Re: alphabetizing books

["K. DeFrank" <defrank@VOICENET.COM>]

Dear Jean,

I would love to tell you about my color coding system, and since you are
the third person to ask, I think I may post this to the entire list.

I purchased a set of 18 different colored tapes from Highsmith.  I broke
down the alphabet into 18 groups:
A+B, C+D, E+F, G, H, I+J, K, L, M, N+O, P, Q+R, S, T, U+V, W, X+Y, Z

Each book is marked with a 1/4" piece of tape about 1 inch from the top of
the spine.  The color is decided by the first letter of the author's last
name. (I wasn't sure if that was obvious or not!)
Each shelf is marked with a laminated index card.  On the Index card is/are
the letter of the books that belong on that shelf, along with a piece of
the corresponding tape.

I do a big lesson explaining that the letter on each shelf is the first
letter of the author's last name.  I even have the kids pretend they wrote
a book, and they have to find the shelf their book would be on.

This color coding system has a variety of advantages.

I can send third graders with a handful of Red - A books and they can put
them away quickly.
I can tell a first grader to to to the G shelf with the green tape and they
usually can do it.
I can shelf read very quickly.  You wouldn't believe how easily a book that
belongs on the H shelf with orange tape sticks out when it is misshelved on
the M shelf with blue tape!

My holiday books are shelved in much the same way.  We added a Holiday
Sticker from Highsmith along with a color code tape to each holiday book.
New Year's books have a holiday sticker and a piece of gray tape,
Valentine's Day have a sticker and red tape, etc., through all the
holidays.  We decided a long time ago that any books that said anything
about a holiday - easy, fiction, nonfiction, even biography, would be
housed together in the holiday section. This works out really well for the
same reasons listed above!

My books are not in any more order on the shelves than this.  Just by the
first letter! With 625 kids and 30 classes a week and a part time aide,
this is as exact as I want it to be.

Hope this helps you!  Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Karen DeFrank, Media Specialist
Dorothy L. Bullock Elementary School, Glassboro, NJ
defrank@voicenet.com
"Summer-time, and the livin' is easy.........."
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