Most students have access to a dictionary, thesaurus and spellcheck feature on their computers and on line. A dictionary or thesaurus in actual book form will load up their backpacks and that's pretty much all they'll do. But if you're not sure about how often your child is accessing a computer, talk to the teacher and then decide. If you do eventually need to buy a dictionary, there's sure to be a sale on since eventually they'll likely be phased out like the penny.