Working with reference books like a dictionary is important to learning about words.
What you'll need:
* Paper, pencil, a dictionary, and the list of questions given below, each written on a separate piece of paper.
What to do:
* Fold each question in half and put them all in a hat. Ask your child to read a question and then use the dictionary to answer it.
- Is a burnoose the cousin of a moose?
- Can you bustle, hustle, and jostle at the same time?
- Is a hog likely to hog all the hogmeat?
- How much bread is there in breadfruit?
- Is it possible for a fowl to have a jowl?
- Can a gnu be a guru to a few?
- Is a lingbird likely to linger long on a clothesline?
- Are calligraphy and otography the same?
- Can you abandon an abalone?
- Can an ermine be a hermit?
- Explain why we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway.
- Can a sphinx put a jinx on you?
* Once your child answers these questions, ask your child to develop some questions for you, using challenging words from the dictionary.
READ*WRITE*NOW Activities for Reading and Writing Fun - May 1997

