Hi, I'm Ashley, and today we're going to learn how to find words
in a dictionary. Are you ready? Let's go!
All the words in a dictionary are listed in alphabetical order, so it's good to be
sure that you know ABC order first. If you need a refresher, you might want to go back
to the game "Alphabetical Order Words" for practice. Here, I have a list of four words
found back-to-back in a dictionary: "orbit," "orca," "orchard," and "orchestra." Notice
how they all have the same first two letters, and most have the same first three letters.
There are so many words in the English language that you have to pay close attention.
Sometimes, there are five or more letters that are the same at the start of the word,
and you have to look all the way to the sixth letter to find the difference.
Now, you might be thinking, "Okay, I know alphabetical order,
but how can I look up just one word when there are so many in that huge book?" Not to worry,
there are a few things that the creators of dictionaries have put in them to help you.
First, on the edges of the pages, there are markings to show which letter of the alphabet
you are looking at: "A" words, "B" words, "C" words, and so on. A lot of times, there are
even different colors or indentations on the side of the pages to help you find that first letter.
Here, you can see the dictionary is opened up to "D" words.
Now, let's say you want to look up "koala." "Koala" starts with "K."
These letters on the side can help you quickly flip to the section of "K" words.
Now, even in the "K" section, there are still a lot of words. That's where guide words come
in handy. On every page of the dictionary, there is a word listed on the top left and top right
corners of the pages, and these are separate from the main list of words with definitions. These
guide words help you to know exactly what you can find on that page. The word in the top left will
be the first entry of the page, and the word on the top right is the very last entry of the page.
So, I'm looking up "koala." I flip to a page in the "K" section and find the
words "key" and "kind" as guide words. Let's think. In alphabetical order,
would "koala" come between those two words? No, the second letter is "O," which comes
after "I," the second letter of "kind." That means I need to flip to a later page.
Okay, I've now flipped to a later page, and I see the guide words "klutz" and "komodo
dragon." Do you think it will be on this page? Well, that second letter "O" tells us it will
come after "klutz." What about "komodo dragon?" It has a second letter of "O." Let's look at the
third letter. On "koala," it's "A," and "komodo dragon," it's "M." "A" comes before "M," so that
means it will be on this page. "Koala" comes between the guide words in alphabetical order.
Now that I've found the page, I just need to use my alphabetical order skills to find
the entry on this page, and that's it! Now it's your turn. Be sure to practice
what you've learned by looking up words in your own dictionary. Don't forget to
play our online games and quizzes, and remember to always be clever!