In classrooms nationwide students learn how to use the dictionary as part of the regular curriculum. Yet in my experience very few general education students and even fewer students with disabilities actually use the dictionary.

To help children develop the skill of looking up words in the dictionary or encyclopedia, I introduced a game I call "Quick Draw: Fastest Dictionary in the East," with a gentle nod to the cartoon horse character of yesteryear, Quick Draw McGraw.

All of the students use the same edition of a dictionary. I place a laminated alphabet in front of each child as a visual aid. We decide where to draw three erasable lines that separate the beginning, middle and end. Usually we sort A through G as the beginning, H through P as the middle, and Q through Z as the end. I like this division because it follows the natural pauses of the alphabet song.

Research indicates that even well-educated adults use the alphabet song as a quick strategy in alphabetical tasks. I let the children know that grown-ups do this and it's fine that they do it as well. We briefly review guide words, and students tend to adapt to using them when they see that their peers who find the words fastest are the ones who use them.

Before announcing a word I ask, "Are you ready, partners? Where will it be-in the beginning, in the middle, or at the very end?" I then announce the word. For example, using the word "hut," I say each sound-and letter, if necessary-and then repeat the word. The children quickly learn to find the general area of the dictionary by placing their fingers at one of the three sections.

The children love this activity, and there have been many benefits. They understand that words have multiple meanings and note which meanings we use most frequently and which ones we never use. Shared slang words sometimes are added to the word meanings in the dictionary.

Children count syllables and use stress information. They hear vowel differences and recognize the different patterns that are used for the same sounds. When children mistakenly find the wrong form of the same word-such as the adjectival or past tense form-we give them credit for finding it. This reinforces learning parts of speech and correct verb usage. They all become fast finders.

All aspects of this activity build literacy skills while enabling students in a group setting to work on articulation, fluency and voice issues. We all learn best by doing, especially children whose play is their work.

Even students who are not fond of reading are drawn in by written and pictorial information near the word, I have observed. When they share the information, I usually comment, "This is the mark of a good learner-someone who loves to learn new things."

When the children feel comfortable using the dictionary and can look up words more quickly than their classmates without disabilities, it becomes a source of pride, not to mention a life-long skill.

Elizabeth Kindig works in the Loudoun County Public Schools, in Ashburn, VA, and has a private practice. She can be contacted at lisakindig@hotmail.com.