A simple, powerful way for service clubs to give every child the words they need to thrive academically—and unlock opportunities for life.
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Studies have shown that vocabulary size is one of the strongest predictors of academic success.1
Children brought up in homes at or below the poverty level often enter school with weaker vocabularies than their more affluent classmates. They have heard fewer words at home, have not been read to regularly, and have had fewer opportunities for quality conversations with family members. A landmark study found that, by the time they enter kindergarten, they often have less than half the vocabulary of their more affluent classmates.2
Why is this a problem? This is a huge problem because we must know the meaning of at least 95 percent of the words in a passage to understand it. Even when children work hard to decode—or sound out—words, unfamiliar vocabulary can keep them from understanding what they read. Studies also show that the more words we know, the faster we can learn other words; vocabulary growth actually accelerates learning.3
The only way to fill the gap between the words children should know and the words they actually do know is to focus on teaching the foundational words they should have learned through everyday experience. These are the words in children’s reading books and reading assessments. These are the words children need to talk and write about their everyday experiences in a more precise and confident manner. These are the foundational words included inThe Illustrated Dictionary of Everyday Things.
The Dictionary Project helps close that gap in vocabulary size by providing picture dictionaries to second graders in high-poverty schools. This dictionary is filled with the very words they need. To make the dictionary even more effective, we give each second-grade teacher The Dictionary Toolkit, with lessons, assignments, and activities to activate and review the new words learned in The Illustrated Dictionary of Everyday Things. If children learn the labels in this book, they will have a storehouse of words to use in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. They will do better in school and have brighter futures. These children desperately need our help.
For the 2025–2026 school year, we also gave each second grader in our area’s low-income schools a personal vocabulary notebook called Book of Knowledge, where students record their learning. Students trace pictures from their dictionary and label the parts. They love building their own book.
“Helping disadvantaged children is the reason I wrote this book!”Janet Caruthers, Ed. S.
Written by a Title I teacher who started a list of common, everyday words her students in grades 2–5 did not know—but should have. That list became this book. If students learn the labels in this book, they will have a storehouse of words to draw from when reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These are the words children need to know: the names of real things in their everyday lives.
See the dictionary resources
The Dictionary Toolkit is the teacher supplement to The Illustrated Dictionary of Everyday Things. It includes lessons, assignments, and activities to help students activate and review the new words they are learning. You’ll also find 100 Days of Bellwork and activity sheets that combine vocabulary, phonics, and spelling practice.
If you look below, you’ll find a chart with data that I compiled using schools in my district showing how economic status correlates with reading scores.
There is a wonderful website printed on the back of this booklet that provides:
Use it as a fundraiser!
Find out how the fifth-grade project works