Dot Day StoryWalk - DIY Guide
By Heather Delouchry, Library Media Specialist
Flanders School, East Lyme, Connecticut
Looking for a fun, healthy and active way to kick off the school year and celebrate International Dot Day? Try a StoryWalk® with The Dot ! Thanks to Anne Ferguson, the creator of the StoryWalk®, you can enjoy The Dot outside, in nature too. Not only will your students and staff enjoy it, but families and community members will too.
Here’s how to get started:
Buy 3 copies of The Dot. Cut 2 and laminate pages. Keep the 3rd so you can carry and read (that way you can stand anywhere).
Buy yards signs, posts, or use your school campus to create 20 spots to put up pages. Depending on what you use, you may need a few more materials. For example, Velcro works well to stick the laminated pages to the yard signs. I found grouping pages by two works best for story flow. I also start with an expectations page to review what it looks and sounds like when reading a story outside.
Go outside and read The Dot to your classes, or invite parents in read to their child’s class to kick off the year. Add Novel Effect to add even more excitement and enjoyment to the listening experience.
Be flexible! Do what you can given your school and your budget. You can always start with buying 2 books, yard signs and post the story around your school campus. Or you can go big with permanent posts/stands, so the StoryWalk® can be left outside for weeks, or even months for all to enjoy after school hours or on weekends.
Add scavenger hunts to the end of the story. Allow students to walk, skip, or even run to pages and have fun.
Find a page that made you smile.
Find a page with a picture you just love.
Find a page with a word that made you wonder.
Find a page with your favorite color.
Find a page you want to share with a loved one.
A StoryWalk® is an event students won’t forget. It is an event that requires extra work to prepare and extra management to ensure students are safe. Believe me, you won’t regret it. Wishing you all the love and support to make this world a better place by creating a StoryWalk® with The Dot to kick off the school year. It’s time to Make Your Mark!
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.
The Dot book is published by Candlewick Press, © 2003, Art & Text by Peter H. Reynolds.
