Gdi-nweninaa is a collection of Ojibwe and Odawa words organized and presented by themes. This type of organization was recommended to Shirley by Aboriginal language students and teachers who wanted an easier way to look up and learn the words in Nishnaabemwin. The themes are grouped into five chapters: names of birds, fish, insects, farm animals, forest animals, herbs, trees, plants and flowers; Time and includes measurement of time; Relatives, along with human anatomy, tasks, mental thoughts, illnesses; aspects of Community such as people, geography, holidays, chores, occupations and public buildings; and recreational activities such as games (toys and sports), camping, musical instruments (traditional and contemporary), travel. The majority of the entries in the Gdi-nweninaa are nouns. Both animate and inanimate nouns are listed and each entry is extended to show the prefixes and suffixes that are used to create the possessive, plural, locative, pejorative, dubitive and preterit forms of the words. Some verbs are also listed.
