Teachable Texts

57. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

August 23, 2009 at 3:53 am Leave a comment

Retell: Vashti is frustrated in art class.  She doesn’t have confidence in her artistic ability.  Her teacher tells her to start with a dot and see where it takes her.  Soon she experiments with dots of different colors, shapes and sizes and becomes pleased with the results.

Topics: art, writer’s block, creativity, experimentation

Units of Study: Personal Narrative

Tribes: personal best, appreciations/no put-downs, mutual respect

Habits of Mind: persisting, creating-imagining-innovating, responding with wonderment and awe, taking responsible risks, thinking interdependently

Writing Skills: dealing with writer’s block, revising

My Thoughts: Though this book is about art, readers will make the obvious connection to writing.  I love the message of this book—experiment and enjoy the process.  If I don’t read this out loud to my entire class, I will definitely use this in small group work to help struggling writers get over their fear of the blank page.  I like how at the end of the book Vashti helps another young artist get over his frustration.  It’s a good example of how learners help one another.

Entry filed under: Male authors, Picture Books, Uncategorized. Tags: "creating imagining innovating", appreciations/no put-downs, art, creativity, experimentation, mutual respect, persisting, personal best, personal narrative, responding with wonderment and awe, revising, taking responsible risks, thinking interdependently, writer's block.