The Dot

In class we did an art assignment called The Dot.  We integrated this art project with Language Arts because we listen to a book read aloud called The Dot by Peter Reynolds.  The story was about believing in yourself and never giving up.  In the story everyone thought that a dot was not artwork but it was artwork because it can be whatever you want it to be.  This book had a great message for kids.  I love bringing literature into any activity because children love read alouds.  We then had a chance to make our own dots.  We made the dots out of coffee filters and used different materials when creating the dots like markers, oil pastels, watercolors, and crayons.  It was very fun to explore the new materials and see which ones would blend with the water colors and which materials would not mix.  The white crayon and oil pastel would not mix with water so that was how we could write our name and it would show up on our dot. 

An extension activity could be to still do the read aloud because it is a great way to integrate literature into an art activity and then have the students create their dot with the vocabulary words for the week on the dot or spelling words so they can practice spelling the words on the dot.  This will be a great way to review vocabulary words for the end of the week test in a fun and engaging way.  It will also help the students practice spelling their spelling words without the students even knowing they are practicing spelling.