Children in third grade visit the library for one forty minute session
each week . While literature appreciation is still a primary focus,
there is substantial expansion in the library skills which are taught at
this level. The difference between fiction and non-fiction is reviewed
and reinforced. Fiction arrangement is reviewed, and the Dewey Decimal
system is introduced. Children are expected to locate materials independently
if provided with appropriate call letters/numbers. Biography is defined,
and its unique system of arrangement explained. Children delve further
into the reference section of the library, and electronic reference sources
are introduced. Children have their first experience with the electronic
card catalogue.
Often is it is the parent who takes responsibility for book returns in
the lower grades. The focus for this responsibility begins to shift
at this age, and children take greater accountability for their borrowing
privileges.