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Primary English · Year 5Chapter 10 · Reading non-fiction: retrieving, summarising and fact or opinion
Year 5 English · Reading non-fiction: retrieving, summarising and fact or opinion · Lesson 10.4

Year 5 English: Using a glossary and a dictionary

Part of the Year 5 English reading non-fiction: retrieving, summarising and fact or opinion chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

10.4

Using a glossary and a dictionary

Year 5
Use dictionaries, glossaries and reference texts to check meaning (RC1c)
Story. Ali finds the word pollinated in the report and does not know what it means. He checks the glossary at the back of his book, and then a dictionary, to see if the two meanings match.

Glossary (from a science book)

nectar: a sweet liquid made by flowers, which bees drink.

pollen: a fine powder made by flowers, which carries the male cells of a plant.

pollinate: to move pollen to a flower so that it can make seeds or fruit.

Key ideas

  • A glossary lists key words from a book, in alphabetical order, with their meanings.
  • A dictionary gives meanings, spellings and word classes for many more words.
  • Use the first letters to find a word quickly.
  • Check the meaning fits the sentence in the text.
Worked example 10.4.1
Which word in the glossary comes first in alphabetical order: pollen or nectar?

Method. Compare the first letters.

  1. Compare the first letters. n comes before p.
    n, p
  2. Choose. Nectar comes first.
    nectar
  3. Write the answer.
    nectar

Check. Nectar. ✓

Worked example 10.4.2
What does pollinate mean in the glossary?

Method. Read the glossary entry.

  1. Read the entry. Pollinate: to move pollen to a flower.
    move pollen
  2. Write the meaning. It means to move pollen so that seeds or fruit can grow.
    seeds or fruit
  3. Write the answer.
    to move pollen to a flower so it can make seeds or fruit

Check. To move pollen so seeds or fruit can grow. ✓

Worked example 10.4.3
Is pollen between the guide words pollinate and poplar in alphabetical order? Write Yes or No.

Method. Check whether pollen comes between the guide words.

  1. Compare with pollinate. Pollen comes before pollinate, so it is before the first guide word.
    before pollinate
  2. Decide. Pollen is not between the two guide words.
    No
  3. Write the answer.
    No

Check. No. ✓

Exercise 10D  Practice: glossary and dictionary

1
FWhich word in the glossary comes last: nectar, pollen or pollinate?
2
FWhat does nectar mean in the glossary?
3
FWhich word means a fine powder made by flowers?
4
FWrite the first two letters you would look for to find pollinate in a dictionary.
5
PSWhich word in the glossary has the most letters?
6
PSAli says pollinate is a noun. Is he right? Use the glossary entry to check.
7
PSWhich entry in the glossary is about a plant's male cells? Write the word.
8
PSPut the words pollen, nectar and pollinate in alphabetical order.
9
RAli finds that the dictionary and the glossary say slightly different things about pollen. Which one would you use in a report on bees?

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