I bet you thought a dictionary was just for looking up definitions. Well, and if you’re really knowledgeable about old-school reference materials, then maybe word origins, pronunciation, etc. But what about other stuff you can do with a dictionary, besides looking stuff up? What about games you can play, or art you can create? We’re here to talk about that today.
(Although a couple of quick side notes regarding looking things up: 1. Be sure your kids know how to use a real dictionary, not only the online kind. Skills like the use of guide words aren’t trained with an online dictionary, and may be needed at some point. 2. Pay attention to which dictionary/ies your kids use. I noticed the other day that Dictionary.com uses the definition of liberal as flat-out political propaganda. The definition most conservatives use as the determining factor when looking at “liberal” vs. “conservative” was omitted – I suspect intentionally – in the main dictionary, and the remaining definitions [and synonyms/antonyms] were worded in a way that can really only be called “propaganda.” Definitely not objective!)
Create Artwork:
I don’t recommend tearing up a perfectly good dictionary just to make craft projects! But once a dictionary has been well-loved, it tends to begin falling apart. At that point, repurpose it for projects like these.
- Make drawings w/ simple cutouts and basic ink additions (like these, from Etsy)
- Make paper flowers.
- Make paper beads.
- Use a page as as background (one single sheet) -OR-
- Piece a background from scraps of pages.
- Cut out a silhouette and “mat” it on solid-colored paper -OR-
- Create a “reverse” silhouette (cut out a “stencil”-type shape of solid paper and put it over the dictionary page).
- Use it as a journal page background. (If you do this, you can make it random or you can choose which words are on your page.
- Choose a specific word to highlight in a project.
(Learning) Activities:
Maybe your dictionary is still good…but your dictionary skills (or your kids’ dictionary skills) aren’t. Try out one of these activities to give them some practice.
- Dictionary Detective worksheets (from Teachers Pay Teachers) – This set is K-2 dictionary practice.
- Grammar Detectives packet (from Teachers Pay Teachers) This is a good review of grammar basics – parts of speech, sentence construction, etc. It uses the dictionary as a resource. It’s $5, but it looks good (and looks fun for the kids).
- Invent a word worksheet (from BetterLesson)
- Dictionary Battle – Students will race each other to find words in the dictionary. (If you have only one student, see if he can beat his best time.)
- Dictionary Scavenger Hunt
- Dictionary Dig – I couldn’t find a simple explanation to link to for this one. For a Dictionary Dig, you as the teacher/leader will give clues, such as “it starts with the third letter of the alphabet,” “it has two syllables,” etc. Keep giving clues until your student has narrowed it down to just the word you had in mind.
- Choose a random word from the dictionary (parents, you might want to oversee this so they don’t find something obscene!) and learn to use it. (I learned a really fun word this way a year or two ago, and have really enjoyed using it, because it’s just a fun word.)
- Find two nouns, a verb, and three adjectives in the dictionary. Be sure you understand what all six words mean, then use them all in a short story.
Games/Fun:
Hopefully some of the activities above were pretty fun, too. But these are pretty much just for fun. Or, at least, they’re more for fun than for learning.
*It appears that the newer edition of Balderdash is more like the old Beyond Balderdash. As far as I can tell, you can no longer buy a classic Balderdash-type game unless you get it used.
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