Still Wondering What Dot Day Is and Looking for Activities

Dot Day can be celebrated any day. The Educators' Handbook for Dot Day is an excellent guide for lesson ideas for any day of the year. This free guide can be downloaded from Fable Vision Learning. Click on the image below to access the online pdf of the guide, and save the file for reference.

And for more inspiration, check this blog which is a steady stream of artistic contributions in celebration of the ideas represented in the book. Click on the image of the blog's banner below to get to the blog:

See for instance, the contribution from artist Jon Klassen, winner of the 2013 Caldecott Medal for "Most Distinguished Picture Book": This is Not Hat. 

You will find close to 100 illustrations on the site, as of September 15, 2013, which marks the 10th anniversary celebration of the book's birthday. Check the blog archive to trace back contributions.

International Dot Day Coming Your Way

International Dot Day falls on September 15, but students read the book, The Dot, any time of the year.  In September, teachers make a concerted effort to share with the others their students' responses. Some share through a Twitter tweet with a link to a blog post, video, or image. I'm including examples below.

First, here's an Animoto.  Click on the image below to access it.

Here's another Animoto, created by students at the Brewster and Korn Elementary School in Durham, CT. Click on the image to view the Animoto.

Here's an example of a bulletin board students created.

Below are other images I screen captured from teachers' tweets. 

The students above are coloring pictures and will use the colAR App to make their pictures come to life in 3-D.  Here's an example of 2nd graders using the app before coloring the pictures. It's hard to imagine how the app works in this 2-D environment, but you can learn more about it from the colARApp site. The site includes in its collections coloring pages for Dot Day.

The one below is of Connecticut school media-librarian Anne Doyle, from RSD#13, in the Middlebury-Durham area. Anne Doyle is the school librarian, grade 5-6, at  Memorial School Library.  Great to see an educator and student dressing up to celebrate the book's theme of "make your mark on the world." 

Jenny Lussier, a teacher librarian at the Brewster and Korn Elementary Schools in Durham, RSD#13, is also getting ready for dot day. Here is a shot from her web page.

The Korn Elementary School, one of the schools, even has on its homepage, information about the school celebrating Dot Day.

http://korn.rsd13ct.org/

And another Connecticut teacher, Nada Nanoun, in Avon, is also celebrating Dot Day with her 2nd graders, and posted this picture:

She shared this follow-up comment on Twitter:

And one of the best ways to follow along with what students are doing for Dot Day is by checking the author's own Dot Day sign up page and his Twitter feed, which does not require a Twitter account to view.  Click on the image below to find Peter Reynold's Twitter 

Look for pic.twitter.com ULR's in tweets to for links to click on to access pictures. Here's a screen capture to show you what such a pic.twitter.com link looks like.  

Well, by now, hoping your creativity is flowing, and you're inspired to join in. Let us know your plans or thoughts about Dot Day or the book The Dot and its many messages to go out and "make your mark" in the world.

Watch Your 2-D Drawing Come to Life

This is a fun activity for anyone of any age. Draw a picture using colored pencils, crayons, or any writing tool. Download the colAR app (free from Apple for the iPad). Then open the App on your iPad, and hold the iPad above the drawing as you would when taking a picture. Watch this demo to see how the App makes the picture come to life in 3-D. Can you see how you might use the ColAR app in the classroom to excite students, motivate discussion, andstimulate story telling?



Check this post below to see one way the App was used in a literacy unit of study.

Dot Day Fun! Watch Your Dot Come to Life in Amazing 3D in the colAR App

Been hearing lots of good things from teachers who have tried the App with their students. What are your thoughts about possible uses?