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.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: Language 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 Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, 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 Maine parents
- Printable 3rd grade English Language Arts sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine Department of Education
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
How are the words in a dictionary listed?
- In ABC order
- From shortest to longest
- In no special order
In ABC order
Hint: Dictionaries list words alphabetically, from A to Z, so they are easy to find.
Question 2
Put these words in ABC order.
- jelly
- island
- paddle
- jam
island → jam → jelly → paddle
Hint: Start with the first letters. If two words start the same, look at the second letter.
Question 3
Put these words in ABC order.
- van
- nest
- map
- moon
map → moon → nest → van
Hint: Start with the first letters. If two words start the same, look at the second letter.
Question 4
Which word comes first in ABC order?
- camp
- octopus
- cloud
camp
Hint: When two words start with the same letter, look at the second letter to break the tie. The answer is “camp.”
Question 5
Which word comes last in ABC order?
- fox
- egg
- flag
fox
Hint: When two words start with the same letter, look at the second letter to break the tie. The answer is “fox.”
Question 6
Which word comes first in ABC order?
- whale
- spun
- stump
spun
Hint: When two words start with the same letter, look at the second letter to break the tie. The answer is “spun.”