International Dot Day Activities for 4th & 5th Grade

Have you heard all the buzz about International Dot Day in 2023? It is the 20th anniversary. While this book and holiday is usually saved for younger kids, it’s a great opportunity to involve your 4th & 5th grade students in some themed and age appropriate Dot Day activities during their ELA block.

The holiday is centered around the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. It is a book about a girl who can not come up with anything to draw during art class. This leaves her feeling aggravated. The teacher encourages her to start with a mark and see where it takes her. The girl doesn’t love the idea, so she jabs a dot onto the paper. The teacher asks her sign the paper and then frames the artwork in class. Seeing her artwork up in class motivates Vashti to try to make a better dot. This leads to a series of more complicated art pieces. 

The books focus is on having a growth mindset, but many other lessons can come from this one book.

Here are a variety of fun ideas you can incorporate into your classroom to make the day memorable and a day full of valuable lessons.

(This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate links. That means that if you buy a book using a link, Amazon will throw a few pennies my way at no cost to you.)

Dot Day Classroom Set Up

No need for anything extravagant, but setting up the stage to engage can get students excited for the day.

1. Bring in some dot streamers to hang.
2. Put up a Happy Dot Day poster on the front door or banner on the board.

Dot Day Theme Ideas

Kids love a good theme and this day will be the perfect excuse to have one.

1. Polka Dotted Clothes: Students come wearing any clothes item that has polka dots on it.
2. Buttons: Students wear button down shirts or shirts with buttons on them.

Dot Day Snack Ideas

Kids get really excited about snacks, so here are a few fun snack ideas. (As always, make sure your students do not have an allergies to these foods.)

• Candy Ideas:

1. Dots
2. Skittles
3. M&Ms 
4. Button Candy

• Food Ideas:

1. Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels
2. Any fruits or vegetables that when sliced look like a dot. (Ex. carrots, cucumbers, grapes, bananas, zucchini, grape tomatoes)

Dot Day Game Ideas

Infusing some brain break games or indoor recess games will make the day fun and memorable. Have students play any of the following games in pairs.

1. Dots & Boxes
2. Checkers
3. Connect 4
4. Connect the Dots
5. Relay Race “On Your MARK, Get Set, Go)

Read Aloud Book or Video

If you have time to purchase The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds and read it to your class, that’s always the best way to share a read aloud. I find that reading to the class helps build memories and create stronger reading bonds. That being said, if you don’t have time to grab the book, no worries, The next best thing is available. You can always find it as a read aloud online.

After reading the book, you can have students work on standard based reading comprehension questions.

Next. have them watch a video of what inspired Peter H. Reynolds to write The Dot.

Student Gift Ideas

1. Make a Mark bookmarks
2. Fidget bracelets
3. Fidget keychains
4. Pens or Markers for students to create their own dot drawings
5. Mini Play-Doh
6. Any of the snack options listed previous

ELA Activities

As an upper elementary teacher, we know how important it is to tie the activities to standards, especially with state testing right around the corner. Below are some fun Dot Day ELA Activities that are standard based.

1. Have students work with idioms. Choose ones that include “dot” or “mark” in them. (ex. on the dot or make your mark)
2. Discuss the benefits of using synonyms in writing. Have them make a list of different synonyms for the word “dot.”
3. Challenge them to create and write a follow up story called “The Squiggle.” Once they have written one and shared, read Ish by Peter H. Reynolds to them.
4. Have students come up with different themes for the book and support it with text evidence.

Brain Break or Just for Fun Activities

1. Have students participate on the “Not a dot” drawing challenge. Have them draw a dot in the center of a paper and turn it into something else.
2. Give students the opportunity to participate in the 30 Circle Challenge.
3. See how many words students can come up with that have the word “mark” in them.
4. The words “dot” and “mark” are both words that can be used as a noun and a verb. Challenge students to come up with as many other words they can think of that also fall into this category. (ex. duck and tape)

Make planning easy with this Twos Day Activities ELA Pack!