Dewey Decimal System

What is the Dewey Decimal System?

Most widely used method for classifying mostly non-fiction books in the library

Numerical system for organizing categories of books

Categories range from 000-999. Each “hundreds group” represents a different category.

Captured via Jing from http://mypages.iit.edu/~smart/halsey/lesson1.htm

Breaking Down the Numbers

(Each number represents a specific topic)1st digit – main class

2nd digit- division (gets more specific)

3rd digit- section (even more specific)

Example: 500 – natural sciences

520 – astronomy (a division of natural

sciences)

525 – Earth (a section of astronomy)

Activity 1 – Pair titles with Dewey Class

1776 - 900sA Career as a Hairstylist – 600sMany Paths to God – 200sEarthworms, Dirt, and Rotten Leaves –

500sGuinness World Records 2012– 000sEverything You Need to Know about Peer

Pressure – 300sSelected Poems of Langston Hughes – 800sI Am Hip-Hop – 700s

Activity 2 – BrainstormingStep 1Think about the

Dewey Decimal class your group was given. Consider which topics might be covered in that class.

Step 2On your graphic organizer,

write the Dewey class number in the center. In the surrounding spaces, write in the topics that would fall under that Dewey class. Keep your responses to one-word answers. Bring your sheet to me when you finish. We will use this next week with Wordle.