The Basic Newbury House Dictionary of American English

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT DICTIONARY FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS
Review: As a middle school teacher of both English language learners (ELLs) and English only students, this is one of the main dictionaries in my classroom. The other dictionary my students use is the "Newbury House Dictionary of American English" (blue-green cover). ELLs find the definitions fairly straight-forward and easy to understand. This is also a GREAT dictionary for any 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade student. As a quick reference, I use it all the time. The text size is clear and comfortable to read. Often, the tiny lettering of other dictionaries are intimidating enough to turn-off most adults. This is a book my students really can and are willing to use! There is a wonderful'picture-dictionary' section that is topical. The only negative comment I have is that some definitions seem a bit too simplified. However, I'd certainly trade "over-simplification" for a definition that requires my students to look up several more words. Both dictionaries are GREAT companions!