Making The Basics Fun Letter u had two eyes making it look like a smile face
cartoon boy and girl dancing by a cartoon rainbow.- Cover of Dot-to-Dot and Graph count by 1s.

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Dot-To-Dot And Graph Count By 1s

Introducing Dot-To-Dot and Graph- The New Nostalgia

Do you remember doing dot-to-dot puzzles when you were a kid? If you’re like me you LOVED them. Somehow it made me feel like I was a good “drawer”. 

I liked dot-to-dot puzzles because I knew I could do them on my own and when I was done I had a new picture to color and embellish with my own creativity. 

This post is about teaching with dot-to-dots and the Dot-To-Dot and Graph Count By 1s, activity book that I’ve recently published on Amazon. 

Teaching With Dot-To-Dots- A Survival Tool

When I became a teacher, I needed something for my students to do independently. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but 5 and 6 year-olds don’t do independent all that well.

But they can do Dot-To-Dot puzzles independently, if they are at their level. 

But, I have to tell you, I had some reservations about giving so many dot-to-dots. Were they “hard” enough? Did they provide any sort of educational value? Do you have some of the same thoughts and reservations I had about “easy” activities for students?

How Can You Level Up A Dot-To-Dot?

So when I started thinking about fun, independent, LEARNING activities that I could create for the kindergarten and first grade classroom I thought about dot-to-dots. But how can this fun activity be used to teach even more math skills while at the same time remain a fun activity students will want to do. And how can it be an independent activity? 

That’s when the thought of a marriage of a dot-to-dot to a graph? What would the babies look like? Well I’m sure you will agree they are just what the teacher ordered. 

Dot-To-Dot and Graph

When I taught kindergarten and first grade we did A LOT of graphing. We had a weekly graph. We had graphing at stations. It seems like we always did graphing BUT it was usually a whole group activity. Rarely did they get to collect and record data on their own. 

Solving The Independent Graphing Practice Problem

That independent graphing practice problem is solved with the dot-to-dot and graph activities. 

Here’s some of the benefits and ideas when using these unique independent math puzzles. 

Morning Work and Dot-To-Dot And Graphs

Does your morning routine include a morning work activity? Mine ALWAYS did. Why? Because the first 15 minutes of the day I wanted my students to be totally independent. So independent that they wouldn’t even miss me if I didn’t show up for those first 15 minutes. (Which never happened, except for in a thousand school nightmares that I had every night on repeat.) 

These puzzles are perfect for morning work. They are easy enough to be independent. Engaging enough to keep their attention until completion. And they are doing the math skill of collecting and recording data, independently. I call that a win.

Early Finisher Activity and Dot-To-Dot and Graphs

Hearing the words, “Teacher, I’m done. Now what?” used to make me cringe. Cringe X10. 

I don’t know why I thought kids would get done with activities and learning sequences at the same time. That’s something they don’t talk to you about in college. 

What in the heck am I supposed to do with a 5 year old who is done with “all” their work?

Dot-to-Dot and Graph to the rescue again. These are perfect for early finishers. They’re academic but also have that creative aspect that some of your early finishers thrive in. 

What would you give to banish early finisher problems from your classroom. I’m thinking these activities are going to help you stop it once and for all. 

If you want more ideas for Early Finisher read this post from We Are Teachers. 

If you just want the dot to dot and graph count by 1s  then my TpT store might fit your needs.

Just a heads up the TpT downloads don’t include the extra color pages, and number writing practice. 

The number writing is found only in the Amazon book that you can get here.

Want More Ideas For Dot-To-Dot and Graph Count By 1s?

A video has been made for you to help with going deeper into teaching math skills using these dot-to-dot and graph puzzles. 

If you do purchase the book you will notice a qr code that takes you directly to the video. This is perfect for sharing with parents. 

If you are a homeschooling parent then this video will also help you to use the dot-to-dot and graph puzzles as a teaching tool for your child. 

It’s not that hard once you have an idea of the different questions and learning sequence you can do to make this a higher level math experience.

More Dot-To-Dot and Graph Fun For Your Classroom

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Angie K

Angie K

I love to help teachers create an amazing teacher life.
I've taught for 25+ years and I want to help you find joy and energy in each day.

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