OUR HOW:
The Dictionary Project helps close that gap in vocabulary size by providing picture dictionaries to second graders in high-poverty schools. This dictionary is filled with the very words they need. Also, to make the dictionary even more effective, we give each second-grade teacher The Dictionary Toolkit with lessons, assignments, and activities to activate and review the new words learned in their Illustrated Dictionary of Everyday Things. If children learn the labels in this book, they will have a storehouse of words to use in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. They will do better in school and have brighter futures. These children desperately need our help.
Helping disadvantaged children is the reason I wrote this book!
Janet Caruthers, Ed. S.
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Soroptimist International of Mid-Atlantic Online
Kiwanis International
General Federation of Women’s Clubs
Other ways your members can help the children
Chart Showing the Correlation Between Children Living in Poverty and Their Reading Levels.
OUR WHY:
Studies have shown that vocabulary size is one of the strongest predictors of academic success.1
THE PROBLEM:
Children brought up in homes at the poverty level or below enter school with weaker vocabularies than their more affluent classmates. This is because they have heard fewer words in the home. They have not been read to regularly, and have not engaged in quality conversations with their family members. A landmark study found that by the time they enter kindergarten, they often have less than half the vocabulary size of their more affluent classmates.2
Why is this a problem? This is a HUGE problem because we must know the meaning of at least 95% of the words in any passage to understand it. So, even when these children work hard to learn how to decode (sound out) words, they may not be able to understand what they’re reading. Studies have also shown that the more words we know, the faster we can learn other words… actually accelerates learning.3 If you look below, you’ll find a chart with data that I compiled using schools in my district showing how economic status correlates with reading scores.
The only way to fill in the gap between the words children SHOULD know, and the words they actually DO know is to focus on teaching the FOUNDATIONAL words they should have learned at home. These are the words in children’s reading books and reading assessments. These are the words children need to know to talk about or write about their everyday experiences in a more precise and confident manner. These are the FOUNDATIONAL words included in The Illustrated Dictionary of Everyday Things.
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The Dictionary Project
A simple, powerful way for service clubs to give every child the words they need to thrive academically - and unlock opportunities for life.
The Illustrated Dictionary of Everyday Things
The Dictionary Toolkit
The Illustrated Dictionary of Everyday Things was written by a teacher at a Title One school who started a list of common, everyday words that her students (from grades 2 - 5) didn’t know, but should have. That list became this book. If students learn the labels in this book, they will have a STOREHOUSE of words to draw from when reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These are the words children need to know! The names of REAL things in their everyday lives!
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Click below to find out how your club can LAUNCH A DICTIONARY PROJECT in your area schools
