How can you tell they’ve got it: Using a Dictionary to Check Spellings?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Locate a word in a dictionary using its first two or three letters (e.g., find 'beautiful' by looking up 'be-'); Check and correct a misspelling by comparing with the dictionary entry (e.g., look up 'freind' → 'friend'); Use a glossary or beginning dictionary to confirm spelling of a word used in own writing. Or just try it together: If your child isn't sure how to spell a word, can they look it up in a dictionary by using the first two or three letters to find it quickly?

English Spelling & Word Study Ages 7–11

Using a Dictionary to Check Spellings

Your child can look up a word in a dictionary using its first few letters. They can then check and fix a spelling, like freind to friend.

In curriculum terms

Use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary; consult reference materials including beginning dictionaries to verify and correct spellings

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Locate a word in a dictionary using its first two or three letters (e.g., find 'beautiful' by looking up 'be-')
Check and correct a misspelling by comparing with the dictionary entry (e.g., look up 'freind' → 'friend')
Use a glossary or beginning dictionary to confirm spelling of a word used in own writing

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Try this together

If your child isn't sure how to spell a word, can they look it up in a dictionary by using the first two or three letters to find it quickly?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Knowing all lettersages 4–6Dictionary use requires alphabetical order via letter recognition

Non-Fiction Text Featuresages 6–9Non-fiction structures include reference features like glossaries

Using a Dictionary to Check Spellingsthis skill · ages 7–11

Unlocks

Using a Thesaurus to Choose Wordsages 10–11Thesaurus use builds on dictionary skills

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E3LY10low confidenceYear 3 · Literacy

understand how to apply knowledge of common base words, prefixes, suffixes and generalisations for adding a suffix to a base word to read and comprehend new multimorphemic words

AC9E1LY13low confidenceYear 1 · Literacy

spell one- and two-syllable words with common letter patterns

AC9E3LY11low confidenceYear 3 · Literacy

use phoneme–grapheme (sound–letter) relationships and less common letter patterns to spell words

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN3-SPELL-01medium confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 3

EN2-SPELL-01medium confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 2

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E6LY04medium confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · Literacy strand

VC2E4LY04medium confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Literacy strand

VC2E4LY05medium confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Literacy strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Apostrophes for possessionages 7–10 Homophonesages 7–9 Prefixesages 7–10 Spelling Word Listsages 7–9

All Spelling & Word Study skills →