| OCTOBER 2009 -- On Friday, Oct. 1, members of the Redding Grange handed out dictionaries to third graders at Redding Elementary School as part of its support for The Dictionary Project, a component of the Word for Thirds program.
The Grange, headquartered in Washington, D.C., partnered with The Dictionary Project, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, in 2002. The goal of the program is to assist third grade students to complete the school year as good writers, active readers and creative thinkers by providing them with their own personal dictionaries.
Since the project's inception, more than 300,000 volunteers in the Grange's network, America's oldest rural and agriculture organization, have presented third grade students across the nation with more than 1.8 million dictionaries.
"A dictionary is one of the most powerful reference tools young children will be introduced to during their schooling years," a press release said. "Its usefulness goes beyond just providing correct spellings, pronunciations, and definitions. It is also a companion for solving problems that arise as children develop their reading, writing, and creative thinking abilities."
"It is amazing to see the smiles on children's faces when they are presented with their own personal dictionaries," the release said. "It gives them a sense of pride when they have a dictionary to look up words on their own. It promotes learning and helps mold their self-confidence and independence."
To learn more about the Grange's Word for Thirds program, visit nationalgrange.org or call 1-888-4-GRANGE.
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