International Dot Day

September 15th is International Dot day, the date that marks the anniversary of best selling author and illustrator, Peter H. Reynolds' The Dot. In 2009, a group of educators began celebrating this date for classes to explore the story's powerful themes of bravery, creativity and self-expression. The Dot tells the story of a caring teacher who reaches a reluctant student in a remarkably creative way. In Reynolds' book, the teacher dares a very resistant Vashti to "make her mark." Vashti's breakthrough begins with a simple dot on a piece of paper. Encouraged by her teacher, she sets off an a journey of self-discovery, letting her creativity bloom and ultimately inspires others.


We've celebrated Dot Day several ways in the media center. Students listened to the story of The Dot, designed their own dot and then brought it to life using the Quiver 3D coloring app on the iPads.

Have you ever wondered how they add the imaginary yellow first down line while watching a football game on TV? How about those Snapchat filters that turn you into a dog? Have you played Pokemon Go? Augmented Reality (or AR) is a growing field of technology where real life is modified and enhanced by computer generated sights and sounds. The most common use of AR can be see through mobile apps. Point your device's camera at something the app recognizes, and it will generate a 3D animation and overlay virtual content onto the real world - right on your camera's screen! The effect makes the computer-generated item appear like it's really there.

The only real guideline for Dot Day is that everyone read The Dot and express themselves in any way they are inspired to - whether that means building a dot gallery, wearing dots, studying chromatography in science class, listening to The Dot Song or The Dot Digital Read Aloud, writing a dot song, or even writing a reader's theater script and putting on a live performance. How you celebrate is completely up to you.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more pictures of the Augmented Reality lessons for grades 3-5 and 6-8.

Just make a mark ... and see where it takes you. 

Some discussion questions you can have at home about The Dot:

• Have you ever felt the way Vashti did at the beginning of the story? (Not necessarily in art class, but in any time in your life.)
• What character traits describe Vashti at the beginning of the story? How would you describe her at the end?
• What do you think the most important message or theme of this story is?
• Describe the sequence of events that helped Vashti discover her unique talent.
• Why do you think the author ended the story with Vashti asking the boy to sign his wiggly line?
• What's an example of one thing a kid could do to make a big difference in someone's life? 
• How do you dream of "making your mark" in the world? What's one small way you can start working on it now?