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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. F. from is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

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The Age of Ginormous Truthiness

My students need a class set of 25 up-to-date student dictionaries to help them with spelling, pronunciation, and learning new vocabulary.

  • $546 goal

This project expired on April 7, 2009.

This project expired on April 7, 2009.

Classroom photo
Ms. F.
Grades 6-8

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Sunshine State Students Search for New Words! I teach seventh grade Language Arts in a small rural community in Florida. My students are making daily progress in their writing skills, but there is one thing that could help them make even greater leaps in learning! My class is full of eager-to-learn, motivated students who have a lot to say (and write)! However, they are limited by the words they already know or words used at home, on television, and by peers. This makes for a sometimes lackluster vocabulary in dire need of a makeover! Oftentimes, they read books that have more sophisticated vocabulary, but without fully grasping the meaning, the words they encounter do not transfer into their writing.

Groovy! Swell! Golly Gee! I think we can all agree that with every new generation, new words enter the American lexicon, and others fade away. My seventh graders use the words truthiness (from the Stephen Colbert show) and ginormous (made popular by Will Farrell in the movie 'Elf') regularly. Comprehensive dictionaries are essential so students can verify whether these words are an ‘official’ part of our language (yet). Up-to-date dictionaries are also needed to help students learn new words, their pronunciations, and where it all began (etymology). Things have changed over the years, including the words we use, and the dictionaries we have are quite outdated and very limited. The pictures and student-friendly language in this version of the dictionary will help my English Language Learners bridge the gap and overcome the obstacles they face in using English in their writing, as well. Here’s how you can help…

We are in desperate need of twenty-five (a class set) American Heritage Student Dictionaries to help students freshen up their vocabulary and increase their vivid, descriptive writing skills! These dictionaries will also help students to comprehend fiction and non-fiction text we read as part of the curriculum and books they read for pleasure. Student-friendly and recently updated definitions, many with accompanying pictures, will help students to do just that! Students are limited in their current vocabularies. They are stuck in the mud, using the same language every day. With the boom of text messaging and social networking sites, conversational language has become stale and boring. Students’ speaking and writing skills need an overhaul, and purchase of these dictionaries are a big step in the right direction. The dictionaries we have now are limited, falling apart, and many of the words and definitions are obsolete.

My purchasing choices, because of budgetary considerations, are either too limited (with many student dictionaries including less than half the words in an average dictionary) or entirely too complicated (with definitions that include even more unknown, confusing words for students to look up). These dictionaries, however, include easy-to-understand definitions and sentence examples, clear pronunciation keys, and an extensive array of words. Your contribution will open doors for students to introduce fresh words into their everyday vocabularies. I am asking for your help in widening the language horizons of my students to help them enhance their communication skills. With your help, they can astound their friends or dumbfound their enemies without difficulty! You can make it happen! Thank you for your support of this project. Your contribution will make a true difference within the walls of my classroom!

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

110 students impacted
Ms. F. Grades 6-8

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

110 students impacted

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
AMERICAN HERITAGE STUDENT DICTIONARY American Heritage Student Dictionary • Quill $15.29 25 $382.25

Materials cost

$382.25

Vendor shipping charges

 $38.23

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$9.56

Fulfillment labor & materials

$17.00

Total project cost

$447.00

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$98.12

Total project goal

$545.12

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. F. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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