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Dictionary
On October 15, 1758, Noah Webster was born. Celebrate the birthday of the Father of the American Dictionary with some lexical activities. Each of these activities meets a variety of state and national standards for technology and core subject areas.
Grades K-2
Read students Noah Webster’s brief biography and have them use Visual Mapping software to create a timeline of Webster’s life. As a class, discuss the significance of important points in the timeline, such as Webster attending college at that time in history, and his dictionary taking 70 years to complete.
EasyTech units: Visual Mapping Basics
Grades 3-5
Send students to the library and instruct them to select a book and then browse it, writing down the first 10 words they come across that they don’t know, as well as the sentence it is used in. Have students use Word Processing software to type the words, the sentences, and what they would guess the definitions of the words might be, based on context. Then have students use an online dictionary to look up the real meanings of the words and add those definitions to their document. How accurate were students’ guessed definitions? Have students add a paragraph to the end of their document discussing how dictionaries, and online dictionaries, can help them read, comprehend, and learn more easily.
EasyTech units: Word Processing, Web Browsing Basics
Grades 6-8
Webster worked for 70 years to create an American dictionary because he wanted people in different parts of the country to speak and spell in the same way, and in their uniquely American (as opposed to English) way. Have students pretend to be Noah Webster in the present day and use Presentation software to create a multimedia presentation outlining plans for a new American dictionary. What would the purpose be? How would it be different from what exists? How would technology, including the Internet and blogging, be a part of the project?
EasyTech units: Web Browsing, Presentation Software, Communicating Online
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