Posted by Lauren Grossberg on Tue, Mar 02, 2010
Shahi visual dictionary is a great tool to use when teaching special education students, ESL students and struggling language learners.
Since so many students are visual learners, this tool is perfect for them. Shahi is a visual dictionary that combines the information from Wiktionary with images from Flickr, Google and Yahoo. You can choose which one of these sites you see results from. This is an interesting and unique way for students to see a new representation of a word.
This site offers a great amount of definitions which are categorized into nouns and verbs. The pictures that accompany the words are helpful in providing meaning to the words. If you roll your mouse over an image, it is enlarged for better viewing. If you click on the photo, you will be redirected to the owner of the picture's site. Words or phrases that are not recognized by the dictionary section are often recognized by the photo section.
This tool is also useful for teaching the parts of speech. Pictures allow students to see the verb used as an action. Teachers can create games by showing words and have students guess the part of speech by looking at the picture.
Teachers have praised this tool. They use it with students when they want them to visualize definitions and concepts. It is great for having group discussions and lessons. Sometimes pictures that may seem odd come up in the results. This is a great way for teachers and students to discuss why this may have appeared as a definition.
For special education students or children who prefer to learn by visuals, Shahi is a great learning tool.
Free Teacher Resources for Special Education