Reader’s Digest is not usually seen as a big part of a fourth grader’s life, but if School 33 student Trévon Roberts keeps going the way he has, the magazine may very well become a big part of his academic career.
Roberts, a 9-year-old Lexington Avenue resident, earlier this month beat out his classmates to win the school-level competition of the Reader’s Digest National Word Power Challenge, a contest where students answered oral and written questions on vocabulary. Now eligible to take part in a regional Word Power written challenge that will filter out the top 100 students in New Jersey for entry into the state-level contest in late February, Roberts may soon have the opportunity to become very familiar with the many synonyms of the word “success.”
“I’m a little nervous,” Roberts said last week before recess at his school, located on Union Street between West Side and Mallory avenues.
When asked if the vocabulary test he just took was challenging, Roberts quickly replied that it wasn’t difficult. After about a moment of reflection, however, he decided to modify his statement.
“A little bit,” Roberts sheepishly said. “It was a little bit difficult.”
Complicated words
Even with Roberts’ slight admission that the word power challenge was more difficult than he would have liked, Robert’s teacher Jody Falkenstern, 28, said the words Roberts was tested on were particularly challenging, even for some high school students.
Falkenstern cited the appearance of the word “panoply” on the test, which she jokingly said was a word of which even she doesn’t think she knows the full definition.
“Panoply” is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “a full suit of armor or ceremonial attire; something forming a protective covering; or a magnificent or impressive array.”
There were approximately 30 words in the locally-administered contest, and students were quizzed, in a multiple choice format, not only on their knowledge of the word but also on their full comprehension of the word’s meaning. The comprehension aspect of the test, Falkenstern said, requires a skill in which Roberts is particularly gifted.
“One third of the words were easy, but the rest were out there,” she added. “And all the multiple choice answers were throw-offs. It was a rough test.”
Roberts said he likes to read every time he gets the chance, including the books his parents currently read. Despite such obvious precociousness, he described his reading hobby as no more advanced than how other kids his age would approach reading.
Also a fan of action books that consist of fighting scenes, Roberts said he is enticed into a narrative first by its accompanying pictures and then through the story.
He’s currently reading the Ronald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Getting ready for February, beyond
To prepare himself for the regional challenge next year, Roberts said he isn’t planning on studying any more than he regularly does. His teachers and administrators, however, have a different strategy.
“We’re still preparing him and we’re also using this as a prep tool for the NJ ASK4 [a standard assessment test given to fourth graders across the state],” School 33 principal Norma Fernandez said last week. “It gives us an additional incentive. We’re also coordinating Roberts’ training with the language arts director.”
Falkenstern added that as the date of the written exam approaches, she will step up her assignment of word lists and vocabulary tests to Roberts.
Although he shows a particular facility with words and definitions, Roberts said his most desired career doesn’t involve reading at all.
“I want to play football,” Roberts said. And in keeping with his way of answering this reporter’s questions, he decided to again modify his answer and say that he would also consider becoming a lawyer.
If Roberts wins the state competition, he and his teachers and escorts will get an all expenses-paid trip to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia for the Reader’s Digest National Word Power Challenge National Championship in March. The Campbell Soup Company, who is sponsoring this year’s contest, will award a total of $50,000 in college scholarships and other prizes to the top three competitors.
The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and the second and third place winners will receive $15,000 and $10,000 in college scholarships, respectively.
If Roberts doesn’t make it to the nationals, School 33 principal Fernandez said the exercise still would not have been in vain.
“It was interesting for the students to see how important language is,” she said. “It really drives home the message that ‘The more you know, the more you will achieve.’ “