This is the place to post ideas about teaching students effective use of the library, including library manners, book care, sections of the library, Dewey, etc.
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Call number strips
Grades: 3-6
I usually use this lesson with 4th graders but have also used it with 5th and 6th. I have laminated strips of construction paper. Each strip represents a book on the shelf of the library and lists the book’s title, author, and call number. I give each student (or a pair of students) 8-10 strips and ask them to imagine that each strip is a book in the library. The books have gotten all mixed up and I need them to put the books back in order on the shelves. We talk about how the books are arranged, what to do if the authors are the same, etc. (I have several examples with the same author but different book titles.) I have students raise their hands when finished putting their strips in order so I can check them. If they need to make corrections, I let them know. When they are correct, I have them pick up their strips, mix them up, and trade with someone else who is also finished. When everyone has done at least one set correctly, I let the kids begin combining their strips to put 20 in order, 30 in order, etc. They think it is great fun to put a large number in order. This year, I had a class that wanted to put all 100 strips in order. At the end of class, they said, “We don’t want to leave yet. Can we ask our teacher if we can stay?” The teacher granted them 15 extra minutes to finish their task, and it made my WEEK to have kids ask to stay in the library to put book strips in order. :-)
submitted by: Amy Brownlee, K-12 LMS
brownleea@usd376.com
Sterling USD #376
I also use call number strips for students in 3rd and 4th grade. I call the activity the "Hide and Seek" game. I have made up pairs of cards with a call number on them and a title. My cards are yellow and pink. I ask 3rd graders to walk along the fiction section and sing the ABC song with me as a reminder of how books are in ABC order. Then, they are to select a yellow card (the 'hide' card) and go to the fiction shelves and locate that book. After they show me the book, they go put it back on the shelf. I let each student do about 4-5 each and then hopefully all yellow cards are hidden. Then, I have students select a pink card (the 'seek' card) and go find a book. They are not suppose to select a pink card if they already did the yellow card that matches that title. If they locate the book with a yellow card in it, they know that they can check the title on the cards and bring the pair of cards to me. Sometimes, I have half of the class be the hiders and the other half reads their books. Then, reverse groups. I make cards for the fiction section and nonfiction section. I use this for 3rd grade for several weeks because they need time to learn how to locate books on the shelf. I use it with 4th graders as review and mix in cards from all sections.
submitted by: Jane Maresch, K-5 LMS
jane.maresch@usd305.com
Salina USD #305
Call number scavenger hunt
Grades 4-6
I’m sure most of you do call number scavenger hunts where students are given book titles and call numbers and must find the book on the shelves. I do this with 4th grade, and we spend several weeks discussing the sections of the library and how they’re arranged, the anatomy of a call number, how shelves go left to right, top to bottom, etc. On the day of the scavenger hunt, I pair kids up and give them a list of books to find. I ask students to take with them a pencil and shelf marker. When they find the book, they are to use the shelf marker, remove the book from the shelf, and then their worksheet asks them to list the first three words on a specific page (such as page 16), so they write down the first three words on the listed page, then carefully put the book back where it goes and go on to the next item on their list. I spend a lot of time stressing the importance of putting the book back exactly where it goes and not pushing it to the back of the shelf so it’s hard to find or leaving it hanging out in the aisle where it’s too easy for the next group to find. If students finish early, they beg for more books to find, so I have some “bonus” books ready for them. Kids always love this day and ask to do it again. I have found that they do a good job of putting the books back in the correct spot, and listing the first three words makes it easy for me to check if they’ve found the correct book, but I don’t have a lot of shelving to do at the end of the lesson.
submitted by: Amy Brownlee, K-12 LMS
brownleea@usd376.com
Sterling USD #376
Dewey Skit
I use this lesson with 4th graders every year. I like this skit because it’s a fun way to get kids to understand why we need the Dewey Decimal System and what it does for us. I assign kids to act out “The Mess of the Mixed-Up Books” from the book Library Celebrations by Cindy Dingwall, ISBN 1-27950-027-7, pages 38-39. I make enough copies of the script for everyone in the class to follow along, and we discuss as we go. The kids always ask if we can do it again and switch parts. The skit tells the story of a library in the 1800s that sorted books by color or size and how hard it was to help patrons find what they needed. It really shows the need for a classification system.
submitted by: Amy Brownlee, K-12 LMS
brownleea@usd376.com
Sterling USD #376
Forgetful Freida library rules
I wanted a fun way to help my first graders review their library manners and things they need to remember when they come to the library to check out a book. I have the kids sit in the storytime area and begin by telling them, “I have a special friend who is coming to visit us during library skills today. Her name is Freida, but everyone calls her Forgetful Freida because she is a really nice person, but she forgets things all the time. She loves to come to the library, but she has a problem because she always forgets the library rules. I told her I have a class of first graders who are really smart about library rules. When Freida comes today, if you see her forgetting a library rule, would you raise your hand, and if she calls on you, you can gently remind her what library rule she’s breaking. Would you guys help her out?” The kids are always very willing to help her.
Then I read a story about the library – one of my favorites to use is Stella Louella’s Runaway Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst. Throughout the story I pause to look at my watch and look around the library saying, “No, I don’t see Freida yet. I hope she doesn’t forget to come.” At the end of the story, I say, “Gosh, Freida was supposed to be here by now. I’m going to just step out into the hall and look and see if she maybe just forgot where the library is. You all sit here quietly and I’ll be right back.” I step out into the hall where I have stashed a bag with my “disguise” in it. I put on a large flowered muumuu, a stocking hat, big-rimmed glasses, and fuzzy slippers and am transformed in to “Forgetful Freida.”
Then I poke my head into the library, introduce myself as Forgetful Freida, and ask the kids if they’ve seen my friend Mrs. Brownlee. Of course they say that Mrs. Brownlee went to look for Freida. I ask the kids to help me remember library rules and to raise their hand if they see me forgetting a library rule.
Rules I break: 1. Using a quiet voice in the library. 2. Returning a book to the circulation desk rather than just laying it on a table or shelf. 3. Don’t shove books to the back of the shelf. 4. Don’t pull out a book, look at it, then lay it on top of the shelf. Use a shelf marker! 5. After using a shelf marker and looking at a book and deciding you don’t want it, put it back correctly (I put it in with the pages facing out rather than the spine, and I also put it in upside down). The kids have great fun correcting me. This lesson holds everyone’s attention, and they even gasp when I break some of the rules. It's so scandalous to be naughty in the library!! ;-)
At the end of these antics, I look at my watch, explain that I’m late and ask them to say hi to Mrs. Brownlee for me. I go into the hall, take off my “disguise,” and come back in as myself, sadly explaining that I couldn’t find my friend. When they tell me Freida has been there, I have them tell a little about the rules she forgot. This is one of the most fun lessons of the year.
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