Guilford - Third graders at Piscataquis Community Elementary School took part in a tradition Tuesday that started 11 years ago.

"It's become a rite of passage. The kids start anticipating in second grade the fact that they're going to get a dictionary in third grade," said Walter Boomsma, the program director at the Valley Grange Hall in Guilford.

For 11 years, Valley Grange has been handing out dictionaries to third grade students in the area.

"We're trying to turn them on to a resource, to words, to learning to read, to being a good student," said Boomsma.

Some of them already have big plans for their books.

"I'll definitely use it for, like, reports, and when we have reading jobs and, when we don't know what a word is, I will definitely look it up in this. I think that when we go back to school, anything they do, we're going to try use our dictionaries for it," said third grader Taylor Folsom.

There were even some sixth graders there to lend the younger ones some dictionary related advice.

"I'm just very excited that I told the younger third graders about how to take care of it, and everything, because it just helps you along a lot through school and your life at home," said sixth grader Alison Quimby.

It's a gift given one day in third grade that organizers are happy to see stay with students throughout the years.

"It is neat to see those worn dictionaries and we see them right up through middle school. Sixth grade is not the end, some kids in high school are still carrying those dictionaries," said Boomsma.

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