Over
12,190,911
children have received a dictionary thanks to the generosity of sponsors who have participated in the Dictionary Project. Sponsors provide a dictionary for the children in their community each year, so they can enjoy the benefits of a large vocabulary.
2,488,454
dictionaries were given to students in 2009 as a gift from people who live in their town.
If you would like to start a Dictionary Project Click Here
To find a list of Dictionary Projects in your state, choose from the list below:
The Dictionary Project is working toward the goal of sending dictionaries to every elementary school in the United States. By doing this we hope to have a positive impact on education in this country and empower children to become skillful communicators and resourceful learners. Our country and our world face many challenges, and we need to prepare our young people to be strong, productive citizens who can succeed and grow and solve problems in a rapidly changing world. A pocket dictionary may be a small thing, but it is a powerful tool to help with learning, and when it is a gift from a child’s community, the child learns from it not just the value of school work, but also the example of community service.
In order to help our generous sponsors spread the benefits of The Dictionary Project throughout their communities and eventually cover the whole nation, we have made some improvements to our website. The Participation Maps pages now list not just the schools our sponsors have covered, but all of the public schools in each state. The list is colorcoded to show which schools have a current sponsor, a past sponsor but not yet current one, or no sponsor at all. Donors who are able to expand their projects or new prospective donors can reference these lists to see where their help may be needed. The schools are organized by school district, so sponsors would simply need to find out which school districts are in their area and then start searching the list. It is our hope that this feature will be useful and will inspire people to help us ‘fill in the gaps’!
is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. The goal of this program is to assist all students in completing the school year as good writers, active readers and creative thinkers by providing students with their own personal dictionary. The dictionaries are a gift to each student to use at school and at home for years to come. The Dictionary Project gives 95 cents of every dollar donated toward the purchase of dictionaries.
Reading is the most important skill of all. It is the starting point for all the economic and social opportunities this world has to offer. Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn. Every year we watch The Dictionary Project grow by expanding our pool of sponsors, so more children can enjoy the benefits of owning their own personal dictionary.
Our sponsors have made tireless efforts to improve literacy and the quality of life in their communities. These volunteers are the breath of life of The Dictionary Project. Through The Dictionary Project, people feel empowered to effect change and improve education so that the children will grow up better prepared to compete in the global economy.
Why We Work in South Carolina
We wanted to understand why The Dictionary Project, which has been well received in most states, was virtually ignored in South Carolina for years. Every third-grade student in South Carolina public schools has received a dictionary for the past eight years, thanks in part to donations from people all over the country and Rotary Clubs in Districts 7770 and 7750. Unfortunately, we have not found local sponsors in much of the state. We believe that these pictures of schools in South Carolina clearly demonstrate that the people responsible for making education policy and funding decisions in this state do not understand the value of education, or grasp that it is an integral part of a prosperous economy.
Corridor of Shame ( http://www.dictionaryproject.org/corridor_of_shame.asp )
Recently the former superintendent of Charleston County schools had this to say about the school district:
http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jun/14/pointed_words_good_feelings/ (click on link to open)
It wasn't until 1992 that standardized tests were mandated by the state of South Carolina and administered to the students to evaluate the level of education each child received in school. The test scores validated the SAT scores already on record that ranked South Carolina 50th in the nation. SAT scores in South Carolina are rising more quickly than those of the nation as a whole, but are still well below the national average. South Carolina average scores in 2007 were 488 Critical Reading , 496 Mathematics, and 475 Writing; United States average scores in 2007 were 502 Critical Reading , 515 Mathematics, and 494 Writing. (The SAT scores on a 200-800 point scale in each subject area.) The percentage of students meeting state standards in Language Arts on the 2007 Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT) is over 85% for third graders, but falls for higher grades, to just 71% of eighth graders who meet standards. PACT scores also show significant racial disparities: While 67% of white students score proficient or advanced in Language Arts, only 38% of African-American students attain such scores. High school graduation rates, depending on the methodology used to compute them, show that somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of entering ninth graders will fail to graduate within four years. This rate is among the worst in the nation. Overall graduation rates reported by the South Carolina Department of Education have fallen every year since 2003.
(Statistics are available on the South Carolina Department of Education website, www.ed.sc.gov . Other graduation-rate studies are at http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.com/shr2004/components/hsgrad.html and http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo_t2.htm .)
Here is a collection of Thank You notes that we receive from children across the country. |
Letters from students at Valley School, Jefferson, Maryland
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for these incredible, spectacular dictionaries. My mom and I love to play a game. You close your eyes, flip to a page, open your eyes, say that word, then the other person has to say the definition. The most fun parts are the states, countries and the continents. I have learned so much from your dictionaries.
Your new and improved learner,
Todd
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for the dictionary, it helps me with many words. My favorite part is the weights and measures. The dictionary helps me with exciting words like gelatin. Dictionaries help make good readers. Thank you for the dictionaries.
Sincerely,
Wynnanne
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am thankful for my dictionary because the dictionary helps me with my spelling homework. I plan to use my dictionary to guide me through my homework and my classwork. Thank you for the wonderful dictionary.
Sincerely,
Austin
Dear Dictionary Project Sponsors,
Thank you for the dictionaries you provide. I will keep it in my book bag and use it forever. First, it will help my little brother, Nick, learn how to talk. Second, it will boost me up in spelling. Third, there are cool facts in the back, so I can learn a lot. Lastly, I love to talk to other people. Your dictionary will help me use new and interesting words. Thanks again!
Your friend, Maggie
Dear Ms. French,
Thank you for the dictionary. It helps me with my writing because I'm in the fourth grade and some of these words are hard. I like writing because I always love to write some books of my own. I like math because I like challenge and I love learning new things like multiplication, geometry and algebra. I'm in the gifted program for reading. The gifted program is when people are working more than they're supposed to. I like this dictionary. It tells me new words and has an atlas in it, too. That's cool! Thank you for the dictionary. It really helps.
Sincerely,
Trayna
Dear Dictionary Project,
Thanks for donating the dictionary. Your so very kind for giving us that. I sure did need it. Anyway I can have my own to write extra stories at home. I can learn new words. You are very nice and thoughtful. I get to learn what words mean and how you say them! Your friend, Aubrey
Dear Ms. Mary French,
Thanks for the dictionary it helps everybody spell words. The dictionary well help me on my PASS test if I don't know how to spell. We will need it in fourth grade if the teacher doesn't have one. I will need it at home too. I will like to thank you for letting everybody have one.
Love,
Chrisjen
Dear Ms. Mary French,
Thank you so much for the dictionary. I will use it every day at home and in class. It was such a great opportunity for you to give me something I was craving for. Once again I wanna thank you.
Yours truly,
Karisma
Spartanburg, SC
Dear Ms. Mary French
My name is Alex. I am 9 years old. I go to Fairforest Elementary school. I'll use this important tool in many ways. I will use this tool for spelling words, find states, and for learning sign language. It can give us definitions to words we never heard of. It tells if a word is a verb, noun, or an adjective. I feel cheerful that I finally have a dictionary. In fact, I always wanted one.
Sincerely,
Alex
Spartanburg, SC
Letters from San Jose, Florida
Dear San Jose Rotary Club,
Thank you for the dictionaries. Now I can say a word my brother can't and this will help me spell to be smarter than my brother.
Sincerely,
Rafae
To whom it may concern,
my name is Tre from Kelley Elementary, OK. My school received the free dictionaries from you. I circled some of the words in the dictionaries so I can find the words faster and remember some of the words I like thank you for the dictionaries. I like the dictionaries. P.S. Knowledge is power.
Sincerely,
Tre
To whom it may concern,
My name is Vinny from Kelley Elementary in Moore, OK. My school received the free dictionaries from you. I wanted to thank you for your kind and generous donation. I used the dictionary 23 times because my brothers and sisters say words they don't know. So I get the dictionary and I look the word up they said and I tell the meaning when I find it.
Sincerely,
Vinny
Letters from T. Shelby's Class, ACECC, Kansas City, MO To the Dictionary Project Kansas City, Thank you for the Dictionary, I am 8 years old. I am learning what Respect means, what compound words are, and the Dictionary helps me with my spelling words. I am learning what words means. My brain is getting better with my Dictionary. Now I know how to use my Dictionary because my Nana help's me. The more you practice, more you learn. I really thank you for my Dictionary; I will use it a lot.
Sincerely,
Sylvester
Dear Dictionary,
How are you doing? I am happy that you gave me my dictionary. I know a lot of words now. I am spelling words now. I can help my teacher now. Thank you for giving me a dictionary. I can tell people about maps of the world. I can tell them about new words. I can tell them about plants. I can tell them about the American flag.
I can do a lot of thing now. I can spell much better. My teacher all ways say spell words. I can learn new words. I can tell my friends at my camp new words. I can tell my brother new words. Thank you for giving me a dictionary.
Your Friend,
Davon
Dear Dictionary Project,
Thank you for giving us free dictionaries. They are good for research. They help me with my spelling homework. They help me find definitions.
Dictionaries are so helpful. Because of dictionaries I get good grades on my homework. Because of dictionaries I am very smart. Dictionaries help me so much.
Sincerely,
Ezra
Dear Dictionary Project,
Thank you for the dictionaries. We like your dictionaries that you give us. We need dictionaries and if didn't have dictionaries we would not know new words and don't on read and spell. And again Thank you for the dictionaries.
Sincerly,
Monon
Dear Mr. Mike and Mr. Tommy by Dondre
Thank you for the our dictionary this is fun to read. I love it so much that I wouldn't give it ayway. This my favorite book I promise I will keep it safe so when I grow up I will learn something And after my football game I will read it.
Moore Public Schools
Oklahoma City, OK
Dear Ms. Bourget-Fenimore
I like my dictionary because it helps me read better. Madison I like my dictionary because.. It is very helpful to me and my mom dad mimi papaw and granny thank you so much for the dictionary. From Tristen
I like my dictionary because... I can take it on a trip and it is very helpful. And I can share it with my brother. Aryana I like my dictionary because they help me know a word that I might not know. Michelle I like my dictionary because it helps me read harder books. Eli |
