Introducing Use the Dictionary and Demonstrating the Secret for Success

In this video, Christie's whole-group focus lesson is on Vocabulary. After reviewing the strategies her fourth graders already know and use when they come to a word they don't know the meaning of (read around the word and infer, ask a friend, read the smaller words within, etc.) she introduces the strategy of Using a Dictionary. Christie's frank approach, describing when she uses a dictionary, allows kids an opportunity to peek inside the mind of a skilled reader and helps prevent the "look up every word I don't know" syndrome. She also shares with them "The Secret" of making a dictionary work; knowing how to negotiate ABC order. The lesson is anchored by using a "Word Collector" which all her students are familiar with.