International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom toPeter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009.
The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.
This past week, many classrooms around Alwin Holland read the story and did a follow up activity to go along with it.
– some created something out of dots and wrote about their pictures.
– some learned about shades and tints and created painted dots to show their understanding of this.
– some learned about Roy Lichtenstein and created self portraits inspired by his dotty artwork.
– some had a conversation about celebrating their unique qualities, and the importance of taking risks in their learning. They then made positive thought dots, which can be found in the hallway.