The Dewey Decimal System Julie Thompson MEDT 6463

Why Are We Studying This????? The purpose of this presentation is to give middle school students an overview of the Dewey Decimal System so that students become familiar with the layout of the library and how books are shelved according to the Dewey Decimal system. So …… Why Do Students Need to Learn Dewey? It’s a time saver for students! Helpful with “browsing” Helps in understanding what is meant by classifying and outlining.

What is the Dewey Decimal System? The Dewey Decimal Classification system, which was invented by a man named Melvil Dewey, is a method of categorizing (or sorting) all books in a library based on the subject matter. ( Google images, 2011)

How are Books Categorized in the Dewey System? This system uses numbers for the arrangement of subjects of books. Each book has its own unique call number! It classifies books by dividing them into 10 main groups that are called categories. Each category is represented by figures beginning with 000 and going on to 999. (Google images, 2011)

The Ten Main Classifications in the Dewey System Each group is represented by three numbers: 000 – Computer science, information, and general works 100 – Philosophy and psychology 200 – Religion 300 – Social sciences 400 – Language 500 – Science 600 – Technology 700 – Arts and recreation 800 – Literature 900 – History and geography (Google images, 2011)

What is a Call Number? Using these ten main categories, EVERY book is assigned a number based on its subject matter. This call number is a group of numbers that tells you where in the library to find your book. (Google images, 2011)

Where is a Call Number Located? A call number is located at the bottom of the book on the spine. Why is the call number placed on the spine of the book? Because when the book is shelved, the Dewey Decimal Classification call number can be easily seen! (Google images, 2011)

Let’s Take A Look! (Google images, 2011)

000 – Computer science, information, and general works (Google images, 2011)

100 – Philosophy and psychology (Google images, 2011)

200 – Religion (Google images, 2011)

300 – Social Sciences (Google images, 2011)

400 – Language (Google images, 2011)

500 – Science (Google images, 2011)

600 – Technology (Google images, 2011)

700 – Arts and recreation (Google images, 2011)

800 – Literature (Google images, 2011)

900 – History and geography (Google images, 2011)

Let’s Review! Let’s read the story Dewey and the Alien to review the ten categories of Dewey! Dewey and the Alien! (Google images, 2011)

Lets Explore! Cool Dewey Games! "Do We" Really Know Dewey? Games for Dewey! (Google images, 2011)

Pre-Test and Post-Test Questions 1)What is the Dewey Decimal System? 2)Who invented the Dewey Decimal System? 3)What is the purpose of the Dewey Decimal System? 4)What is a call number? 5)How many categories are in the Dewey Decimal System? 6)Can you name the categories of the Dewey Decimal System? 7)Where would fiction books be located at in the Dewey Decimal System?

Pre-Test Results I administered the pre-test in early October to all 95 of my 8 th graders. Many of them knew the answer to #1: “What is the DDS?”, but only a handful knew any of the other answers. I was shocked at the results since every year, at the beginning of school, our media specialist takes the students on a “tour” of the DDS. I then showed my students this Powerpoint presentation before we went to our next library visit. Between visits, I revisited the information in the PowerPoint for about one minute daily to provide repetition of the content.

Post-Test Results On our last library visit in November, I once again administered the test to my students. I was very please to see that the vast majority (around 93%) could answer most/ all of the questions. The question that was still the hardest for them was #6 “Can you name the categories?” However, in the pre-test, where very few responses were given to this question, all students attempted it in the post-test and 50% of them could name at least 6 of the categories! I saw this as a vast improvement in their knowledge of the DDS since I had just simply been giving the DDS a quick 1 minute review on a daily basis to begin my language arts class for the previous 3 weeks.

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