dictionary project kidsSince 2003, The Midlothian Rotary Club has annually supported The Dictionary Project with the distribution of dictionaries to third graders in the Chesterfield, VA community.

The Dictionary Project began in 1992 in Savannah, Georgia with a goal to assist all students in becoming good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary.  The dictionaries help put words into the hands of children, so that they can learn to express their thoughts and better understand each other, and the world in which we live. By using the dictionary they receive students are then given the opportunity to explain to the Midlothian Rotary Club members what a dictionary means to them; including finding definitions, learning how to pronounce words, and learning how to spell words. Dictionaries make students self-reliant. They are an essential tool for a quality education. A child cannot do his or her best work without a dictionary.

To conclude our dictionary presentation with the students, the students have fun looking up words they are currently working on in their classrooms. Also, each dictionary has a Four Way Test logo pasted inside. The club’s Rotarians explain the meaning of the Four Way Test to the students, and then the students and Rotarians reads aloud together to end the presentation.

To learn more about The Dictionary Project, please visit their website.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can help support our efforts in and around Chesterfield, VA, please contact us.