1 of 1
The Great American Book Hunt
Grade 3
Student Learner Expectations:
IR.12.3.2 – Use alphabetical order to the third letter to access information.
Materials:
· book covers- At least five per student
· spine labels for book covers
· some library books—fiction and easy books only
Directions:
1. Distribute book covers to every student. Give students time to admire the cover illustrations.
2. Ask students to note where the title and author of the book can be found. Explain why covers are removed from books before they are placed on the shelves in the library. Remind students that library books circulate; hence many patrons may check out and read a book in its “lifetime,” and the cover simply would not hold up for long.
3. Give each student a strip of spine labels. Demonstrate, using the library books, where the call numbers of the book can be found. Explain the two lines of the call number. Explain how the bottom line is the first three letters of the author’s last name. Have students affix the spine labels to the book covers that they have in their possession.
4. As students finish the spine labeling task, check that they have completed the task correctly. When the task is completed, they are to take the book cover to the automated catalog and check to see if the book is checked out and if the library has more than one copy.
5. If the book is currently in the library, the student should go to the shelf and retrieve it. Once the students have retrieved their books, they should work in pairs to put the books in alphabetical order in the same way they would sit on the shelf.
Assessment:
The students will be assessed by the spine labels on their respective book covers and their alphabetizing of the books they retrieved. Book covers can be displayed in the media center afterwards as a visible reminder for third graders to look at the call numbers of a book to retrieve it from the shelf.
71