Free Dictionary Skills Sheet for Vocabulary Words

Spelling can be hard. Not only are some sounds spelled in several ways, but the “rules” aren’t followed 100% of the time.

I’m not a great speller. Between growing up in the South where a single vowel can be stretched out to sound like two and having years of ear infections, I had a really hard time sounding out words. Short E and I sounded exactly the same to me for years!

Teaching kids how to use a dictionary involves a lot of different skills: using guide words, finding definitions, identifying parts of speech, checking their spelling, determining the number of syllables in words, etc. Whether your students use a book or an online dictionary, they need to learn how to find the correct page and understand the entry. It takes a lot of practice for kids to master dictionary skills. 2nd grade | 3rd grade Common Core Standards L.2.2.E and L.2.4.E #2ndGrade #3rdGrade

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better at spelling. Still, I often have to pull out a dictionary or run a word through spellcheck. Thank goodness for dictionaries and spellcheck!

Now that I’m homeschooling, I really want to make sure my kids master dictionary skills. That’s why I created this dictionary skill sheet. It’s a simple and kid-friendly way to develop vocabulary and cover important dictionary skills like guide words, parts of speech, and syllabification.

Incorporating Daily Dictionary Skills Practice

Most days my daughter identified one unfamiliar word from her reading to look up in the dictionary. Other times, I helped her select a misspelled word from her writing. It worked great because the sheet was easy enough for her to do it independently, but it still covered all of the skills I wanted her to master.

This sheet aligns with the Common Core State Standards. It aligns with L.2.2.e: “Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings” and L.2.4.E: “Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases.”