Dewey Decimal Trees/Flowers: Home

AASL III.A.2: Learners develop new understandings through engagement in a learning group.

Designed for grades 4, 5, or 6.

2 class periods of 25 minutes each

This lesson's origin is based on a picture posted by Lauren Cossman on Pinterest and has been adapted by Kelli Hilton from Stanberry R-II Elementary.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This lesson showcases the students' understanding of the Dewey Decimal System and books that can be found in each section. Collaboration and teamwork are required to complete their project. 

Construction paper of various colors and art supplies.

The students will know the ten categories of the Dewey Decimal System and create a tree/flower to represent the system.

The following is a rough outline of how the discussion is led.

•  Acquaint your students with the organizational breakdown of the Dewey Decimal System (I give bookmark, show a Dewey video, practice locating books in each category on the catalog as well as on the shelf).
• After students are comfortable with the Dewey Decimal System, tell them they will be creating a large Christmas tree or flower (depending on the time of year).
• Split into groups of 2 or 3 students.
• Have at least 10 different color chunks (times however many groups you have) for the ornaments/flower petals. 
• Have larger green and brown pieces for the tree/flower stem.  
• Each petal/ornament will represent one category of the system.
  • They must include:
    • Dewey number
    • Dewey category
    • at least one book title found in that category (printed or handwritten)
•  After gathering all needed information, they will construct their tree/flower in numerical order.
• If time allows, they can decorate their item as they choose.
• Have the students share their trees/flowers and give a few of their book titles. 
• Display on a bulletin board or in the hallway. 

The actual flower/tree can be used as an assessment. 

Students can work individually instead of in groups. Book covers can be located/printed via the library catalog.