September 15 is International Dot Day, so we celebrated for several days around the day itself. At every grade level we read a complementary book along with The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds. Our conversations about using our imaginations carried over from a previous lesson, and students carried The Dot forward with suggestions as to how the boy could turn his squiggle into different pictures. Then our dot fun began!
Kindergarteners listened to Patricia Intriago's book Dot before reading The Dot.
These students created large dots in table groups, and each group's dot was matched to another class's dot. Now their dots are stuffed and hanging along the long wall in the library!
First grade students listened to and participated in an activity related to Hervé Tullet's Press Here. Then they designed dots and made their marks on paper plates that we've grouped together into a display.
Second graders read another Hervé Tullet book--Mix it Up!--before working on their dots, which now hang in a display in the hallway.
Our third grade students read the book 10 Black Dots and talked about the things they could make with black dots. Then they worked on their dots for display--dots designed on coffee filters and then sprayed with water to give a watercolor effect. These now hang above the library doors.
Fourth grade students read and talked about the book Lots of Dots before working on buddy dots. They designed dots, cut them into fourths, and then we reassembled them into a display that features all students' dots.
Finally, students in fifth grade listened to Andrew Clements' book A Million Dots and then created dots that were attached front-to-back with others and then hung in a mobile-like fashion around the library.
After celebrating Dot Day for the first time, we know that it will become a yearly event for us! We made our mark that week--how did you make your mark?
