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| Around The Grange |
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Dictionary donations eagerly received by Putnam third-graders |
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By John Penney, Norwich Bulletin (2-28-08) |
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FEBRUARY 28, 2008 --
They clapped, they cheered, they oohed and aahed.
Third-grade students at Putnam Elementary School Wednesday showed a level of enthusiasm usually reserved for a snow day, alternately fidgeting behind knee-high desks or quietly craning their necks to peer over the shoulders of a classmate.
And all for dictionaries.
The Senexet Grange in Woodstock handed out more than 230 dictionaries to third-grade classes across the region Wednesday, part of the national Dictionary Project designed to promote active writing and creative thinking skills among third-graders.
"I like this," said Charles Barker, 8, of Putnam, wearing his Cub Scout uniform. "I read a lot of nonfiction, so this will help. Plus, my brother ripped the pages from my dictionary."
Grange member Joan Perry bantered with students while bright yellow books were transported from boxes into little hands. Perry, along with three other Grange members were scheduled to visit three other local elementary schools Wednesday.
"These dictionaries aren't just to look up words," Perry said. "They've got maps, measurements and numerals."
The maps were a big hit in Florence Azzinaro's class, with children rifling back and forth through pages after carefully printing their names inside. Azzinaro said third grade is an important educational threshold for students, a time when conceptual thinking blooms.
"Dictionaries are a big help when students are stuck on words or when pronunciation is a problem," Azzinaro said. "At this point, the children are learning new words and concepts -- they're reading to learn, not learning to read."
Amanda Janos, 8, was excited to receive her dictionary.
"It's really cool," Janos said. "I'm surprised we got new ones. This will be helpful when I need to look up words."
Putnam Elementary School Principal Georgeann Farrah said the books donated Wednesday normally would have to be requested through the Board of Education, meaning another increase in a budget line item.
"This way, the students have ownership," Farrah said. "They can highlight in them and write in them. Just that act of ownership makes using the book more meaningful."
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