The Smallest Spot of a Dot 3rd (Visual Arts)

A colorful promotional banner featuring a book cover titled "The Smallest Spot of a Dot," surrounded by diverse children. Text reads "Creativity Task Cards" in the center on a green background. A yellow circle on the right displays "3" and "Third Grade.

Art Form: Visual Arts

 

Supplies Needed

The Smallest Spot of a Dot book

1 piece of paper

Pencil

Assorted colors of paper

Glue stick

Scissors

Markers

 

Vocabulary

Color - Light reflected by an object

Line - A continuous mark made on a surface by a moving point

Collage - A type of art that involves attaching different materials onto a surface to create an image that has texture

Space - The distance or area between, around, above or within things (the area the artist uses)

Characters - A person in a story or play

Compare and contrast - Determining how things or characters are alike or different

 

Instructions

1. After reading the book, discuss or think about the questions:

  • What is something special about you that makes you unique?
  • Compare and contrast yourself with the characters in the story.
  • How are you similar to them? How are you different?
  • How does the book show that we're different but still connected?
  • Why is it important to celebrate our differences and what makes us unique?

2. Begin by drawing a large circle in the center of your paper. Inside this circle, write your name and list some things that make you unique (your hobbies, favorite colors, personality, family traditions, etc.).

  • Experiment with colors and letter styles as you design your circle.
  • You can also draw images to represent the words instead of writing words.

3. Use construction paper and scissors to cut out different size circles. Create a collage by gluing the circles around the border of your main circle in a pattern.You can layer and overlap the circles.

4. Add patterns to your dots with markers and crayons to express your style. You can also add words to describe the characteristics of the other characters in the
story to your dots.

 

Extensions

Share your collage with a friend or family member, explain what makes you unique and how that is represented in your collage.

Write a story or poem about how you are special and add to the beauty of the world.

Cover of the book "The Smallest Spot of a Dot" by Linsey Davis and Michael Tyler, illustrated by Lucy Fleming. It features diverse children playing with colorful dots on a white background, reminiscent of notes in a joyful piece of music. The subtitle reads, "The Little Ways We're Different, The Big Ways We're The Same.
Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.

The Smallest Spot of a Dot 2nd (Visual Arts)

A colorful banner featuring "The Smallest Spot of a Dot" book cover on the left, a green circle in the middle with "Creativity Task Cards" written on it, and a yellow circle on the right with the number "2" and "Second Grade" underneath, reminiscent of the whimsical style of *The Big Umbrella*.

Art Form: Visual Arts

 

Supplies Needed

The Smallest Spot of a Dot book

1 piece of blank paper

Pencil, crayons, markers, watercolor paint

Optional: Stickers, sequins, foam shapes, and glue

Vocabulary

Color - Light reflected by an object

Line - A continuous mark made on a surface by a moving point

Pattern - Something that happens or appears in a regular and repeated way

Symbol - An object, shape, sign, or character that represents something else (heart for love, clover for luck)

Characters - A person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Compare/Contrast - Determining how things or characters are alike or different

 

Instructions

1. After reading The Smallest Spot of a Dot, discuss what you think the "dot" represents. Discuss how the theme of the book focuses on how everyone has a unique "dot" that makes them special.

2. Talk about what makes you unique. Then, compare and contrast yourself to the characters in the story.

  • Talk about the ways that the characters are alike and different from you.
  • Discuss how just like the dots in the book, everyone’s uniqueness contributes to the beauty of the world.

3. Draw a large dot in the center of your paper. It will represent your "unique spot”.

4. Fill in your dot with patterns, colors, and symbols that represent your personality, interests, or background.

5. Use a variety of materials like markers, watercolors, and crayons. You can also embellish your dot with sequins or stickers!

 

Extensions

Encourage friends or members of your family to create a dot that represents them.

Compare and contrast your dots. How are they similar or different?

Cover of the book "The Smallest Spot of a Dot" by Linsey Davis and Michael Tyler, illustrated by Lucy Fleming. It features diverse children playing with colorful dots on a white background, reminiscent of notes in a joyful piece of music. The subtitle reads, "The Little Ways We're Different, The Big Ways We're The Same.
Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.

The Big Umbrella 1 (Visual Arts)

A banner featuring a book cover titled "The Big Umbrella" with an illustration of a red umbrella and diverse characters underneath it, alongside text that reads "Creativity Task Cards - First Grade" in white over an orange background with a number "1" on a yellow circle.

Art Form: Visual Arts

Supplies Needed

The Big Umbrella book

Crayons or oil pastels

Watercolor paints

1 piece of thick paper

Water container

Paint brush

Vocabulary

Color - Light reflected by an object

Line - A continuous mark made on a surface by a
moving point

Resist - Resist paintings rely on something, such
as tape or crayon, to prevent color from showing up
on a painting in the spot where it is placed

Endpapers – Beginning and end pages inside the
cover of a book

Setting - Where the story takes place

Sequence - The order in which the events of the
story takes place

Instructions

1. Look closely at the illustrations on the end pages, inside the front and back cover of the book.

  • What do you see? Describe the colors, lines and shapes.
  • Compare and contrast the illustrations.

2. Then, read aloud, The Big Umbrella. After reading, discuss the following:

  • What do you notice about how the umbrella protects everyone?
  • What does the umbrella remind you of?

3. Discuss how the umbrella is big enough to include everyone. Discuss how the umbrella showed kindness and how it is similar to how we can be kind and include others in our activities and friendships.

4. Using crayons or oil pastels, draw a large umbrella on your paper, big enough to fill most of the space on the paper. Draw different kinds of people, animals, and creatures under the umbrella, just like in the story.

5. Draw the rain, clouds, and the sun in the sky above the umbrella. Be sure to use a variety of lines and colors.

6. When you are finished, paint over the entire piece of paper with watercolors. Notice how the crayon or oil pastel resists the paint.

Extensions

Take a look at the page in the book without text. Describe what you see.

Create a dialogue between the sun and the Big Umbrella.

Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.

The Big Umbrella K (Visual Arts)

Art Form: Visual Arts

 

Supplies Needed

The Big Umbrella book

Crayons, markers, colored pencils

A piece of large paper or poster
board

Vocabulary

Space - The distance or area between,
around, above, or within things (the area the
artist uses)

Color - Light reflected by an object

Line - A continuous mark made on a surface
by a moving point

Shape - An enclosed space that can be two
or three dimensional

Characters - A person in a story or play, or
an animal or object that has human qualities.

Instructions

1. Before reading the book, look closely at the illustrations on the front cover. What do you see? Describe the colors, lines and shapes that you see.

2. Next, read the book, The Big Umbrella, aloud, and discuss the following questions:

  • Who are the characters in the story? Are they all the same or different?
  • How did the umbrella make people feel when they were under it?
  • Who was welcome under the umbrella? Why do you think that is?
  • What are some ways that we can be like the Big Umbrella in the story?

3. Create your own "big umbrella" that can welcome everyone, just like the one in the story. Draw a large umbrella in the center of your paper using a curved line for the top and a connect it with a straight line on the bottom. Color it in and draw a handle using a “J” shaped line.

4. Look at the final page of the story. Who do you see under the umbrella? Discuss whether the characters are all the same or different.

5. Fill the space under and around your umbrella with a variety of colors, lines, shapes and figures that you want to include under your “big umbrella”!

Extensions

Give your umbrella a voice using the Chatterpix app. (available on Google and iTunes)

Describe what it feels like to welcome everyone to play a game together, eat a meal together, etc.

Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.