The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

Jen Bryant

Illustrated by: Melissa Sweet

2015 Coldecott Honor Book

2015 Sibert Medal Winner

Published by: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Copyright 2014

42 Pages

Interesting, Relevant, Useful, Words, Expressive

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus is the story of Peter Mark Roget a young boy who loved books and wanted to create his very own. He created a book that was comprised of lists of words that would help people express what they were trying to say. This book has become one of the most important reference books in world and is found in every library across the globe. The story tells of the life of Roget and the countless inventions that he is credited with such as the pocket chess board and an essay that is perhaps the foundation of cinematography.  The creative and thoughtful illustrations pull the reader in and the relatable story will keep you engaged as you learn of the life of this important historical figure.

Reading Level

Ages 7+, Lexile Measure: 590L

Suggested Delivery

Read Aloud

Electronic Resources

Viewing this blog provides insight into how Melissa Sweet found the right illustrations to match the story. There are multiple pictures of concept drawings that students will find interesting.

View the book trailer to introduce students to the story.

Key Vocabulary

·      Thesaurus – A reference book of synonyms and antonyms for words

·      Inexhaustible – Never tiring

·      Provoke – To anger

·      Intrude– To enter without permission

  

Teaching Strategies

            Before – Have students engage in a “Shades of Meaning” activity using paint chips found at any home improvement store. Students create a list of words and then organize them into groups by their relationship to each other. The word that most closely matches that of the initial word should be closest to the top.

            During – While reading The Right Word have students pick a word that is used to describe Peter Mark Roget. Students will then use a thesaurus to look the word up and complete a guided worksheet. The worksheet should include: The selected word, name of thesaurus, page number, guidewords, favorite synonyms, and a sentence using the word.

            After – Use the tossed terms strategy with students to introduce new terms to them. Each term that is used on the beach ball can be looked up with a dictionary to provide a definition and then with a thesaurus to provide synonyms and antonyms. Allow students to work in groups and turn tossed terms into a game!

Writing

Students can use the text or a thesaurus to find interesting terms and then create a paragraph that uses those terms accurately.