Language Arts Resources

There are probably more fillable gaps in anyone's language arts knowledge than any other area of study. Language is constantly evolving, changing its face and sometimes even its innards to accommodate the dictates of the Academy and society. Who can keep up with it all? who even has enough foundational knowledge to know what all those changes are?

Keeping up with all the trends isn't necessarily the point, though. The ultimate aim of all language arts instruction is communication: for the student to be capable of communicating, and able to be communicated to. As far as that is accomplished, language arts education has been successful; that doesn't mean there isn't always room for improvement.

It also doesn't mean that there aren't reference works you should keep around at all times. Everyone needs a good dictionary; when you encounter words you know, how else are you going to know what they mean? You could just head to the Internet, but there's so much misinformation there, having a hard copy of Webster's is a much safer (and more reliable) bet.

A compact but comprehensive thesaurus is also important. Here's a word of advice: don't overuse it. Roget's Thesaurus has lots of words you've never heard of, and while sometimes they turn out to be exactly the word you're looking for, it's not a good idea to throw million dollar words into your writing if you're unfamiliar with them.

The two best uses for a thesaurus: using it to remember a word you already know, or scanning it to build your vocabulary when you aren't writing. A good cook doesn't use spices she's never heard of just to make food interesting, and a good writer doesn't throw around strange verbiage just to make people think he's smart, or because he's already overused a simpler term.

Much of what you'll find here is designed to help with spelling, expand vocabulary, or assist writing. Everyone has particular strengths and weaknesses, and you'll have to ultimately decide what your students (or you) need. For specific elements of the language arts (grammar, rhetoric, phonics, etc.) take a look at our subject-specific resource sections; the books here are pretty broad and reference-oriented.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
Did you find this review helpful?
80 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)
American Heritage Children's Dictionary
from Houghton Mifflin
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage First Dictionary
Updated from Houghton Mifflin
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Antonyms Wrap-Up Keys
from Learning Wrap-Ups
for 3rd-6th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
Behind the Mask OSI
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
Blended Structure and Style in Composition
by James B. Webster
2nd edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
Writing Curriculum for 2nd-12th grade
in IEW Resources (Location: WRI-IEWRES)
$35.00
But and For, Yet and Nor
Words Are CATegorical
by Brian P. Cleary
from Millbrook Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
Cache of Jewels
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Caught'ya Again!
by Jane Bell Kiester
1st edition from Maupin House Publishing
for Kindergarten-12th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
Childcraft in Fifteen Volumes, 1961 Edition
from World Book
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Childcraft in Fourteen Volumes, 1949 Edition
from World Book
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Childcraft: The How and Why Library, 1972 Edition
from World Book
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Childcraft: The How and Why Library, 1980 Edition
from World Book
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Children's Illustrated Dictionary
for 1st-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Illustrated Thesaurus
by Sue Graves; illustrated by Tim Hutchinson
from Parragon Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Rhyming Dictionary
from Dell Publishing
for 1st-Adult
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.99
DK Children's Illustrated Thesaurus
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
DK Help Your Kids with Language Arts
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
DK Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary
from DK Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$29.99
Explore Language Series
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
First Book of Words
by Sam and Beryl Epstein, illustrated by Laszlo Roth
from Franklin Watts
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
First Dictionary and Thesaurus
by Anne Millard
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
First Fun Thesaurus
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Games for Writing
by Peggy Kaye
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book Illustrated Dictionary - 6 volume Set
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$14.40 (1 in stock)
Grammar Land
by M. L. Nesbitt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$9.31
Grammar Songs - Book only
by Kathy Troxel
from Audio Memory
for 3rd-8th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Grammar Songs - DVD
by Kathy Troxel
from Audio Memory
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$15.00
Grammar Songs with CD
Audio Memory CDs
by Kathy Troxel
from Audio Memory
for 3rd-8th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$22.95 $15.00 (3 in stock)
Homonyms Wrap-Up Keys
from Learning Wrap-Ups
for 3rd-6th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
I and You and Don't Forget Who
Words Are CATegorical
by Brian P. Cleary
from First Avenue Editions
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
Illustrated Young Readers' Dictionary
from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Kingfisher First Dictionary
by John Grisewood
from Kingfisher
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Kites Sail High
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
$7.64
Little Grammar People
by Nuri Mass
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$14.99
Many Luscious Lollipops
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
$8.49 $4.40 (1 in stock)
Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary
from DK Children
for 2nd-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
Merriam-Webster's Elementary Dictionary
from Merriam-Webster
for 3rd-5th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$19.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Merry-Go-Round
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
$8.49
Mine, All Mine OSI
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
My Book of Stories
by Deborah Patterson
from British Library
for 3rd-6th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
My First Golden Encyclopedia
by Jane Werner Watson
Fourth Printing from Golden Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
My Second Picture Dictionary
Ginn Elementary English Series
by Reid, Crane, & Jenkins, illustrated by Tom Cooke and Bea Holmes
from Ginn and Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
My World of Color
by Magaret Wise Brown
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Organizing Thinking Book 1: Graphic Organizers
by Howard Black, Sandra Parks
from Critical Thinking Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Old Edition Logic (Location: ZCLE-LOG)
$13.20 (1 in stock)
Picture Encyclopedia of the World for Children
by Brian Williams and Lyn Williamson
from Kingfisher
for 1st-4th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Primary Language Lessons (Lingua Mater)
by Emma Serl
Updated from Hillside Education
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Charlotte Mason Language Arts (Location: GRA-CM)
$8.80 (1 in stock)
Proverbial Mouse
by Moira Miller
First Edition from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Punching the Clock
by Marvin Terban, illustrated by Tom Huffman
from Clarion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Random House Children's Encyclopedia
by Dorling Kindersley Ltd
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Rex Barks: Diagramming Sentences Made Easy
by Phyllis Davenport
from Paper Tiger
for 3rd-6th grade
in Miscellaneous Grammar Curriculum (Location: GRA-MISC)
$14.40 (2 in stock)
Richard Scarry's ABC Word Book
by Richard Scarry
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
Right Word
by Jen Bryant
from Eerdmans
for 1st-4th grade
2015 Caldecott Honor Book, 2015 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.14
Scholastic Children's Dictionary
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-5th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Scholastic Children's Dictionary
by Scholastic Inc.
Revised from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Scholastic Children's Thesaurus
by John Bollard
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Thesauruses (Location: REF-THES)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Scholastic First Dictionary
from Scholastic Reference
for 1st-4th grade
in Dictionaries (Location: REF-DIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Sentence Skills Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 3rd-5th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk
Words Are CATegorical
by Brian P. Cleary
from Millbrook Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp
Words Are CATegorical
by Brian P. Cleary
from Millbrook Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
Smithsonian Knowledge Encyclopedia
from DK Children
for 3rd-8th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Spelling Dictionary for Writers Book 2
by Gregory Hurray
from Educators Publishing Service
for 3rd-4th grade
in EPS Spelling (Location: SPE-EPS)
$17.09
Synonymns Wrap-Up Keys
from Learning Wrap-Ups
for 3rd-6th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
Up, Up and Away
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Children's Encyclopedia
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Jane Elliott & Colin King
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Children's Encyclopedia
by Felicity Brooks, Anna Claybourne, eds.
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Internet-Linked Children's Encyclopedia
by Felicity Brooks, Anna Claybourne, eds.
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
Vocabulary Intro Wrap-Up Keys
from Learning Wrap-Ups
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vocabulary Resources (Location: REF-VOC)
Way to Write for Children
by Joan Aiken
Revised from St. Martin's Griffin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Clearance: English & Language Arts (Location: ZCLE-LAN)
Word Skills Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 3rd-5th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
Word Wizard's Book of Adverbs
by Robin Johnson
from Crabtree Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Word Wizard's Book of Nouns
by Robin Johnson
from Crabtree Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Word Wizard's Book of Pronouns
by Robin Johnson
from Crabtree Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Word Wizard's Book of Verbs
by Robin Johnson
from Crabtree Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Word Write Now
by Loranna Schwacofer
3rd edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for Kindergarten-12th grade
in IEW Resources (Location: WRI-IEWRES)
$35.00
Write Book for Christian Families
by Robert Allen
from Bob Jones University Press
for 1st-12th grades
in Clearance: English & Language Arts (Location: ZCLE-LAN)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Writer's Toolbox
by Nancy Loewen; illustrated by Christopher Lyles, Dawn Beacon, and Todd Ouren
from Picture Window Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Writing Reference (Location: REF-WRI)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Writing Strands - Teaching Companion
Writing Strands
by Dave Marks
from Master Books
Writing Curriculum for Preschool-12th grade
in Writing Strands (Location: WRI-WS)
$8.79 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Writing Strands: Evaluating Writing
Writing Strands
by Dave Marks
from National Writing Institute
Writing Curriculum for Preschool-12th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Young Students Learning Library - 23 Volume Set
from Newfield Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Encyclopedias (Location: REF-ENC)
$60.00 (1 in stock)