• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Become a Friend of the River Houses today!

The River Houses

A National Network of Local Homeschool Societies

  • Subscribe!
  • Home
  • Topics β–Ύ
    • Arts & Music
    • Astronomy
    • Books & Libraries
    • Collections & Collecting
    • Friday Bird Families
    • Great Stars
    • Holidays & History
    • Language & Literature
    • Lunar Society Bulletins
    • Maps & Geography
    • Museums & Monuments
    • Natural History
    • Poems-of-the-Week
    • Quick Freshes
    • Research & News
    • States & Countries
    • Terms & Calendars
    • Weekly World Heritage
  • Calendars
  • Six Books
  • TWOC β–Ύ
    • The Lunar Society of the River Houses
  • About Us β–Ύ
    • Our Mascots
  • Friends
  • Shop!
You are here: Home > Homeschool Books & Libraries > Discovering Dewey > This Post

πŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Social 300s

4 January 2022 by Bob O'Hara

Tuesday is our usual Homeschool BooksΒ & Libraries Day in the River Houses, and on the first Tuesday of each month we invite you and your young scholars to explore one of the major Dewey Decimal classes at your local library. If you start at the beginning of the River Houses year in September and run until July, you can adopt one major class each month and survey the whole of knowledgeΒ (!) in aΒ year.

The class for January is the 300s, which covers the Social Sciences. (The Dewey system is grouped into hundreds, so “the 300s” means the numbers running from 300 to 399.)

Here’s what you’ll find at your local library in the Social 300s:

  • CLASS 300 – SOCIAL SCIENCES
    • 300 – Social Sciences (General), Sociology, & Anthropology
    • 310 – Statistics
    • 320 – Political Science
    • 330 – Economics
    • 340 – Law
    • 350 – Public Administration & Military Science
    • 360 – Social Problems & Social Services
    • 370 – Education
    • 380 – Commerce, Communications, & Transportation
    • 390 – Customs, Etiquette, & Folklore

Each of these “tens” divisions is subdivided further of course. For example, in the 340s (Law) you’ll find works on Constitutional Law (342), Criminal Law (345), Courts and Procedures (347), and so on.

So this month if you’ve got a future anthropologist in your homeschool, 301 is the place to go. AΒ future insurance agent? Head for 368. AΒ future cavalry officer? Try 357. A future senator? Go and explore 328. AΒ successor to Miss Manners? Then 395 is the place to be. 😊

❑ What’s our number, mom? The Social 300s includes Education (370), and so that means it also includes homeschooling! If you want to see if your local library has any books specifically on the topic of homeschooling (not simply books that homeschoolers might use), make your way to the 300s (Social Sciences), and then to the 370s (Education), and then to 371 (Schools and Their Activities; Special Education), and then to 371.04 (Alternative Schools, including home schools).Β πŸ”

When you’re learning the library with your students, be sure they understand that any library collection that uses the Dewey Decimal Classification will be arranged in the same way: the numbers run from 000 to 999 in every Dewey-based library, so if you’re interested in, say, Astronomy, you’ll find it in the 520s in both the small-town library near you and in the big-city library across the country. If you have an opportunity to make field trips to multiple libraries over the course of the year you’ll be able to demonstrate that in practice and get your students accustomed to orienting themselves by reading the numbers aloud as you walk together down the ranges: “500Β … 510Β … 515Β … here it is,Β 520.”

Mastering these library basics will help your students become independent life-long learners and will ensure that they’ll feel right at home in any library they visit.

What delightful decimals and textual treasures have you discovered in your library this Orion Term?Β πŸ“š

❑ Make it a tradition: Why not spend a few minutes during your first library visit each month and devise a little Dewey tradition of your own. Read the title page of one book in the 300s, one in the 310s, one in the 320s, one in the 330s, and so on. Find the very first book in the class (the lowest 300) and the very last book in the class (the highest 399). Find the thinnest book and the thickest book in each class. Make a list of your three favorite numbers in each class. If you follow a simple pattern like this month-by-month, over the course of the year you’ll be surprised how much information your students will absorb and how many academic skills they will develop without even realizing it.Β πŸ”

❑ Dukedoms large enough: Have you found all the local libraries in your area? There may be more than you realize, and there’s no better homeschool field trip than a field trip to a new library! The WorldCat Library Finder will help you find all the library collections near youΒ β€” public and private, large and smallΒ β€” and the WorldCat catalog itself will help you locate the closest copy of almost any book in the world.Β πŸ“–

❑ When in doubt, go to the library: This is one of our regular Homeschool Books & Libraries posts. Add your name to our weekly mailing list and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year.Β πŸ—ž

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related Posts:

  • πŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: Introducing DeweyπŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: Introducing Dewey
  • πŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Literary 800sπŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Literary 800s
  • πŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: On Beyond DeweyπŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: On Beyond Dewey
  • πŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Philosophical 100sπŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Philosophical 100s

Filed Under: Discovering Dewey, Homeschool Books & Libraries

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Newsletter!

It’s free! Your name and email address are never shared with any third parties.

CHECK YOUR INBOX (or spam folder) to confirm your subscription. Thank you! 😊

Search the River Houses

Recent Posts

  • 🌠 WONDERFUL WORDS: A Star in a Stoneboat
  • 🌠 PERSEID METEORS for August 2022
  • πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ HAPPY BIRTHDAY to General Nathanael Greene, “The Fighting Quaker”
  • πŸ—“ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 7 August 2022
  • 🌎 πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ SUNDAY STATES: Alaska, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and More
  • πŸ”­ WATCHERS OF THE SKIES – August 2022
  • πŸ¦… FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Accidental and Extinct Species
  • πŸ“Έ PHOTO CHALLENGE – August 2022: β€œLake Islands” and β€œInsects”
  • 🌎 πŸ‡»πŸ‡ͺ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Historic Coro in Venezuela
  • πŸ’° HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LINCOLN CENT, β€œBorn” This Day in 1909
  • πŸ“š LEARNING THE LIBRARY: On Beyond Dewey
  • πŸ–‹ 🍻 WONDERFUL WORDS: To the Meteor Rolling Home
  • πŸ—“ 😎 β˜€οΈ HAPPY HOMESCHOOL AUGUST from the River Houses!
  • πŸ—“ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 31 July 2022
  • 🌎 πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ SUNDAY STATES: Arizona, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and More

Post Calendar

August 2022
S M T W T F S
« Jul    
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  

Post Categories

  • 🎡 Homeschool Arts & Music
  • πŸ”­ Homeschool Astronomy
  • πŸ“š Homeschool Books & Libraries
  • πŸ’° Homeschool Collections & Collecting
  • πŸ“… Homeschool Holidays & Anniversaries
  • πŸ“– Homeschool Language & Literature
  • πŸŒ• Lunar Society Bulletins
  • πŸ—Ί Homeschool Maps & Geography
  • πŸ› Homeschool Museums & Monuments
  • 🏞 Homeschool Natural History
  • πŸ—“ Quick Freshes for Homeschool Families
  • πŸ”Ž Homeschool Research & News
  • 🌎 πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Homeschool States & Countries
  • πŸ—“ Homeschool Terms & Calendars

Astronomy

  • American Meteor Society
    • – Fireball Reporting System
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day
  • Evening Sky Maps
  • Homeschool Astronomy (Sky & Telescope)
  • Hubble Space Telescope
    • – Learning Resources
  • NASA
    • – Asteroid Watch
    • – Educator Resources
    • – Our Solar System
    • – Spot the Station
    • – Webb Space Telescope
  • The Planets Today
    • – Light-Distance to the Planets
  • The Sky This Week (USNO)
  • Space Weather
  • Stellarium Night Sky Charts
  • Time and Date
    • – Eclipses
    • – Meteor Showers
    • – Moon Phases
    • – Seasons
  • Tonight’s Sky (hubblesite.com)
  • Virtual Planisphere

Books & Libraries

  • Baldwin Library of Children’s Literature
  • Biodiversity Heritage Library
  • Classic Children’s Books (read.gov)
  • Folger Shakespeare Library
    • – Educator Resources
    • – Shakespeare’s Plays Online
  • HathiTrust Digital Library
  • In Our Time (BBC Podcasts)
  • New York Public Library Digital Collections
  • Project Gutenberg
  • US Library of Congress
    • – Children’s Book Selections
    • – Educator Resources
    • – LC Blogs
    • – LC Digital Collections
    • – Minerva’s Kaleidoscope
  • US National Archives
    • – Educator Resources
    • – Founders Online
    • – K–5 Resources
    • – Teaching With Documents
  • Vatican Library Digital Collections
  • WorldCat Library Catalog
    • – WorldCat Library Finder
  • World Digital Library

Museums, Parks, & Monuments

  • Art Collections Online
  • British Museum Collections Online
  • Google Arts & Culture Collections
  • Smithsonian Institution
    • – Educator Resources
    • – Smithsonian Museums
    • – Smithsonian Open Access
  • Timeline of Art History
  • US National Park Service
    • – Educator Resources
    • – National Memorials
    • – National Monuments
    • – National Parks
    • – Wild & Scenic Rivers Program
  • US National Wildlife Refuges
  • US State Parks
  • Watercolour World

Natural History

  • All About Birds (Cornell University)
    • – Bird Identification Guide
    • – eBird Online
  • Biodiversity Heritage Library
  • BirdCast Daily Migration Maps
  • Time and Date
    • – Seasons
  • UC Museum of Paleontology
    • – Educator Resources
  • US Fish & Wildlife Service
    • – Education Programs
  • US Geological Survey
    • – Educator Resources
    • – Latest Earthquakes
  • US National Weather Service
    • – Educator Resources
    • – Nationwide Air Quality
    • – Nationwide River Conditions
    • – Wildfire and Smoke Map
  • Wild & Scenic Rivers Program

Maps & Geography

  • Antipodes Map
  • FlightAware (Planes in the Air)
  • Mapquest World Maps
  • MarineTraffic (Ships at Sea)
  • OpenStreetMap World Maps
  • Printable Blank Maps & Flags
  • Printable Outline Maps (d-maps.com)
  • River Runner
  • USGS Topographic Maps
  • World Factbook (cia.gov)
  • World Heritage Sites (UNESCO)
    • – Educator Resources
  • Zoom Earth

Civics & Social Science

  • 1776 Unites
  • Bill of Rights Institute
  • Constitution Center
  • C-Span Classroom
  • Foundation for Economic Education
  • Free Speech Curriculum from FIRE
  • History of the Western World (I)
    • – Western World (II)
  • iCivics.org
  • Learn Liberty
  • Mises Institute Economics
  • MyMoney.gov
    • – Educator Resources
  • Online Library of Liberty
  • US Founding Documents
  • US Government Portal
    • – The Congress
    • – The Supreme Court
    • – The White House
  • US Mint
    • – Coin Activities for Kids
    • – Educator Resources
  • US Postal Museum
    • – Explore the Collections
    • – Activities for Kids
    • – Stamps Teach (from APS)
  • Visual Capitalist

Post Archives

  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • April 2017
Sign up for our free newsletter and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox every week!

All original content Β© 2017–2022 by The River Houses Β· The River Houses and the River Houses emblem are Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.