word that means the same or nearly the same as another word.

The word rapid is a synonym for quick.

The word naughty is a synonym for bad.

Example Synonyms Box Synonyms: bigBig can describe things, people, ideas,

or anything else that has great size or importance: An elephant is a big animal.

Large is often used in place of big and refers to anything greater than normal size or quantity: My mom runs a large business with a lot of employees.

Synonyms Box ContinuedImmense describes something so big

that you can hardly measure or comprehend it. An immense snowstorm blanketed several states with deep snow.

Enormous, like immense, means extremely big or large: He gave me an enormous hug.

Huge means very large in scope or a very large amount. I had a huge meal.

Word History Boxes

These boxes tell you information about the history of the word.

Example Word History Box

Spanish explorers had never seen an alligator before they came to the New World. When they encountered one, they thought it looked like a very large lizard. They called it el lagarto, Spanish for “lizard”. Later, when English settlers heard el lagarto spoken fast, they spelled what they heard as alligator.

Homophones

Homophones are sometimes at the end of a definition.

hair (hair) noun The mass of fine, soft strands that grow on your head or body or on the body of an animal.

Hair sounds like hare.

Labeled Illustrations Show you the details of objects

defined in main entries.

Some of the labels in the illustrations are entry words, and others are not.

The labels that are not entry words are listed in the Index of Picture Labels on pages 663 and 664.

Reference Section This section contains many helpful

references including:Braille and American Sign Language

AlphabetGrammar GuidePunctuation GuideIdioms GuideMap of the ContinentsMap of the World

Reference Section

Flags and Facts: Countries of the WorldMap of the United StatesMap of U.S. TerritoriesMap of CanadaFacts About the 50 StatesFacts About U.S. TerritoriesPresidents of the United StatesMeasurement Tables

Great Resources

Take advantage of the great wealth of information found in dictionaries.

Use the Scholastic Children’s Dictionary to utilize all of the terrific features it offers to students.