Student Dictionary

An idea for a student dictionary would be one that your students could make themselves.  You could have your students make the dictionary by color code.  First get a whole bunch of different half sheets of cardstock.  You will use a different color for each letter.  Repeats of colors could be used for letters that are not close to each other in the alphabet.  To start you as the teacher will place the cardstock on a ring that clasps.  This way your students can add to the dictionary as needed.  Then when the students come to a word that they do not know, they will write the word on a piece of the cardstock.  They then can look up the word in a dictionary and write a definition in their own words on the cardstock.  You can also have them draw a picture or cut one out of a magazine if they would like.