What does reindeer mean?
Word: Reindeer
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Reindeer means a large deer with big antlers that lives in the cold far north of Europe, Asia and North America.
How do you spell reindeer?
Syllables: rein - deer
Tricky part: The 'ay' sound at the start is spelt ei, not ai or ay. Students who write it by sound put raindeer.
Watch out for: raindeer, reyndeer
Memory tip: Imagine a reindeer whose two antlers are the e and the i: they always grow in that order, e first.
Reindeer in a sentence
Example 1: A herd of reindeer crossed the snowy valley.
Example 2: In the picture book, a reindeer pulls a sleigh full of presents.
Example 3: Reindeer dig through the snow with their hooves to find food.
Fun Fact
In North America wild reindeer are usually called caribou.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) reindeer : reindeer
b) mouse : mice
c) sheep : sheep
d) goose : geeses
Show answer
d) goose : geeses. The plural of goose is geese, with no -s added.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
reind___
a) eer
b) ere
c) eir
d) ear
Show answer
a) eer. The end of the word is spelt like the animal deer, with ee.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
nreedrie
a) a large deer with big antlers that lives in cold northern lands
b) a big animal with a hump that lives in deserts
c) a large black and white bear from the bamboo forests of China
d) a small animal with a bushy tail that lives in trees
Show answer
a) a large deer with big antlers that lives in cold northern lands. Nreedrie rearranges to reindeer; the other meanings belong to a panda, a squirrel and a camel.
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. Only male reindeer grow antlers. 2. Reindeer live in cold northern lands such as Norway and Finland. 3. Reindeer are good swimmers.
a) only 1
b) both 1 and 2
c) all three are true
d) both 2 and 3
Show answer
d) both 2 and 3. Female reindeer grow antlers too, so statement 1 is false.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which people of northern Scandinavia are known for herding reindeer?
a) the Sami
b) the Maasai
c) the Maori
d) the Inca
Show answer
a) the Sami
2. What do reindeer mostly eat in winter?
a) lichen
b) bamboo
c) fish
d) insects
Show answer
a) lichen
