SID THE SPELLBINDER WORD BOOK WORD MAGIC WORD DEFINITIONS WORD USES WORD FUN Introduction to parents The words in Sid the Spellbinder's spelling program are ones most often used by young children in their writings. Each of the words appears alphabetically in one or more contexts. Many are briefly defined in footnotes[1]--especially where various usages are given. Very basic words like "mommy" have not been defined. Word games, word magic and rhymes are among the techniques used to encourage children to learn how to correctly spell words they may not yet have encountered in their classes. [Footnotes] [1] Many younger children are not familiar with footnotes. This is a good opportunity to discover their value. This story is about[1] Sid the Spellbinder. Sid was slithering about[2] the house. He looked up at the clock. There was something surprising about[3] it. It was already about[4] time for the school bus. He was about[5] to leave when he remembered to take an eraser. (He also remembered his spelling book while he was about[6] it.) When the bus was about[7] a block away, Sid slithered to the curb. The bus stopped. Sid was about[8] to get on the bus when he heard his mother somewhere about[9]. He turned about10 waved goodbye--and then climbed on the bus. It was about[11] nine o'clock when the bus arrived at school. Sid had slithered off the bus before the driver had even opened the door. [Footnotes] About 1. of; concerning; in regard to. 2. in or somewhere near. 3. connected; associated with. 4. near;close to. 5. on the verge or point of. 6. concerned with; engaged in doing. 7. near in distance, time, number, etc. 8. nearby, almost. 9. nearby, not far. 10. halfway around; in the opposite direction. 11. nearly; approximately. The children walked into school one after[1] another. After[2] they reached their classroom, their teacher asked them to take their seats. After[3] Sid took his seat, there was no more room in his row. At recess, he slithered after[4] the other children who ran into the schoolyard. He was after[5] a good time. When the children came back to class, Sid's teacher asked after[6] his kitten. Sid's kitten was named Flopsy. Sid had named his kitten after[7] a goldfish he liked. Sid's teacher liked Flopsy. Tomorrow she would ask about Flopsy again[1]. [Footnotes] After 1. behind in place or position. 2. later in time than: in succession to. 3. subsequent to; in consequence of. 4. in pursuit. 5. in search of. 6. concerning; about. 7. with the name of. another. His teacher asked Sid to go to the blackboard running along[1] the wall. Sid picked up some chalk at one end of the blackboard. The teacher asked Sid to write the name of one of his favorite things on the blackboard. "I can go along[2] with that" thought Sid. He printed "GHOTI!" in big letters. The teacher wondered what GHOTI meant--but there was a lot to do so she asked Sid to move along[3]. It was also someone else's turn. [Footnotes] Again 1. once more; another time; in addition. Along 1. through, on, beside, over, or parallel to a length or direction; from one end to another. 2. in conformity, accordance or agreement with. 3. with a progressive motion; onward. Another[1] student went up to the blackboard and wrote another[2] two words in front of Sid's word. I LIKE GHOTI. The teacher was puzzled but she had more things to do before the bell rang. "Do any[1] of you want to play a game?" asked the teacher. "It's a game any[2] boy or girl would like to play!" The teacher looked around[1] the room. Every hand was raised. "This is a super class" she thought to herself. "That's why the principal always comes in when she is showing visitors around[2]. She thought of one game, but she didn't think it would be as[1] much fun as another. [Footnotes] Another 1. a second; a further; an additional. 2. different; distinct. Any 1. one or more. 2. Every; all. Around 1. in all directions. 2. through a sequence or series. As 1. to a degree or extent; equally. The teacher asked[1] who wanted to play Taboo and who wanted to play Buzz Buzz. A boy in the back[1] of the room raised his hand. "May I please be excused?," he asked. "I'll be right back[2]." The teacher excused him and turned her back[3] to print Taboo and Buzz Buzz on the blackboard. "Now who wants to play Taboo?," asked Sid's teacher. Sid decided to back[4] Taboo and so did most of the other children. [Footnotes] Asked 1. to put a question to; inquire. Back 1. the part that forms the rear of any object or structure. 2. to return. 3. the rear part of a person from the neck to the lower part of the spine. 4. to support. Because 1. for the reason that. Sid liked Taboo because[1] it was almost as much fun as playing with his pet GHOTI or eating a GHOTI he didn't know for dinner. You need at least three people to play Taboo. One is the leader for the first round. The leader chooses any letter of the alphabet to be taboo. The [sic] he or she asks guestions of each of the other players in turn. The player must reply immediately with a sentence that makes sense. If a player hesitates or uses a word that contains the tabooed letter, he or she is out. The last player remaining in the game is the winner of that round and the new leader for the next round. Sid won a lot of the rounds because he was very sneaky. Once he made the letter E taboo. E is used in more words in the English language than any other letter. Sid asked one player what she did at night when she got sleepy. "I go to bed[1]--oops," she replied. "You're out!," said Sid. The girl didn't care. She would just love a cup of cocoa and then bed[2]. Sid loved making his bed[3] under a tree on sunny days, preferably next to a bed[4] of flowers near a river bed[5]. [Footnotes] Bed 1. furniture on which you sleep. 2. the act of sleeping. 3. any resting place. 4. a piece of ground on which plants are grown. 5. the bottom of any body of water. Before[1] long the teacher stood up before[2] the class. "I think we should have lunch before[3] we get too hungry," she said. They all straightened their desks before[4] they went to lunch. Sid and the other children thought that lunch was one of the best[1] parts of the day. If they didn't have lunch, hunger would get the best[2] of them. Sometimes one of the children would forget to bring lunch. The other children were happy to share, and the forgetful one didn't have too hard a time making the best[3] of it. Sid thought lunch was better[1] than breakfast. He was always too sleepy to really enjoy bacon and eggs and pancakes and waffles and cereal and juice and milk that early in the morning. Sid was finished with the better[2] part of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich when he stopped to think how better[3] off he was than most monsters. He had good things like peanut butter and jelly, and most monsters had to make do with the fingers, toes and elbows of people they hardly even knew. Then Sid thought he had better[4] finish his dessert cookies quickly because class was about to start again. [Footnotes] Before 1. in time, soon. 2. in front of. 3. in preference to. 4. previous. Best 1. of the highest quality, excellence, most desirable. 2. to gain the advantage over; to defeat; subdue. 3. to manage as well as you can under unfavorable circumstances. Better 1. of superior quality or excellence. 2. larger, greater. 3. more fortunate; happier. 4. wiser and more reasonable. Sid looked for his black[1] crayon. He couldn't find it. Sid had a black[2] outlook when he couldn't find things. What if somebody swiped it!!! He gave a black[3] look around him. Then he looked down and saw his crayon on the floor. Sid felt silly. He must have dropped it. Sid's teacher held up a book[1]. "This is a wonderful story for girls and boys[1]," said the teacher. "Oh boy![2]," thought Sid, "I wonder if there are any GHOTI in it!" "The title of this book is Alice in Wonderland," said the teacher. "Last night I decided to bring[1] it to class. It was mine when I was a little girl. I thought of selling it when I grew up, but I couldn't bring[2] myself to part with it--even though it would bring[3] a good price." [Footnotes] Black 1. the "no color" color; no hue; no brightness; no reflection; nothing. 2. gloomy. 3. angry. Book 1. written or printed pages fastened together; you're reading one. Boy--Boys 1. male child from birth to full grown. 2. exclamation of wonder, approval or unhappiness and contempt. Bring 1. to carry. 2. to persuade; convince; compel. 3. to sell for. "My brother[1] told me it was the kind of book you want to read over and over again. He was right." "Now Sid," she called[1], "I'm going to call[2] on you to read aloud for a few pages. Please call[3] everyone's attention to the first animal Alice meets in the story." Sid read aloud and when he got to one point he said, "The first animal Alice meets is called[4] 'The White Rabbit.' He was very late. He was supposed to have called[5] on someone much earlier." [Footnotes] Brother 1. a male person who has the same parents as another person. Call--Called 1. to cry out in a loud voice. 2. to ask or write someone to come. 3. to attract someone's attention to something. 4. to give a name to. 5. to make a short visit. Sid came[1] to the end of a few pages. He was really enjoying the book. "I guess that's what comes[2] of a good story," he thought to himself. "And this story comes[3] with good pictures." "The author of this book comes[4] from England," said his teacher. "Tomorrow we'll read some more of it." "Now children[1]!" said the teacher, "Here's a useful trick that will help you in your spelling. Some words are children[2] of others. If you know how to spell close, you're very close1 to knowing how to spell closer[2]. By the way, I think we should close[3] the door. It's getting cold[1] in here. I don't want anyone to catch a cold[2]." [Footnotes] Came--Comes 1. to have arrived at a particular place, time or thing. 2. to take place; happen. 3. to be available; offered. 4. to be a native or resident of. Children 1. sons and daughters. 2. a thing or person regarded as the product of another. Close-Closer 1. near. 2. nearer. 3. to shut. Cold 1. not warm; chilled. 2. sneezing, coughing, the sniffles. "If I could[1] have my way, no one would ever catch cold[2]," said Sid. "The whole country[1] would agree with you," said his teacher. "Maybe the whole country[1] should go to the country[2] during the cold weather," said Sid. Sid thought he would ask his daddy to take the family some day soon. There was a knock at the classroom door. Every person in the class turned and looked. [Footnotes] Could 1. able to. Country 1. a nation. 2. farms and open land as opposed to cities and towns. It was Sid's father. He was so much bigger than Sid there was no room for him to come in. "I just stopped by to drop off some pictures we took on our last vacation," he said to Sid's teacher. "I thought the class might find them interesting." She thanked him and looked at the pictures. She thought they were very fine[1]. One of them showed Sid building a castle out of fine[2] sand at the beach. Another picture showed Sid swimming. He was a fine[3] swimmer. The last picture showed the whole family in the car. Sid's father never drove faster than the speed limit. He didn't want to get a ticket and have to pay a fine[4]. [Footnotes] Fine 1. of superior or best quality. 2. consisting of tiny particles. 3. highly skilled. 4. money charged as a penalty for breaking the law. Everyone thanked Sid's father. He left after first backing carefully out of the room so he didn't break anything. The class had found the pictures very interesting, especially one that showed Sid's father in uniform with a friend. Sid's father was in the navy. They once gave[1] him a medal for bravery. He was swimming in the ocean when he saw some pirates. Sid's father put on a mean face--pretended he was a sea serpent--and gave[2] chase. The pirates gave[3] up. Sid's teacher was getting up from her desk when a girl named Nancy raised her hand. [Footnotes] Gave 1. presented voluntarily. 2. went after. 3. surrendered; quit. "Are you going to give us a test today?" Nancy asked. "I'm glad you asked that!," said the teacher. "I am going to give you a spelling test--right after I show you how to spell words you may not know. It will help you get a better grade[1]." Everyone was happy to hear this. Each child in the class wanted to get a good grade--and was thankful for the help. [Footnotes] Grade 1. the relative quality of a student's work; a class of the same level. "I hope I get a good grade!," thought Sid. "We'll have some fun getting into it," said the teacher. "We'll just write the word LARGE in big letters on the blackboard. It's easy to make large even bigger by giving it a new last letter. If we let it have an R at the end, large becomes larger. But if we take away the R and change the first letter in large to a B--we get barge which is a word that means a big boat with a flat bottom." "You can change live to the actual place that bees live. Start with an H instead of an L; you get HIVE. Long is a word that goes a long[1] way. Belong. Along. Bong. Song. If you looked at a hamburger and changed the L in looked to a C, you'd have cooked a good lunch!" [Footnotes] Long 1. have considerable extent in space, distance or time. Many children in the class raised their hands. "How many words work like that?" Sid asked. "Oodles!," said his teacher as she noodled a doodle of poodles. "Take away the M in Men--put in a T--and you get Ten. You can turn Milk into Silk." Sid could hardly wait to tell his mommy about this before he came back to school the next morning. "Most words are good friends and some are even like family," said his teacher. "Words like mother and brother are called rhymes. They sound alike. When you know how to spell one--the other is only a letter or two away! If you must have another example, think about MUST, TRUST, BUST and JUST!" "I'll never forget how to spell those!" thought Sid. "They're easy!" "Here's the next thing we'll talk about," said the teacher. "Once you know how to spell some words, you only have to use their sounds to spell others. That's a trick some people use to spell a lot of words they never studied in school." "We place[1] the word PLACE on the blackboard. Then we write SPOON under it. We just take the SP from SPOON and the ACE from PLACE and we get SPACE." [Footnotes] Place 1. To put in a particular spot; a space occupied by a person or a thing. "We played games with this when I was in school. Let's see how many other words we can make from ACE. Will someone please start? We'll go in order and whoever can't think of a word is out. The winner starts a new game with a new word." A pretty girl raised her hand and said, "Add the GR from GRAVEL and it spells GRACE. Add the L from LOVE and it spells LACE." "That's pretty good," thought Sid. "Should we think of enough words to go around the room?" asked the teacher. The pretty girl's sister said, "If you add the F from FOOD, it spells FACE." "That's the idea," said the teacher, as she looked out the window to see snow beginning to fall. "Snow is another good word to play with. You can use the OW in SNOW to spell GROW, SHOW, BLOW and KNOW." The pretty girl's sister started[1] to draw something on the blackboard. Sid jumped with a start[2]. He wasn't expecting a picture of his friends. "That's a nice picture. Is anyone sure[1] they know what it is and how to spell it?" asked the teacher. [Footnotes] Start--Started 1. to begin. 2. a sudden jump in surprise. Sure 1. free from doubt confident convinced or certain. Sid raised his hand more quickly than anyone else. "One of these is a good friend of mine," said Sid as he looked for a thing to write with. This is what he wrote in tall thin letters: GHOTI His teacher looked at GHOTI and thought about it. "What's that?" she asked. "That's how you spell the thing that's in the picture," said Sid. "You take the GH in ENOUGH--the O in WOMEN--and the Tl in NATION. That spells GHOTI." [Illustration of Sid at the blaockboard with 'GHOTI' written on it. Sid says: 'You take the "GH" in ENOUGH (i-nuf)... The "O" in WOMEN (wim'n) and the "TI" in NATION (na shan)'] "Oh," said the teacher. "You mean FISH. F as in FUNNY--I as in DIZZY--S as in SILLY--H as in HELP!" "I think that's enough for today!" The bell rang. The teacher took her coat out of the closet and took the bus to town. It wasn't until later that she smiled at Sid's very new way of spelling FISH. She wanted a glass of water while she thought about it. She looked out the window. The snow was very white. She had her wish. Her work[1] was teaching--she enjoyed it--it was an interesting year. [Footnotes] Work 1. occupation, profession or employment. EL-3454-1 AC9438 ODYSSEY2