The Dictionary Project; Engaging Third Graders in Northwest Philly

On a chilly late fall morning, Henry H. Houston Elementary School Principal Leroy Hall leads a cheerful “ABC Song” with third grade students who were excitingly waving dictionaries in the air.

“A B C D E F G… now I know my…” Accompanying Hall in the school’s library were teachers and a half dozen Chestnut Hill Rotary volunteers.

For more than a decade, Chestnut Hill Rotary volunteers raised funds, purchased dictionaries—totaling now more than 3,400—and donated to third grade students in public schools in Northwest Philadelphia.

However, the books are not merely just dropped off. Rotary volunteers coordinate the distribution with school teachers and principals in advance and then spend time interacting with the students to get them excited about using the books and learning new facts. And, for many of the students, it is the first book that they can call their own.  Read more about this project.

This video describes the impact of the project on their students and classroom learning both short and long-term from the educators' perspective