Book excerpt: Based on classic studies and the author s experience as a writing specialist, A Spelling Dictionary for Beginning Writers is an indispensable resource for the elementary classroom. This compact reference book contains approximately 1,500 high-frequency words that account for more than 90% of the words beginning writers use. A thematic word bank and a Mini-Thesaurus provide words by category and suggest alternatives for words students tend to overuse in their writing. This valuable tool helps children spell words correctly without depending exclusively on their teacher. Unlike most beginning dictionaries, which can contain up to 10,000 words and 500 pages, Book 1 is designed to be useable and reliable, to build research and writing skills, and to promote independent learning. Grades 2-6."