Our third graders started off the year reading "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds. Although International Dot Day is in September, the story is just tooooo goooood to wait that long! Several years ago, I found a great project that I use with the story. The kids use dots, draw straight lines with a ruler, and use a complex coloring scheme to complete.
Here are the steps:
1. On a 12X12 square of white paper put 2 black dots on the paper using a marker. Next put 10 colored dots on the paper. These 10 dots should all be the same color. The dots should not be too big, just a light tap on the paper.
2. Using a ruler and a pencil, connect a colored dot to both of the black dots. Continue until you have drawn straight lines from all the colored dots to both black dots. When finished you will have an amazing shape we call a Starburst!
But the work has just begun!!!
3. Next, artists must choose 3 colors of colored pencils. They must color in each shape that is made as the lines criss-cross. Our goal is not to have any shapes that are next to each other be the same color. In other words, two shapes that share a side can not be the same color. This can be extremely challenging. The easiest way to do this is to start on one side of your starburst and work your way across. If they just color in random shapes, it never works!
When students are finished they are rewarded with a Starburst Candy. My students love that each one looks different, depending on where each student puts the dots. Here are some finished projects and the bulletin board display.
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