Do we Dewey? We sure do!

One of the great cornerstones of library learning is the introduction to the (insert horn fanfare here) Dewey Decimal System in the fifth grade!  While considered dry by some (and I'd like to know who!!!), I still love to introduce it because not only does it help children navigate the nonfiction section of most any youth library collection, it's the science behind the field of Library Science...the ability to classify information, a skill that transfers to other sciences. Classification of materials also becomes invaluable as a requisite skill in our age of digital curation as well.  Anyone who has spent any time on a computer knows how important it is to organize information in such a way that you can find it again!

After classifying our own shoes and enjoying a Gestalt moment of realizing even the most ordinary things can be organized a multitude of ways, we then discuss the many ways books can be organized.  Our foray into the Dewey Decimal starts with the learning of a mnemonic device,   "Good People Require Speedy Learning, So Try Fine Library Helpers."  The first letter of each word is a hint to the name of a Dewey Decimal category.  I teach all the students to say this phrase while holding up their hands and putting up a finger for every word, starting with no fingers at all.  This little trick matches up the first letter to the first number.  Ask your child to show you!  Here is a handy-dandy cheat sheet:

000  Generalities
100 Philosophy, psychology
200 Religion
300 Social Sciences
400 Languages
500 Science
600 Technology and applied science
700 Fine arts and performing arts
800 Literature
900 History and biography

This is the meat and potatoes of what I'm trying to introduce and all the average Joe and Josephine will be held responsible for, but there's always a few children who catch my hopefully contagious love of Dewey.  For those Junior Librarian types, thanks to the helpful list compiled by the Cambria-Freisland School District they can delve deeper:

000          GENERALITIES

     000              Computers, Loch Ness, Bigfoot, UFOs, Aliens
     020              Libraries
     030              Encyclopedias & World Record Books
     060              Museums
     070              Newspapers 

 100          PHILOSOPHY            

     130             Ghosts, Witches & the Supernatural
     150             Optical Illusions, Feelings
     170              Emotions, Values, Animal Rights 

 200          RELIGION

     220             Bible Stories
     290             Mythology, World Religions 

 300          SOCIAL SCIENCES

     300              Social Issues - immigration, racism, World Cultures
     310              Almanacs
     320              Government
     330              Money, Working
     340              Court System, Famous Trials
     350              Armed Forces – Army, Navy, Air Force, etc.
     360              Drugs, Environmental Issues, Titanic, Police, Firefighters
     370              Schools
     380              Transportation,
     390              Holidays, Folktales, Fairy Tales   

 400          LANGUAGES

     410              Sign Language
     420              Dictionaries, Grammar
     430              German Language
     440              French Language
     450              Italian Language
     460              Spanish Language
     490              Hieroglyphics, Japanese Language 

 500          SCIENCE AND MATH

     500              Science Experiments, Science Sets,
     510              Mathematics
     520              Stars, planets, astronomy, space
     530              Physical Science - force & motion, electricity,
                         magnetism, light
    540               Chemistry, Atoms & Molecules, Rocks and Minerals
    550               Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Weather, Hurricanes, Tornadoes
    560               Dinosaurs, Prehistoric Animals, Fossils
    570               Forests, Rain Forests, Deserts, Mountains, Oceans, Evolution
    580               Plants, Flowers & Trees
    590               Animals & Insects
                        591
                        592            Worms, Invertebrates
                        593            Corals, Sea Invertebrates
                        594            Seashells, Snails, Octopus
                        595            Insects, Spiders
                        597            Fish, Frogs, Toads, Reptiles, Amphibians, Snakes
                        598            Birds
                        599            Mammals of the Land and Ocean, Whales

 600          PEOPLE USING SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY

    600               Inventions
    610               Human body, Health
    620               Rockets, Trains, Cars, Trucks
    630               Farming, Farm Animals, Cats, Dogs, Pets, Horses
    640               Cookbooks, Sewing
    650               Secret Codes
    660               How Food is made
    670               Paper Making
    680               Woodworking
    690               Building 

 700          ARTS and RECREATION

    710               Art Appreciation, History of Art
    720               Houses, Buildings
    730               Origami, Paper Crafts
    740               Drawing, Crafts,
    750               Painting
    760               Printing
    770               Photography
    780               Music
    790               Sports, Games, Magic, I Spy, Camping, Fishing, Racing, Hunting 

 800          LITERATURE

    810               Poetry, Plays, Jokes & Riddles
    820               Shakespeare
    860               Poetry in Spanish
    890               Japanese Poetry, Haiku

 900          GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

    910               Explorers, Atlases
    920               Flags, People (Biography)
    930               Archeology, Ancient Civilizations
    940               Knights, Castles, World War I & II, European Countries
    950               Asian & Middle Eastern Countries
    960               African Countries
    970               North & Central American Countries, Native American Tribes, American History, States
    980               South American Countries
    990               Pacific Islands, Australia, Hawaii, Arctic, Antarctica

And kids who are truly Dewey-obsessed can further classify here. Oh la la.  More categories and subcategories than you can shake a YuGiOh card at. 

By request, I am linking to the popular "Dewey Decimal Rap," though I promise that I did introduce the children to the real Melvil Dewey, who created the Dewey Decimal system in the late 1800's.  Alas and according to all credible sources, despite Dewey's many accomplishments and contributions to library science, he was never actually a rapper. Also, it has been pointed out to me repeatedly, the real one had a beard.  The children enjoy it anyway. 

After note-taking, flash cards, scavenger hunts and lots of practice, our unit will culminate in a competitive Jeopardy-style throw-down in which all three fifth grade classes will compete for the honor of winning.  What's the Dewey number for fun?  (Hmmm.  Probably around 794.)