In the elementary years, when children are reading fluently, it is quite common that they come across words that are new to them. In some cases, the meaning can be deciphered from the context (a fantastic cognitive exercise!); in others, a set of dictionaries come in very handy. Along with helping children understand the meaning of new words, the presence of the dictionary ensures that they can become fully independent in their reading, without resorting to asking the adult each time.
Further, this is the age when etymology (the study of word origins) becomes fascinating to children. Along with the usual dictionaries, we highly recommend having a book of word origins handy. Etymology and word study provides an excellent basis for learning to spell, and contributes to understanding the history of different cultures. Imagine the amount of history and geography one can learn from stories of how words, people and places were named!
