Worksheet

Cave Words: Using a Glossary and Dictionary

Read a short article about caves, then use its glossary and a dictionary page to find the exact meanings of key words.

Grade 3ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toL.3.4.d

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Single worksheet
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1 Common Core standard
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10 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use a glossary to find the meanings of key words in an informational text.
Students use dictionary entries to choose the meaning of a word that fits a sentence.

How to use

Read the article together and show where the glossary and dictionary entries are, then let students look up each word as they answer the questions.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

L.3.4.d

Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, in print and digital form, to find or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

Preview

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Name Date

Cave Words: Using a Glossary and Dictionary

Look up key words to find the exact meaning a writer uses.

Read the article

Read the article. The words in bold are in the glossary below it.

Inside a Cave

1Have you ever wondered what it is like deep under the ground? Many caves are found in places with a lot of limestone. Over a very long time, water seeps into cracks in this rock and slowly dissolves it, a tiny bit at a time. Little by little, the cracks grow into tunnels and rooms. A very large cave room is called a cavern.

2Inside many caves, you can see amazing stone shapes. Water drips from the ceiling, and each drop carries a tiny bit of a mineral from the rock. As the water drips, it leaves a little of the mineral behind. A stalactite grows down from the ceiling, a little at a time, like an icicle made of stone. A stalagmite grows up from the floor below it. These shapes form very slowly.

3Sometimes a stalactite and a stalagmite grow so long that they meet. When they join, they make a column that reaches from the floor to the ceiling.

4Caves are home to some animals, too. Some bats rest in caves during the day and fly out at night to find food. Deep inside a cave, far from the entrance, there is no light at all. People who explore caves often wear helmets with lamps so they can see where they are going.

Glossary

cavern (noun): a very large cave, or a very large room inside a cave

column (noun): a stone shape that reaches from a cave's floor to its ceiling, made when a stalactite and a stalagmite join

limestone (noun): a kind of rock that water can slowly dissolve

mineral (noun): a natural material that is not alive and is found in rocks and in the ground

stalactite (noun): a stone shape that hangs down from the ceiling of a cave

stalagmite (noun): a stone shape that rises up from the floor of a cave

Use the glossary

Use the glossary to answer each question.

What does a glossary tell a reader?

A. the page where each chapter begins
B. the name of the book's author
C. what key words in the text mean
D. the year the book was printed

Use the glossary. Write the word that names a stone shape that hangs down from the ceiling of a cave.

A stone shape that hangs down from the ceiling of a cave is a .

In paragraph 3, a stalactite and a stalagmite join to make a column. Use the glossary. What does column mean in this article?

A. a list of words running down a page
B. a large open room deep inside a cave
C. a kind of rock that water dissolves
D. a stone shape that joins floor and ceiling

Use the glossary. Match each word to its meaning.

cavern
limestone
mineral
stalagmite

A. a natural, nonliving material in rocks
B. a stone shape that rises from a cave floor
C. a very large cave or cave room
D. a kind of rock that water slowly dissolves

The words in the glossary are in ABC order. If the word echo were added to this glossary, where would it go?

A. between cavern and column
B. between column and limestone
C. between mineral and stalactite
D. between stalactite and stalagmite

Use a dictionary

Some words have more than one meaning. Read the dictionary entries, then answer the questions.

Dictionary Entries

bat (noun) 1. a small, furry animal with wings that usually flies at night 2. a strong stick used to hit the ball in games such as baseball

form 1. (noun) a paper with blank spaces to fill in 2. (noun) the shape or outline of something 3. (verb) to take shape or come to be

light 1. (noun) the brightness that lets you see things 2. (adjective) not heavy 3. (adjective) pale in color, not dark

Use the dictionary entry for bat. Which meaning of bat is used in each sentence? Sort the sentences.

Mia swung the bat and hit the ball far.A bat flapped its wings and flew out of the cave.The bat was hanging upside down from the rocky ceiling.Kofi packed his bat and glove for the game.Dad handed me a wooden bat and a helmet.

Meaning 1	Meaning 2

Read this sentence from paragraph 2: "These shapes form very slowly." Use the dictionary entry for form. Which meaning of form is used?

A. Meaning 1
B. Meaning 2
C. Meaning 3

Use the dictionary entry for light. Write the number of the meaning used in each sentence.

Deep inside a cave, there is no light at all. Meaning
The small rock was so light that Jada lifted it with one finger. Meaning
Near the entrance, the cave walls were a light tan color. Meaning

A dictionary page has the guide words cave and chalk at the top. Which word would you find on this page?

A. bat
B. cavern
C. column
D. stone

10.

A dictionary says column can mean "a list of words running down a page." Why should you use the glossary meaning of column when you read this article? Use details from the article.