A Back to School Freebie for You!
I can’t believe that I’ve been back to school for nearly three weeks now! I’ve been cleaning, doing inventory, processing books, going to professional development, and so on. Our kids start on Tuesday, and I’m hustling to get everything just right! I bet you know exactly how I feel… and you deserve a treat!
So… if you’re one of my TpT followers (and you read my recent note) you know that I decided to offer a little back to school freebie today (8/11/2019) especially for my website visitors! Click the link below and enjoy some cute little Dewey neighborhood puzzles that are perfect for our youngest students.
Using This Back to School Freebie in Your Library
I use these puzzles with my K-1 students after reading the book Do You Know Dewey? by Brian Cleary. While I’m reading, we take a little walking tour around the library. The first time around, we count the Dewey categories by 100s, pointing to the signage. Then, we make a second pass, stopping to read here and there.
As I read about a category, we look for the Dewey signage again. All around the library “neighborhood” we go — finally looking for the books’ “addresses” on their spine labels. Like many of you, I talk with the kids about their own house or apartment numbers to make that important connection to library shelf order. Finally, we divide up and take a peek on each shelf to make sure that the first digit in every “call number” on every “spine label” matches its category.
Because I use the example of a big Dewey neighborhood, we pretend that a checked out book has been “outside playing.” When it is returned to the library, that means it’s time for the book to go home. We pretend the book’s parent “calls out” how glad he or she is that the book has come home. As in, “Oh, little 398.2! Come home — over here to the 300s — it’s time for dinner. Get in your spot!” (And that’s where the term “call number” comes from… to the littles in my library at least!)
Yes…it’s very cheesy, I know… but they’re 5 and 6 years old… so it works! 🙂
During Check Out Time
For my youngest students’ first check out among the Dewey shelves, I like to limit the number of browsers that are roaming at one time, so I put the students in small groups and let them work on some very simple center tasks. This year, I’ll have them match up these Dewey puzzles for me. The task will occupy their little hands while they’re waiting for a turn to browse — and it will reinforce what I’ve just taught them about Dewey “neighborhoods,” call numbers, and spine labels. I purposely made them VERY easy to figure out because I’ll be busy helping the others find books… and the cut through the middle makes them self-checking! Double win!
I hope you enjoy your back to school freebie — and that your library is full of joy this fall!
Please note: This freebie expired on 8/12/2019… but it is still available in my TpT store!
