A Decade-Long Tradition Combines Education, Excitement, and Community Impact

Photo: 3rd Graders at Woodland Meadows Receive Dictionaries. Photo by Sue Kelch

By Sue Kelch

For over a decade now, the Saline Kiwanis Club has been delivering dictionaries to every 3^rd grader in Saline. 

Dubbed “The Dictionary Project,” the Saline Kiwanis handed out books to St. Andrew Catholic Church, Washtenaw Christian Academy, and the Saline Elementary Schools of Harvest, Pleasant Ridge, and Woodland Meadows this November.  If there’s a 3^rd grader in the Saline area who is going to school, Kiwanis would like to put a dictionary in their hands.

The dictionary is made in the U.S.A. by “The Dictionary Project” at Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina.  But don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s more than just a dictionary.  It also includes The Constitution, a short biography of each President of the United States, basic information on each state of the union, and the Periodic Table of Elements – to name only a few.

Phil Haigh and his wife Jenny, both Kiwanis members, recently visited Harvest Elementary.  Phil talks about the event and recalls, “The kids are excited, they’ve been told that they’ll each get a dictionary.  Many have an older sibling that received one a few years ago, and now they’re looking forward to getting their own.  So, you walk in and they’re chattering away and excited and ready to get their dictionary.”

Given that many children now use iPads, you may think that this program could be phased out.  Phil recalls, “A couple of years ago, we started feeling that maybe this was a bit outdated, giving a child a book.  We actually polled all of the 3rd-grade teachers, and they came back and said, ‘No, no, we love the fact that they’re getting a book.  It’s a great learning tool, we use it in the classroom.  We think it’s really good.  It basically starts the kids researching, and books feel very, very useful.’ ”

Several teachers, including Karen Sjogren, Department Chair at Woodland Meadows, commented on the project.  “The kids absolutely love the dictionaries. We usually do a big thank you, and I tell the volunteers how excited the kids are each year. It has always been a wonderful treat for our 3^rd graders.”

Tracey Williamson, a teacher for over 24 years and a 3rd-grade teacher at Woodland Meadows, adds, “The students love getting their very own dictionaries. They are filled with so many wonderful things in addition to words/definitions (i.e., states/capitals, braille, and American Sign Language alphabets). When we do grammar boot camp, students are able to utilize their very own dictionary to look up definitions of words. These are gifts that keep giving beyond 3^rd grade. The skill of how to use this type of reference book is so important. Finding words alphabetically, determining which part of language a word is (verb, noun, etc.), and also having the phonetic spelling is helpful in pronunciation of more difficult/unknown words.” 

After listening to everyone’s experiences, I asked if I could join in on the fun.  I was invited to accompany the Kiwanis volunteers at Woodland Meadows, where over 300 dictionaries were delivered to all five 3^rd grade classrooms.  The children were all thrilled, and they immediately began to thumb through the books and talk excitedly with their friends.

While passing out the dictionaries, Kiwanis volunteers are quick to point out that the longest word in the English language is on page 373.  No one even attempts to pronounce the word – it has 1,909 letters, takes up a whole page, and is the term for ‘the formula C1289H2051N343O375S8, a Trypotophan synthestase A protein, an enzyme that has 267 amino acids.’  Maybe it’s me, but I’m guessing there is no synonym for this word?

And finally, did I mention the dictionary includes the words to the Star Spangled Banner?  We found this out when Mrs. Williamson’s class invited us back after we had delivered the books to all of the 3rd-grade classes.  Much to our pleasant surprise, the class began singing the national anthem, located on page 382.  On that note, we can already see the benefits of the Dictionary Project.

The Saline Kiwanis Club is: ‘an organization of Saline area residents and business owners interested in helping children primarily in Saline and also around the world.’  For more information or to join, go to www.kiwanisclubofsaline.com