Dictionary Training

Dictionary Training

Kit waved her hand until her teacher Mrs. Omstead acknowledged her.

“What does that word mean?” she asked.

“Which word, Kit?”

“The one at the top of the spelling list.”

“Onomatopoeia?” the teacher asked.

“That’s the one!”

“I think this would be a good time to use the dictionary, don’t you?”

Kit sighed.

She copied down the word carefully in her notebook and carried it to the big dictionary on a swiveling book stand that sat right beside the teacher’s desk.

“Class, attention please! What is the most important thing to know before you try to use a dictionary?

“How to correctly spell the word,” they chorused as if by rote.

“Yes, exactly.”

“Kit if you would be so kind, when you find the meaning of the word at the top of the list, please read the definition aloud to the class.”

Kit cringed. She hated doing that, but Mrs. Omstead was always wanted those who were shy to practice such things often. It took some time, but she finally found it. She laid her notebook edge under it so she could read the definition easier.

She cleared her throat.

“Onomatopoeia: the naming of a thing by imitating the sound it makes.”

“When I point to you, give an example of this,” she said, pointing to Kit.

Kit thought for a moment.

“Hum,” she said finally.

The teacher pointed to others, and they came up with buzz, honk, screech as well as many others. Soon everyone was giggling.

“Very good, class,”

“Time to get to work and copy down the spelling list. There will be a test tomorrow.”

When the groans died down, she said: “I also want you to look up each word in a dictionary and be prepared to give it to me, if I ask.”