3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 9 of 13
ABC Order & Dictionary
Find words fast
What your child practices
Putting words in alphabetical order to the first, second and third letter, and using dictionary guide words to find the right page.
Alaska content standards learning standard: L.3.4 · alphabetical order and using a dictionary
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Put words in ABC order by the first letter. If the first letters match, look at the second, then the third.
- Guide words at the top of a dictionary page show the first and last words on it.
- A word is on that page if it comes between the two guide words.
Example: A page has the guide words “camp” and “cat.” Is “car” on that page? c-a-m, c-a-r, c-a-t: compare the third letters. m comes before r, and r comes before t. Answer: Yes
ABC Order & Dictionary in Alaska
In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 9 of 13 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Sentence Smarts and before Grammar Gears.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 3rd grade guide for Alaska parents
- Printable 3rd grade English Language Arts sheet
- Alaska report cards explained
Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
A dictionary page has the guide words “spun” and “stump.” Which word is on that page?
- sun
- space
- step
step
Hint: Words on the page come between the guide words in ABC order: spun … step … stump.
Question 2
Put these words in ABC order.
- hat
- ship
- stamp
- rain
hat → rain → ship → stamp
Hint: Start with the first letters. If two words start the same, look at the second letter.
Question 3
Which word comes first in ABC order?
- trick
- tiger
- van
tiger
Hint: When two words start with the same letter, look at the second letter to break the tie. The answer is “tiger.”
Question 4
Which word comes first in ABC order?
- jelly
- van
- jam
jam
Hint: When two words start with the same letter, look at the second letter to break the tie. The answer is “jam.”
Question 5
Which word comes last in ABC order?
- paddle
- owl
- plot
plot
Hint: When two words start with the same letter, look at the second letter to break the tie. The answer is “plot.”
Question 6
Put these words in ABC order.
- grub
- kite
- egg
- kettle
egg → grub → kettle → kite
Hint: Start with the first letters. If two words start the same, look at the second letter.