Prescott Grange provides dictionaries to Varnum Brook third-graders

BY CHELSEA FEINSTEIN | NASHOBA PUBLISHING

PEPPERELL — Members of Pepperell’s Prescott Grange passed out a dictionary to every third-grader at Varnum Brook Elementary School last week as part of a nationwide program that aims to augment children’s vocabulary and foster a love of reading and learning.

“It helps encourage them to read. They learn how to spell, there’s an atlas in there, they learn the presidents. It really gets them to learn how to use the dictionary, because the computer doesn’t always give them the right answer,” said Linda Starr, Prescott Grange member.

Member David Gage said Prescott Grange has been distributing the dictionaries for about four years.

To pay for the books, they raise money by selling items such as coffee and baked goods at the Pepperell farmers market. This year, the books cost $240, Starr said.