Library Lessons
Toni Buzzeo
Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS, 2009 All rights reserved. The purchase of this book entitles the individual librarian or teacher to reproduce copies for use in the library or classroom. The reproduction of any part for an entire school system or for commercial use is strictly prohibited. No form of this work may be reproduced or transmitted or recorded without written permission from the publisher. Published by UpstartBooks 401 S. Wright Road P.O. Box 5207 Janesville, Wisconsin 53547-5207 1-800-448-4887
the great dewey hunt
The Great Dewey Hunt can be a single lesson in your school library, a multiple-session program for a single grade, or a multiple-grade program as portrayed in the book. It can be adapted to suit your time frame and your grade level focus for Dewey learning.
DISCOVERING DEWEY THROUGH BOOKS
Twins Hugh and Louis are delighted to team up to participate in the Great Dewey Hunt that Mrs. Skorupski has planned. They begin by reviewing Dewey with their fourth grade classmates before agreeing to be Dewey Experts for Carmen Rosa Peas second grade sister, Freida. Prior to engaging students in the Great Dewey Hunt, youll also want to review (or newly teach) Dewey. You might begin with one or more of these books: Berg, Brook. What Marion Taught Willis. UpstartBooks, 2005. When Willis makes fun of Marion for choosing to report on librarianship for her Career Day project, Marion takes him to the library media center to introduce him to exciting books in all ten Dewey categories. Fowler, Allan. Dewey Decimal System. Childrens Press, 1996. This installment in the True Book series takes a nonfiction approach to the history and use of the Dewey Decimal System in libraries. Color photos and large text. Hopkins, Jackie Mims. The Shelf Elf Helps Out. UpstartBooks, 2006. With help from the Grand Dewey Daddy shelf elf, Stacks, Skoob the shelf elf explains the Dewey Decimal numbers using a clever rhyme for each Dewey category. The numbers are described as the home address for each book.
DISCOVERING DEWEY ONLINE
As you review or introduce the Dewey Decimal System, you may want to spend some time online with your students, exploring these electronic teaching resources: The Book Disaster or Dewey SWAT Team to the Rescue. www.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/ws/ dewey/index.html Help! I Am Locked in the Library! www.barnstable.k12.ma.us/mme/news/ studentinvestigations/WebQuests/dewey
The following Dewey Decimal System games are designed for fifth and fourth graders respectively, but useful in grades three through five: Can You Do the Dewey? thrall.org/dewey Students can play a challenge game to test their knowledge of Dewey categories, learn more about Melville Dewey, or dig deeper into the Dewey categories. Do We Really Know Dewey? library.thinkquest.org/5002/index.shtml This multi-leveled ThinkQuest site becomes more difficult as you proceed through the pages/ activities. Both sites include complete instructions and an assessment rubric.
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
THE GREAT DEWEY HUNT
Note: These are directions for staging the full, multi-grade-level program. Condense the steps for a single-grade-level class. For a single session lesson, follow directions for The Day of the Hunt with class members serving only as Dewey Hunters.
(Note: The list of Suggested Objects by Dewey Category will serve as a resource when you are stumped.) 3. Invite students from all teams to contribute the small objects they personally own to each category team. (Note: Over time, you may wish to create a collection of objects yourself in order to eliminate the need for students to bring in objects. Key chains, charms, and dollhouse items are often excellent sources.) 4. Collect the objects in ten small baskets, labeled by Dewey number.
Exploration
1. Divide students into ten teams of relatively equal size. 2. Assign each team to a single Dewey category. (Note: Be sure to assign the more abstract and challenging categories such as 000 and 100 to teams with strong critical thinkers.) 3. Send each team to the nonfiction shelves to explore the topics of the books represented in their section. Ask teams to bring representative books back to their tables to complete the Dewey Topic Hunt sheet (p. 6), or to write down representative titles and call numbers on the sheet (p. 6) at the shelf. (Note: Leave the Possible Objects column blank for now.) 4. Ask each team to report to the class the findings of their investigation. 5. Challenge students to assign a name to their Dewey category (i.e. History and Geography for the 900s). If a category name is too narrow, show them additional books with topics also covered in that category and ask them to expand their name. 6. Give each team a copy of the Dewey Classification Table (p. 7). Ask them to discuss how their representative books answer the question/s for their category.
Dewey Flags
1. Gather the following materials to make your own Dewey flags: Ten 1824 inch lengths of 8 dowel Ten sheets of colored construction paper One set of Dewey numbers000, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900cut from construction paper by hand or using a die-cut machine One set of capital lettersI, L, O, V, E (3), D, W, Ycut from construction paper by hand or using a die-cut machine
2. Use the Dewey flag pattern (p. 5) to cut ten flags of various colors. 3. Glue the numbers on to one side of the flags and the letters (to spell I LOVE DEWEY) on the opposite side of the flags in numeric order. 4. Attach the flags to the dowels using glue or a stapler. Note: for long-lasting flags you can use year after year, consider making the flags and letters/numbers from ripstop nylon.
Object Collection
1. Ask teams of students to complete the Possible Objects column on their Dewey Topic Hunt sheet (p. 6). Emphasize that this should be a list of SMALL objects that might represent the books listed for their Dewey category. 2. As teams present their list of objects, challenge other teams to think of additional suggestions for each list. 4
The Day of the Hunt
1. Place each object on (or above) the shelf on which matching books are located. (Note: You may wish to suspend objects from the shelf above using book repair or duct tape.) 2. Invite a second class to the library to be the Dewey Hunters. The students who have been
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
working to plan the Great Dewey Hunt become the Dewey Experts. 3. Form ten teams of students from the members of the Dewey Hunter visiting class, and pair them with your teams of Dewey Experts. 4. Provide each Dewey Hunter team a Dewey Hunt Search Sheet (p. 910) with the following instructions: Locate an object on the shelf. Find a book nearby on the shelf with a subject that matches the object. (Note: Objects are left on the shelf and only books are removed.) Check with your Dewey Expert to be sure that you have selected a book that matches the object.
When your Dewey Expert approves, write down the title and call number of the book on your Dewey Hunt Search sheet. Find one object for each of the ten Dewey categories and one book to match each object.
5. As each Dewey Hunter team finishes their Dewey Hunt Search sheet, award them a Great Dewey Hunt Flag. When all teams have completed the hunt, ask them to stand in Dewey category order and then flip their flags to spell I LOVE DEWEY.
Assessment
1. Challenge your class of Dewey Experts by administering the Great Dewey Hunt Assessment (p. 1112). Seat students by Dewey group. Give each student a blank assessment form to record answers. Then, read a title from the master assessment sheet (or feel free to use actual titles from your own collection) and ask students to record the Dewey category that title belongs in. (Note: It is interesting to compare scores by Dewey group.)
Dewey Flag Pattern
Instructions
Enlarge to desired size. Cut out triangle and use as a pattern for construction paper flags.
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
DEWEY TOPIC HUNT
Group Members: ________________________ _________________________ ________________________ _________________________
Your Dewey Category (circle one):
000 100 200 00 400 00 00 700 800 900
Book Titles topics possible objects
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
Dewey Number Category
General Knowledge Psychology/Philosophy Religion Social Science Languages Natural Science/Mathematics Applied Science/Technology Arts Literature History/Geography
Who am I? What do I believe in? How do we live together? What do I need to know?
Questions
000s 100s 200s 00s 400s 00s 00s 700s 800s 900s
How do we communicate with each other? What is our world like? How do we explain things in numbers? How can we make the world useful to us? What do we enjoy creating or doing for fun? What do we enjoy writing?
Which people and places are parts of our past?
What do we know about all the places in the world?
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
Dewey classification table
Suggested objects by dewey category
Note: All items are miniatures. Note: Any bolded item is mentioned in the text of The Great Dewey Hunt.
000 newspaper, Bigfoot, space alien, plastic question mark, computer keychain,
picture postcard of the public library, map of Atlantis, ad for encyclopedias, sea monster, miniature blank book. witch, ghost, optical illusion card
100
200 Christian cross, Buddha statue, Star of David, dreidel 300 400
Santa, Cinderella snow globe, dragon, unicorn, fire engine, police car, birthday candles sign language card, miniature dictionary, Braille alphabet
500 hairy tarantula spider, plant, dinosaur, magnet, rock, number candle,
weather thermometer, assorted animals, shells
600 sailboat, truck, car, plane, battery, wire, play food, dog, stethoscope,
astronaut, fish tank, farm machines, measuring spoons
700
basketball, football, dice, puppets, playing cards, piano, art supplies (paint brushes, crayons, etc.)
800 theater masks (tragedy and comedy), playbill, poem on a card, miniature
theater
900 flag, globe, foreign currency, soldier, cowboy, statue of famous American
(i.e. Abraham Lincoln)
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
Dewey Hunt Search
Team: _________________________________ Group Members: _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Item
Book Title
Dewey Number
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
10
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
The Great Dewey Hunt Assessment
Team: _________________________________ Group Members: _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Book 1 Book 4 Book 7 Book 10 Book 1 Book 1 Book 19 Book 22 Book 2 Book 28
Book 2 Book Book 8 Book 11 Book 14 Book 17 Book 20 Book 2 Book 2 Book 29
Book Book Book 9 Book 12 Book 1 Book 18 Book 21 Book 24 Book 27 Book 0
The Great Dewey Hunt: A Mrs. Skorupski Story Library Lessons 2009, Toni Buzzeo (UpstartBooks)
11
The Great Dewey Hunt Assessment
Book 1 Book 2 Book
How Much is a Million?500 The Wearing of the Green: A His- The Ghost Hunters Handbook tory of St. Patricks Day300 100
Book 4
Story of the Orchestra700
Book
Giggle-Fit: Tricky Tongue Twisters800
Book
World Book Encyclopedia000
Book 7
What Makes You Ill?600
Book 8
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs300
Book 9
Our Fifty States900
Book 10
From Caterpillar to Butterfly 500
Book 11
Easy Origami700
Book 12
Merriam-Websters Childrens Dictionary400
Book 1
The Early Readers Bible200
Book 14
What to Do When You Worry Too Much100
Book 1
Amazing Optical Illusions100
Book 1
Castle: Medieval Days and Knights900
Book 17
The History of the Internet000
Book 18
The Story of Flight600
Book 19
The Usborne Encyclopedia of World Religions200
Book 20
Peter Pan and Other Plays800
Book 21
Community Helpers from A to Z300
Book 22
A Childs Introduction to Poetry800
Book 2
The Usborne First Thousand Words in Italian400
Book 24
Taking Care of Your Parakeet 600
Book 2
National Geographic Student Atlas of the World900
Book 2
The Junior Tennis Handbook 700
Book 27
The Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus200
Book 28
The Mystery of the Loch Ness Monster000
Book 29
Rocks and Minerals500
Book 0
You Can Learn Sign Language400
H76550
Janesville, Wisconsin
