Samuel Johnson and Language Concepts

Nick prepares and delivers a report on the history of dictionaries in Mrs. Granger's class. Despite his nervousness, he manages to engage the class and Mrs. Granger with his presentation. Mrs. Granger explains how words get their meanings, which inspires Nick to invent a new word, 'frindle', for a pen. He starts a plan to make 'frindle' a widely accepted term, involving his friends in the process.

What was Nick feeling as he prepared for his report?

• Confident

• Indifferent

• Excited

• Nervous

Who was Samuel Johnson?

• A scientist

• A school teacher

• A dictionary compiler

• A famous playwright

What was unique about Samuel Johnson's dictionary?

• It was written in Latin

• It was only for children

• It contained over 43,000 words

• It was the first dictionary ever

Why did Mrs. Granger stop Nick from reading the dictionary?

• She thought it was too long

• She wanted the class to read it at home

• She didn't like dictionaries

• She disagreed with the content

According to Mrs. Granger, who decides the meaning of words?

• The teachers

• The dictionary authors

• The government

• The people using the language

What childhood memory inspired Nick's big idea?

• Playing with a toy

• Listening to music tapes

• Drawing pictures

• Reading a book

What new word did Nick introduce?

• Shen

• Hund

• Gua Gua

• Frindle