The Maui News

WAILUKU–On Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, eight members of the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset presented dictionaries to the 60 third grade students at Princess Nahienaena School.

The 60 third graders were surprised at the amount of information that they found in their own copy to keep of “A Student’s Dictionary and Gazetteer”.

In this day of digital research, students were given a printed dictionary. The rotary club explained the printed dictionary purpose as, “Looking through a printed dictionary can be a learning experience in itself. Finding words helps children develop problem-solving skills by requiring them to consider order, spelling, context and alphabetization.”

During the session, a “Dictionary Treasure Hunt” activity was held for all the students to help them learn how to use their new reference book.

Students learned how to look up word definitions, find the times tables, and even identify the state tree of Hawaii in this fun activity facilitated by Rotary Maui Island Resource Chair Joanne Laird.

McDonalds gift cards were awarded as prizes to students who were first to find answers. Rotary club members helped to engage the students during this activity. Teachers were offered a follow-up standards-based lesson using the dictionary for use in their classrooms.

For more information about this organization please see the club’s website for information about upcoming speakers and activities: https://www.rotarycluboflahainasunset.org.