AN OUTLINE OF THE NEED FOR AND USES OF LEXICOGRAPHY AND A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, PART 1, WERE COMBINED IN THIS CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR NINTH-GRADE STUDENTS. THE FIRST SECTION, THE OUTLINE ON LEXICOGRAPHY, GAVE A BRIEF HISTORY OF DICTIONARY COMPILATION AND DESCRIBED THE NEED FOR DICTIONARIES AND THEIR USES. WAYS WERE SUGGESTED FOR STUDENTS TO COMPILE THEIR OWN WORD-NOTEBOOKS OR ABBREVIATED DICTIONARY LISTS SO THAT THEY MIGHT UNDERSTAND THE DIFFICULTY AND SKILLS REQUIRED FOR DEFINING NEW TERMS, EXPANDING OR LIMITING DEFINITIONS TO MEET CHANGING USAGES, AND ANALYZING PATTERNS OF DEFINITION. THE GUIDE'S SECOND SECTION COMMENTED ON THE HISTORY AND CHANGES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. EXAMPLES FROM WRITINGS OF GOEFFREY CHAUCER, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, AND BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WERE GIVEN. THE EARLY MODERN ENGLISH OF SHAKESPEARE EXEMPLIFIED IN "THE MERCHANT OF VENICE" WAS COMPARED TO AND CONTRASTED WITH TODAY'S MODERN ENGLISH, COMPARING VOCABULARY, WORD LOSSES, SHIFTS IN MEANING, AND GRAMMAR FORMS. SHAKESPEAREAN ENGLISH WAS CHOSEN FOR STUDY BECAUSE OF SHAKESPEARE'S WIDESPREAD AND ENDURING POPULARITY, THE COMPARATIVE EASE OF READING BY A MODERN AUDIENCE, AND THE STANDARDIZATION IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE THAT OCCURRED IN LONDON IN THE EARLY 17TH CENTURY. VARIOUS STUDENT EXERCISES THAT COMBINE LEXICOGRAPHY WITH STUDIES OF LITERATURE AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE WERE SUGGESTED THROUGHOUT THE GUIDE. PART 2 IS ED 010 824. RELATED REPORTS ARE ED 010 129 THROUGH ED 010 160 AND ED 010 803 THROUGH ED 010 832. (PM)