Chichester Grange presents dictionaries

Chichester Grangers Hannah West and Carolee Davison have been very busy lately, presenting dictionaries to third graders in four local schools. The Granges in New Hampshire are proud to be part of The Dictionary Project, a nationwide program based in Charleston, South Carolina, whose goal is to present a personal dictionary to each third grade student in the United States. The New Hampshire Granges have covered two-thirds of the third graders in the state for a number of years, and this year in special recognition of their efforts The Dictionary Project is donating enough dictionaries to provide for the remaining students, so that every third grader in the state will have a dictionary.

Chichester Grange with financial help from local sponsors has been part of The Dictionary Project for several years. In Chichester the dictionaries are paid for by the Ladies Benevolent Society. Eames Insurance and Real Estate Agency sponsors Epsom`s third graders. The Pittsfield dictionaries are bought by Northway Bank. Barnstead is sponsored by the Meredith Village Savings Bank, which buys dictionaries for the third graders in all the towns where their banks are located.

The sturdy paperback dictionaries are the property of the student, not the school, and can be used in school or at home for many years. The easy to read print makes the dictionary easy to use, and an extensive reference section at the back means the dictionary is much more than just an aid to correct spelling. There are maps, facts about states and countries, and a few things that are just for curiosity. If you know a third grader, ask him/her to show you the longest word in the English language. You will be amazed.