3.2.C*

Alphabetical Order

Putting words in alphabetical order is ordering them according to the order of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Alphabetizing by First Letters

When all the words that you are alphabetizing begin with different letters, order them by their first letters.

rainbow football sunshine classroom

Alphabetizing by Second Letters

When all or some of a group of words that you are alphabetizing begin with the same letter, order those words by their second letters.

giggle ground garden general

Alphabetizing by Third Letters

When all or some of a group of words that you are alphabetizing begin with the same two letters, order those words by their third letters.

sugary survive suddenly summary

Knowing how to alphabetize words is important. Many things are organized in alphabetical order to make them easy to find. For instance, names may be in alphabetical order on lists. Cities and states may be listed in alphabetical order. And words in print dictionaries and glossaries are listed in alphabetical order.

Guide Words: Guide words are pairs of words at the tops of dictionary pages. These words are the first and last words defined on the page. Since all the words in dictionaries are in alphabetical order, someone searching for a word will know what page to find it by looking at the guide words.

ceiling – central

Which word will be found on a page with these guide words?

certain cellar

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

Go to the next page to practice alphabetizing words.

Alphabetical Order

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS): 3.2.C*

alphabetize a series of words to the third letter; and

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