Children's Corner: The Many Faces of a Topic

Children’s Corner: The Many Faces of a Topic

Once kids get to a certain grade, projects and science and social studies fairs pop up, requiring RESEARCH.  Gasp!  Horrors!  Research needn’t be a wretched business, and here’s why.  As many of you know, the facts in our library are arranged by subject matter according to the Dewey Decimal System.  Starting with the 100s and going through the 900s, each number refers to a general subject.  While helping your kiddo get the most out of their research, make sure to look at a given topic from its many angles.  Let’s try ancient Egypt.  Here goes…

Check the 100s, containing information on, well, information.  Ancient Egypt was a giant of its time, imparting timeless knowledge that we continually reference and glean insight from.  Move over to the religion section, in the 200s.  Osiris, Isis, Ra, Set...like ancient Greece and Rome, Egyptian religion was polytheistic, a colorful sub-topic to check out.  Next the 300s which contain topics of a social nature.  Mummification was reserved only for those who could afford it, and many other cultures practiced it. 

Now, the 400s: language.  One of the most striking language discoveries was that of Egyptian hieroglyphs, containing images that are easily recognizable today.  You’ll see the 500s contain everything science, giving us several things to look for concerning ancient Egypt.  Studies of the stars, mathematics, not to mention the climate and the famous Nile River.  The 600s contain information galore on health and technology – the pyramids!  There are several theories exploring how these massive structures were built.  And the 700s explain all about architecture, arts, and entertainment.  The ancient Egyptians were a very visual people, the images endure today; not to mention their fascinating pyramids and statues.  What could literature tell us in the 800s?  Ancient Egypt with its life-giving Nile, papyrus plants, Valley of the Kings, dusty sun-baked structures of antiquity has spawned countless poems and works of fiction.  Finally, the 900s is likely the place where one would begin researching any nation, as it is all things history.  If you begin in one place, don’t stop there; information is always there for those who look!

3.6.2015  Erin K Henry