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Meeting Everybody in the Neighborhood: Helping Students Locate Picture Books
Description:
This lesson will provide students with a learning aid in order to help them locate picture books independently. With the use of small books (see support materials) students will be able to find their own picture books in the picture book area of the library (sometimes called the "Everybody Neighborhood").
Goals & Objectives:
Students will understand call numbers and identify that the three letters underneath the E in the call number are the first three letters of the author's last name. Students will identify that books are shelved alphabetically according to the first three letters of the author's last name. Using a learning aid (that will be stored in the library), students will be able to find their own picture books.
Materials & Sources:
Create a book. Each page belongs to one character from the Everybody Neighborhood. For example, Clifford will have his own page, Angleina Ballerina will have her own page, Arthur will have his own...and so on. Also, a PowerPoint with each page of the book on its own slide is a good presentation tool. Use images found online (either google images search or amazon.com search). Each page should contain the character's name, the character's picture (so students can identify the character visually) and the call number of the character's books (see supporting media for an example of this). I did this in PowerPoint. Each slide contained 4 images, I printed the slides, cut them and stapled them together. They are small, portable books.
Procedures:

1. Read a story to the students - a story containing a storybook character who appears in more than one book. Like Curious George.

2. After the story, ask students, "If I wanted to find this book in the Everybody Neighborhood, where would I look?"

3. Explain that you would look on R Street (or the R shelf) for Reye, because that is the first letter of the author's last name.

4.Tell students that today, you are going to teach them how to locate books in the Everybody Neighborhood.

5. Show PowerPoint (projected on screen). Each slide will show a character, his/her name, the call number of the book. Explain to the students that the call number is found on the spine of the book.

6. Go through approximately 8 slides. Have students identify the character (they love seeing Clifford and Corduroy and Madeline on the screen), identify where the book is stored in the picture book section and then ask them how they know that. With some classes this takes a lot of repetition. But, they do get the hang or recognizing the call number and how it works.

7. After students demonstrate knowledge of call numbers, hand out to each of them the books that contain the same information as your slide show. Tell them that these books are stored in the library and are available to them whenever they want. Ask that they use these books to find books on the shelf.

8. Bring students to the Everybody Neighborhood and show them the different streets and where the different sections are. Allow them to select books - encourage them to use the character books to find them.

Assessment:
After book selection, meet students back at story area. Ask for a show of hands of who was able to use the reference books to locate books. Have them show you which books they chose, confirm that they are, in fact, books with characters from your book. Ask students who did not use the book, why they didn't use it? Did they not understand? And, for those students who successfully used the book, ask if they ran into any difficulties. If more than half the class has successfully located books to check out using the reference book, then consider the lesson successful!
Sources:
Google.com and amazon.com for images.
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Presented By: Kristy Favata
Website by Data Momentum, Inc.