Building a resource library, particularly one accessible to students at a range of reading levels, can be a frustrating experience. How do we help students expand their vocabularies while still maintaining their sense of control and competence?

The Committee has chosen several reference books, each aimed at a slightly different level. Each one is designed with a specific reading level and purpose in mind. Any or all of these books would make a welcome addition to any classroom library. In Bulletin 14, we looked at the Spellex Thesaurus. This time we are examining A First Thesaurus and in Bulletin 16 and 17 we will look at other reference books.

A First Thesaurus has clear, easy-to-read print. The antonyms are highlighted in red which makes them noticeable. There are over 2000 entries with up to 6 synonyms per word.

Certain words are illustrated which can be useful for beginning readers or English as a Second Language students. The illustrations are attractive pen and ink drawings which are not at all childish. However, many of the people pictured are children as this thesaurus is designed for children. Some words are shown with multiple meanings, but there are no parts of speech given nor are sentence models provided.

There is a section called, "Using the Thesaurus" which explains how to use a thesaurus and warns the reader that not all synonyms can be substituted into the same sentence. It also explains that words can have multiple meanings and that one word may have different meanings and pronunciations.

This is an easy-to-use resource that is very popular with students.