Who knew third-graders would be excited about dictionaries?
Did you know third graders today are thrilled to get a dictionary? In 2026? When they have Chromebooks, movies, videos…images that speak and move. But we have proof. Eight year old third graders levitate with excitement when they are handed their own dictionary.
The test drive for The Dictionary Project began in the spring of 2025. Fitchburg Verona Horizons Rotarian Steve First asked his daughter, whose child was in third grade, if she thought the students would like dictionaries. She enthusiastically said, “YES.” Steve learned about The Dictionary Project (The Dictionary Project The Dictionary Project Promoting Literacy with Free Dictionaries.)from then club President Lynn Perez-Hewitt whose former club in Colorado had donated dictionaries to local third graders.
How important are dictionaries in third grade? If a child cannot read at grade level in third grade, they are FOUR TIMES more likely to drop out of high school. 85% of students in the juveniles in the court system struggle with reading. Dollars cannot adequately represent the value these dictionaries bring to students as they build reading, writing, and research skills.
A student dictionary purchased through The Dictionary Project is $4.00.
As of June 2024, the daily cost per juvenile for incarceration is $1268.00 or 317 dictionaries.
Steve ordered twenty dictionaries from The Dictionary Project and paid for them himself. When he delivered them in person their reactions astonished him. Following his report to the club, two members offered to write checks on the spot. There were three more classes of third graders in that same school whose teachers ALL wanted dictionaries for their students, too. Sixty more dictionaries were ordered. For the return visit two more club members joined Steve to deliver the dictionaries and saw firsthand how excited students were to hold their very own dictionary.
Steve’s daughter lives in Monona. We are the Rotary Club of Fitchburg Verona Horizons. So, Steve and Lynn looked closer to home to Forest Edge Elementary serving Fitchburg students. Three classes. Sixty books. And there are four more Fitchburg elementary schools in the queue plus schools in Verona.
By putting a dictionary into every child’s hand, Rotarians help inspire confidence and a lifelong love of learning. For just $4 per child.