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Schools

Dictionary Day for Third-Graders in Forsyth County

Third graders throughout Forsyth County know exactly where to turn for learning an unfamiliar word when their teacher says, "Go look it up in the dictionary."

It's hard to find a more appreciative group of people than the third-graders of Forsyth County. All 3,000 third-graders in Forsyth County schools are receiving their own personal dictionaries through the Dictionary Project.

The delivery, sponsored by the rotary clubs in Forsyth County has brought a sense of pride and excitement to eager and naturally curious third-graders. Students carefully turned the pages, examining their dictionaries and using their best penmanship to write their names on the inside of the cover.   

Superintendent, Dr. L.C. Buster Evans, brought the program to the school system to foster the children's interest and abilities in reading. Third grade is a crucial time when children are developing a strong foundation for continuing to read in order to learn.

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The Dictionary Program is sponsored through all five rotary clubs in Forsyth County. Rotary members passed out the dictionaries to the children and talked to them about the valuable role of the dictionary in reading and learning new words. "The dictionaries are given to the third-graders because from grades one through three, the children are learning to read and from grade three and on they are reading to learn, so this is the prime time for them to be interested in using a dictionary," explains Ted Richardson from the Rotary Club of South Forsyth.

"College enrollment is predicted by third grade reading levels, so the dictionary project gives students a great basis on which to increase their knowledge and love of learning for the college years," adds Richardson. 

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The dictionary project is in its fifth year in Forsyth County and this year's project is valued at $4,500. A small number of Spanish dictionaries are also given to students, however, next year's project will supply only English dictionaries as English is the anticipated language.  

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