The Dot

Creating "The Dot" was a lot of fun for me because I felt like there were no rules and I could truly be creative with it. Sometimes with art, I struggle because I want my project to be perfect. This was a great opportunity for me because I did not feel any pressure for my dot to turn out in a certain way. 

I got to explore some new materials while creating my dot. For example, this was the first time I had ever heard of or used watercolor crayons. Those were really cool and I think could be a great resource for younger students who may not have super-developed fine motor skills. The crayons were also larger than a typical crayon, making them even more accessible. I could for sure see myself implementing this accommodation in my own classroom one day.

I also really enjoyed the story "The Dot" for many reasons. I think I could really relate to the message in the book because I was never one who considered myself an "artist" in school. I also did not have many opportunities to develop my skills so it was never something I felt confident in. Just like Vashti in the story, I also resonated with the simplicity of creating a dot and it expanded to give me even more creative freedom than I originally anticipated. I think this book would be a great thing to share with students of many ages.

Extension Activity:

For a 7th grade ELA integration activity, you could tie this project into a book report. For example, each student would be tasked with reading a book and writing a report on it, they could also be responsible for creating a dot that represents and correlates to an overall theme or idea of the book. This could then be turned into a "book walk" where each student can share their dot as a way of presenting their book report to their peers.