Guide Words

Worksheet Description

The “Guide Words” worksheet is an educational tool designed to help students enhance their dictionary skills by understanding the function of guide words. These are the terms printed at the top of dictionary pages that assist in locating words within the dictionary more quickly. The exercise consists of two sets of guide words, “reap — rice” and “kibble — kite,” and a list of words that the students must categorize as fitting between these guide words or not.

For the first set, words like ‘red’ and ‘rear’ fall within the range of ‘reap’ and ‘rice’, while words like ‘ride’ might not, depending on the dictionary’s specific layout. Similarly, for the second set, words such as ‘kid’ and ‘keep’ would appropriately fall between ‘kibble’ and ‘kite’, while ‘killer’ may not. Students write ‘yes’ if the word fits within the guide words’ alphabetical range and ‘no’ if it does not. This task not only reinforces the concept of alphabetical order but also builds critical thinking skills as students must make judgments based on the order of letters. It is a practical exercise that prepares them for efficient and independent dictionary use, which is essential for their vocabulary development and literary proficiency.