Excited, smiling faces of third graders in all eight Habersham County Public Schools were the norm during October and November when members of Volunteers For Literacy (VFL) visited every third grade class and handed out dictionaries to each student.
“Thank you so much! I’ve been wanting one of these but my mom couldn’t afford it,” was one of the many appreciative comments made by the children.
Knowing that children who are not reading on the third grade level by the third grade are more likely to drop out of school is a primary factor in the Volunteers For Literacy (VFL) Dictionary Project.
“We know that there a connection between the success of students and the number of words that they have at their disposal,” said Helen O’Brien Media Specialist at Level Grove Elementary School. “We hope that this project helps students understand that words can belong to them, that words can be powerful, and that learning new words is a life-long project.”
“We want to make sure that all students have the tools they need to succeed,” added Phylecia Wilson, Coordinator for Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County. “These dictionaries will be valuable as they transition from learning to read to reading to learn.”
The Dictionary Project is an international program aimed at helping students become good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionaries. This year VFL Habersham distributed 550 dictionaries to third grade students and teachers in Habersham County’s eight public elementary schools. Through the years, more than 5,000 dictionaries have been given to students in Habersham County. Since the national program was established in 1995, more than 26 million children have received a dictionary.
“Every year it’s fun to see how excited the children are to receive their very own dictionary. We are grateful that VFL is committed to this project,” O’Brien said.
To view more pictures of this year’s event visit Volunteers for Literacy online at www.facebook.com/VFLhabersham.
