NOAH WEBSTEROctober 16, the birthday of Noah Webster, is Dictionary Day in America. Show your appreciation for this most useful of reference books by celebrating Dictionary Day with your children - learn some new words, learn how dictionaries came to be, spruce up your dictionary skills, or even create your own dictionary!
THE ORIGIN OF THE HOLIDAYDriven by a desire to unify the American way of speaking and spelling English, Noah Webster started work on the first American dictionary at age 43. He thought Americans should have their own distinctly American (rather than British) way of spelling, pronouncing, and using words. But at that time, Americans in different regions had no unifying standard of language. Webster's dictionary was the first step in changing that. After 27 years of labor In 1783, Noah Webster created what is considered to be the first dictionary of America. It had 70,000 words in it. It's no accident that National Dictionary Day is on Noah Webster's birthday! He is the father of the American dictionary.
WHY USE A DICTIONARYthe spelling of a wordthe origins of a wordthe meaning (s) of a wordderivatives of a word (the root plus any added suffixes)the history of a wordthe part of speech of a wordthe abbreviation of a wordthe capitalization of a wordthe syllable divisions of a wordthe pronunciation of a wordsynonyms and antonyms for a wordhow to spell any irregular forms of a word (such as plurals or past tenses of verbs)
CONCLUSIONSWhy is using a dictionary so important?A student of English without a dictionary is like a hunter without a gun! It’s so funny if you think your teacher can be your dictionary, too because the teacher is not always available. So it is very important for you to have one because It shows you the meaning (s). It shows the spelling. It shows the pronunciation. It teaches some grammar. It gives you good example sentences. Helps you learn more and better. You will feel relaxed in class because you have checked every word before. So do not forget to buy an advanced dictionary for home and one pocket one for your class or anywhere else.
HOMETASKMake a theme crossword ;Write a short story or a fairy-tale about dictionary (ies);Create a presentation about your favourite dictionary;Write a letter to Noah Webster;Make a table game about famous lexicographers;Publish a bulletin about British and Ukrainian lexicographers;Your own variant;
PROJECT Ma. NAGERTatiana v. koshevenko. As an English teacher, I promise you if you learn new words like this, after some time you will be able to understand nearly all movies and serials, read and understand English passages very well and, better than anything else, you can speak like a native English person easily!!I know, I know it takes a lot of time first but you will feel so nice in class because you know everything about the words. Try it!