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the scene is the auditorium of a high-poverty school, 
where every third-grader has been assembled. 

When a visitor explains that each child will receive 
a dictionary of his or her very own, looks of surprise 
turn to joy. most live in homes without a dictionary. 
regrettably, many have never owned a book.

This scene plays out again and again each spring 
as we visit schools in Chatham County. after years 
of providing this service, we can think of no way 
of promoting literacy that is more visible or more 
rewarding. it is a simple program that teachers across 
the state can easily replicate in their schools at virtually 
no cost. in this article, we explain how.

How it all Started
annie Plummer, better known as “The dictionary lady,” 
began giving away dictionaries in 1992 after noticing 
that many of the students in her neighborhood walked 
to Garrison elementary without any books (Ward, 
1999). at the time, Garrison served children from three 
housing projects and two homeless shelters. Annie’s 
ingenuity and determination helped her develop a 
workable strategy that over time she extended first to 
other Savannah-area schools and eventually, through a 
network of family and friends, to schools in other cities.

Though annie Plummer died in 1999, her work goes 
on. in 1995, her ideas inspired volunteer mary french 
to found The Dictionary Project, a nonprofit based in 
Charleston, South Carolina.  This organization has 
helped launch projects across the nation and beyond. 
To date, more than 18 million dictionaries have been 
given to third graders (dictionary Project, 2014).

How You Can Get Started
Undertaking a dictionary project is not difficult, 
though it helps to be organized! We suggest the 
following steps based on our experiences over 
a number of years.

1. Decide the scope of your involvement. You 
can involve any number of schools, but our 
advice is to start with your own. After you’ve 
gone through the process once, you’ll have a 
much better idea of what is required. You can 
then decide whether to broaden the scope to 
other schools in your district.
2. Gain the support of school administrators 
and third-grade teachers. do not simply 
assume that the obvious benefits of the project 
will eliminate the need to apprise teachers 
and administrators of how the project works. 
although resistance is unlikely, your colleagues 
need to be in the loop. 
3. Seek permission from the district. it is a good 
idea to gain district approval as well, though the 
principal can make a request on your behalf. 

in our experience, district-level administrators are 
enthusiastic supporters of the project. in fact, do not 
be surprised if they urge you to include all third graders 
from the outset. 
4. Locate funding. There are several options for 
obtaining the funds necessary to purchase the 
dictionaries. Partnering with a local service group is a 
possibility we have found to be particularly effective. 
Two organizations that have shown willingness in the 
past are the local rotary and the area Pilot Club, an 
organization devoted to brain-based disorders. another 
possibility is the parent organization that serves your 
school. Still another is one or more of the school’s local 
business partners. occasionally, a single benefactor 
may wish to underwrite all of the costs.
5. Plan logistics. Once you’ve decided on the scope 
of the project and have secured the funds to carry it 
out, you’ll need to think through the process from start 
to finish. Make a to-do list that includes the following:

• determine the number of copies you will need, 
estimating a bit high. obtaining a few extra copies 
will ensure that no child is left out.
• Place an order. We recommend ordering through 
The dictionary Project, which makes it possible to 
obtain dictionaries at very low cost–just $1.25 at 
this writing.
• arrange for delivery. This means working out 
arrangements with the principal and third-grade 
teachers. The event could be as elaborate as an 
assembly or as low key as going from room to 
room. but everyone involved needs to know what 
will occur and when.

6. Seek publicity. When all of the arrangements have 



GeorGia Journal of readinG 41 Volume 38, number 1   2015

been made, contact local media. They are often happy 
to run a public interest story, and the publicity is good 
for the school. before doing so, however, be sure to 
notify the principal.

A final touch could involve placing a sticker in each 
dictionary to credit the funding organization. it 
might contain an encouraging message as well, a 
practice started by annie Plummer herself. When 
children opened their dictionaries, they discovered a 
handwritten note from annie: “a mind is a terrible thing 
to waste. i challenge you not to waste yours.”  

additional information is available from the dictionary 
Project, 581 flannery Place, mt. Pleasant, SC 
29466.  Call 843-856-2706 or visit their website at 
dictionaryproject.org.

a final word
“Sadly,” remondi and rasco (2013) observe, “two out 
of three of the 16 million children currently living in 
poverty in the united States have no books to call their 
own” (p. 5). needless to say, this problem is not unique 
to the u.S., and the idea of combatting it by providing 
children with free books is hardly new. Warwick Elley’s 
book flood program (1975) provided thousands of 
books to children in developing countries. Closer to 
home, reading is fundamental (rif) has given free 
books to children since 1966. But there is still much 
to do and there is room for many initiatives. Providing 
third graders with dictionaries targets a key inflection 
point in their development as readers. it gives them 
a resource they can return to again and again. it is 
a means for each of us to think globally while acting 
locally. and it makes a difference.
  
references
dictionary Project. (2014). retrieved from http://www.

dictionaryproject.org

elley, W. b. (1975). The impact of a ‘book flood’: 
Interim assessment prepared for the New Zealand 
Book Council. Wellington, nZ: new Zealand Council 
for educational research.

remondi, J., & rasco, C. H. (2013). leadership 
message. in Books have the power to change 
lives: Reading Is Fundamental 2013 Annual Report. 
Washington, dC: reading is fundamental. available: 
http://readingisfundamental.org/documents/us/rif-
2013-annual-report.pdf

Ward, P. r. (1999, december 24). “dictionary lady 
dies at 62.” Savannah Morning News. retrieved 
at http://savannahnow.com/stories/122499/loC 
plummerobit.shtml

Curl up with
a good
 group

You live to read. You can hardly wait to 
get cozy in your favorite spot and crack 
the pages of a good book. You’re also 
an educator. Why not curl up with a good 
group, too? membership in the Georgia 
reading association will connect you to 
others like you who inspire and teach 
others about reading.

Visit us at
www.georgiareading.org


