How to Teach the Dewey Decimal System

This brief lesson will familiarize students with the terrifyingly oblique Dewey Decimal System.

Instructions

1. Assign each student a random Dewey Decimal number.

2. Take the class to the school library and have them search the stacks for a book matching their assigned number.

3. Have each student describe the book she's chosen to the class.

4. Have each student hypothesize what kind of books might be classified under her assigned number and compare her hypothesis to the other books she finds in the same section.

5. Go over the actual Dewey Decimal description for each assigned number.