Connecting the Dots across the Hills!

Monday, we Skyped, created bookmarks, played with augmented reality, and of course enjoyed reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. My first graders joyfully sang along to The Dot Song as they worked on their bookmarks. I was touched when one of my second graders who borrowed The Dot joined in with a smile when I began to read her favorite part. It was obvious that she had read the book many, many times over the last week.  Our third graders created some very beautiful dots that we brought to life with the Colar Mix App.

Both schools that we met with virtually had "Hill" in the name. So I guess you could say that we connected the dots across the hills.

We were privileged to Skype with the fourth graders from Prairie Hill Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Thanks to Alyssa Calhoun, their school librarian for helping us to make the connection. We learned that they have art as a special. The Cedar Rapids students were shocked to find out that we don't have art at our school. We are looking forward to Skyping again when our bookmarks arrive.

Melissa McDonald, the librarian at Flower Hill Elementary School in Gaithersburg, MD and her kindergarten students shared Press Here with us.  Ms. McDonald also shared information about Flower Hill Elementary and Maryland with our students.

We are tracking our connections on a Google Map and are looking forward to connecting more dots all week long.

Creative Collaboration

We are busy putting the finishing touches on our Dot Day Celebration.  International Dot Day is based on The Dot by Peter Reynolds and it encourages courage, creativity, collaboration and connection. My PLN network has rapidly expanded since July when I signed up.  I have made so many connections with other teachers and librarians via twitter and The International Dot Day Google Doc. 

I recently participated in my first Skype session with Melvina Kurashige in Hawaii.  She teaches Japanese to 6th graders.  

We are collaborating on a Dot Day project where our students will exchange bookmarks encouraging each other to reach for their dreams. We'll each be sharing anchor texts with our students that will serve as the inspiration for their bookmarks. They are reading  the Heart of the Samurai. We are going to read the I Have a Dream Speech. I can't wait to exchange bookmarks with one another. 

I have also signed some of my classes up for Skype sessions with other classes across the country.  Our library is becoming flatter as we begin to develop connections with classrooms outside of our school.  Best of all my students are learning library skills in a unique way. I am certain this project will open the doors for discussing digital citizenship and etiquette. The students will hopefully see that the library doesn't just hold books on a shelf but that it also provides a place to create, collaborate and connect.  Our Public Library is certainly promoting this idea with their 4th Floor events and activities.  So I am giving them a shout out for being part of my Dot Day inspiration.