50 Little Things #30--Job Security

I had seventh grade students using the dictionary (a curriculum requirement) to look up a few homophone pairs.  The dictionaries in my classroom have the little divots in the pages for each letter of the alphabet; put your finger in the "d" notch to find "d" words, etc. 

You can see the half-moon notches on the right edge.

"Mrs. Teacher!?!?" one student exclaimed.  "This dictionary doesn't have a "w" notch."
I gave a puzzled look and responded, "Yes . . . ?"
"Well, how am I supposed to find the word 'won'?"

Job security.