Dictionary Skills – Improve Your Child’s Reading, Writing, and Spelling with a Dictionary
By Stuart Ackerman
Good old fashioned dictionaries offer more information than just the correct spelling of words. In fact, they are an underrated tool for teaching your child several language and vocabulary skills.
You can help your child learn to properly use a dictionary, and, gain some new English language skills.
- Show your child that words in a dictionary are listed alphabetically. Show your child that the guide words at the top of the page make it easy for your child to find a word. Make sure you show your child that they have to look at the first letter of the guide word, then the second letter, then third, and so on. Show your child how the guide words are related to the first and last words on the pages. This skill is a very effective tool when it comes to teaching your child how to spell.
- Show your child that the words in the dictionary have several meanings and opposite meanings. This is a great resource for teaching about antonyms, homonyms, etc…
- Teach your child about the accent marks and syllabic word division in words. This will help your child with spelling and pronunciation.
- My favorite feature about dictionaries is that they show ‘usage’ tips. This is a perfect learning tool for your child. That is, the dictionary shows your child how to use that specific word in context!
- Dictionaries also show your child word origins. This helps students to see the connections between words by focusing on prefixes and root words. Again, another great tool for vocabulary and spelling development.
Clearly, dictionaries are great tools that you can use in order to improve your child’s reading, writing, and grammar skills.
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