(3) Pupils practice finding names in the telephone directory, catalogs, reference books, etc.
(4) Practice arranging lists of words in alphabetical order, as in the following dictation exercise.
Rewrite these words in the order in which they would occur in the dictionary.
| chance | value | |
| alarm | hurdle | |
| green | evergreen | |
| window | feather | |
| indeed | leave | |
| sapwood | monkey | |
| bruise | kernel | |
| double | jelly |
Also lists like these:—a step more difficult.
| arbor | angry | |
| alarm | after | |
| artist | age | |
| afford | apron | |
| apple | appear | |
| athletic | approve | |
| assist | answer | |
| always | anchor |
After teaching the alphabetical order, with dictionary in hand, have the pupil trace the word to its letter, then to its page.
Having found his way to the word, he must now learn to read what the dictionary has to tell him about it. His attention is called to syllabification as well as to diacritical marks. (Those found at the foot of the page will furnish the key to pronunciation.)
He finds that his dictionary is a means of learning not only the pronunciation of words, but their meaning and spelling. Later, as soon as the parts of speech are known, he should learn the various uses of words—their grammatical uses, derivation, etc., and come to regard the dictionary as one of his commonest tools, as necessary as other books of reference.
But here the teacher's task is not done. Provided with the key to the mastery of symbols, her pupils may still fail to use this key to unlock the vast literary treasures in store for them. They must be taught what to read, as well as how to read. They must be introduced to the school library and if possible to the public library. Dr. Elliot has said: "The uplifting of the democratic masses depends upon the implanting at school of the taste for good reading."