“Stars Shine Brightly” Arts Experiences

“Stars Shine Brightly” is an arts resource, complete with world folk tales and original music, developed for grade levels K-5. Activities are for the classroom and include: Storytelling, Music, Dance, Theater, and Visual Art. “Stars Shine Brightly” is aligned with Arizona educational standards in ELA, World/Language, Arts; and Socio-Emotional competencies.

Kindergarten Teacher Guides: Below are five sequential Kindergarten cultural activities in Storytelling, Music, Theater, Dance, and Visual Art. Each activity begins with a group discussion (Prospecting for Gold) and ends with a class challenge (Golden Rule Challenge). As you use this resource in the classroom, your students will deepen their understanding of the Golden Rule, “Treating others the way they want to be treated,” through the life guiding principles of Kindness, Empathy, Respect, and Civility.

Before you begin…

Start teaching your students the ABC’s of discussion.

ADD– Teach your students to add by using words like, “thank you for sharing” or “great idea!” and to add their own comments.

BE PATIENT– Teach your students to be patient while other students are speaking and find ways to show that they are listening.

CONCENTRATE– Teach your students to concentrate by keeping eye contact with whoever is talking and trying to understand what they are saying.

Golden Rule Activity:

1. Bring a compass to your class and have them try to guess what it is.
2. “Can you guess what I brought with me? Listen closely.”
   • It has arms
   • It is made of metal and glass
   • It tells us which direction to go
3. Have students share their guesses and then reveal/show the compass to them. Teach your class about what a compass is by:
   • Exploring North, South, East and West with them
   • Having them face and point with their hands/arms in those directions
4. “Just like the compass shows you which way to move, there’s another compass, a Golden Rule Compass, that can guide you to know how to treat others.” Show Golden Rule Compass Visual Resource and teach about it by:
   • Having them repeat each of the points on the Golden Rule Compass: Kindness, Empathy, Respect, and Civility. 
   • Inviting them to point with you in the cardinal directions again but instead of the cardinal directions, use the Golden Rule Compass words (Kindness, Empathy, Respect, and Civility).
5. “The Golden Rule Compass guides us on how to treat other people. We are going to learn how to use this compass, and we will begin by listening to a tale of Rabbit, Rattlesnake and Coyote.”

Telling the Story:

1. Read the story aloud by using the Señor Coyote the Judge” Resource.
2. Ask the students about each character’s actions. “How did they treat each other?” (e.g., Snake tricked rabbit, rabbit helped snake, coyote listened)
3. “Now we are going to act like the different characters and try to understand how they each might feel.” Listen to the story recording with your class Señor Coyote the Judge” Resource and have your students act like the different characters (e.g. slithering like snake, bouncing like rabbit, thinking like coyote).
4. “Now let’s talk about each character’s choices, but before we do, remember the ABC’s of discussion? Show the Kindness Turtle ABC’s Visual Resource and say, “This is Kindness Turtles and he loves these ABC’s. He wants to help us remember them.” read aloud: A=ADD   Add your ideas. B=BE PATIENT  Be patient until it’s your turn. C=CONCENTRATE  Concentrate when someone is talking.
5. With Kindness Turtle’s ABC’S still visible, have students take turns Adding, Being Patient and Concentrating. Remind them about the character’s choices (e.g., Snake tricking rabbit, rabbit helping snake, coyote stopping to listen) and ask why they each might have made them (e.g., maybe snake was hungry, rabbit was worried about snake, coyote didn’t like the noise).
6. Say, “We all have lots of choices to make, some are better than others. The Golden Rule Compass will help us learn how to make better choices.”
7. Write the Golden Rule Challenge on the whiteboard or print to display it somewhere visible in your class. Read the Golden Rule Challenge as a class, “As a class, we will learn to use the Golden Rule Compass.“

Golden Rule Challenge: As a class, we will learn to use the Golden Rule Compass.

Prospecting for Gold: What do we remember about the Golden Rule Compass?

Golden Rule Activity

1. “It’s time to search for gold! (Prospecting for Gold) What do we remember about the Golden Rule Compass?“
2. Show the Golden Rule Compass Visual Resource. Review the four compass words: Kindness, Empathy, Respect, and Civility.
3. “Today we will be learning about Kindness. Kindness is doing good things for others without expecting anything in return. 
4. “Since are story is from Mexico, we will learn the Spanish word for kindness. The Spanish word for kindness is “bondad” (under cultural focus, beginning of activity). Kindness points us North on the Golden Rule Compass. What does kindness look like?”
5. Invite your students to demonstrate what kindness looks like or show them what kindness looks like (e.g., smiles, hugs, compliments, friendly hello, etc.). “In our class, we will practice being kind to each other.”
6. Show the Kindness Turtle ABC’s Visual Resource “Kindness Turtle encourages us to be kind as we share together. Do you remember his ABC’s?” Review Kindness Turtle’s ABCs with your class.  
7. If assistance is available, split the class into small groups with an adult facilitating each group’s discussion. If assistance is not available, discuss the following questions as a class, encouraging them to use Turtle’s ABC’s. 
   • How are people kind to you?
   • How can you be kind to others?

Singing the Song:

1. Play the beginning of the song “Help me! I’m Stuck” Music Resources as an attention-getter. “Today we will be learning a song about our story. We will be using paper puppets to help us out.”
2. Prepare a single set of Kinder Puppets Visual Resource (simply cut out and glue/tape to sticks or pencils) Listen to the song with your students, holding up each character as they speak. Reference lyrics to know when each character sings/talks. During the chorus, “Help me, help me…” have students clap to the music.
3. Choose three students. Give each student a puppet to hold and stand in front of the class, repeating step two.
4. “Rabbit was showing kindness by trying to help. Why was it not safe to help? Can you think of other times it is not safe to help?” Invite students to share their answers, guide them to age-appropriate answers (e.g., busy traffic streets, something is very hot). “When is it safe to help?” (e.g., when it won’t cause danger, when I’m with a responsible adult)
5. Have each student create a set of puppets by cutting them out and glue/tape them to sticks or pencils.
6. Once their puppets are finished, choose from the following musical activities:
   • Raise the puppets up and down to the rhythm/beat of the song.
   • Have each student pick one puppet and raise them when that character is singing/talking.
   • During the “Help me” chorus, have them raise and lower their puppets with the melody line (higher notes vs lower notes).
7. Write the Golden Rule Challenge on the whiteboard or print to display it somewhere visible in your class. Read the Golden Rule Challenge as a class, “As a class, we will practice kindness (bondad).“

Golden Rule Challenge: As a class, we will practice kindness (bondad).

Prospecting for Gold: Kindness helps others feel happy. Have we seen kindness in our classroom?

Golden Rule Activity: 

1. “It’s time to search for gold! (Prospecting for Gold) Kindness helps others feel happy. Have we seen kindness in our classroom?” Invite students to share answers, or share your observations of kindness.
2. Show the Golden Rule Compass Visual Resource. Review and point to the learned compass direction:
   • Kindness (North)
3. Point to Empathy. “Empathy. Empathy is understanding emotions.” List different emotions with them (e.g., happiness, sad, nervous, tired etc.)”
4. “The Spanish word for empathy is ’empatía.'” For pronunciation use “empatía” audio (under cultural focus, beginning of activity). 
5. “What do different emotions look like?” Show an emotion on your face and ask your class to guess what emotion it is.
6. Say different emotions and have students show the expression of that emotion on their face, and then have them show their neighbor.
7. “Time for a Golden Rules discussion!” Remind your students to use Kindness Turtle ABC’s (A=Add, B=Be Patient, C=Concentrate).
8. If assistance is available, split the class into smaller groups with an adult facilitating each group’s discussion. 
   • When you are feeling sad, how would you want someone to treat you? (Ask about other feelings/emotions, e.g., happy, lonely, excited)
   • How can you treat someone else who might be feeling that way? (Pair this question with each feelings discussed)

Reading the Script:

1. Print the “Tricky Rattlesnake” Reading Resource or project it for students to read along.
2. Explain to your class that they will be reading as the characters from their story, a script. Review vocabulary words before reading through the script.
3. Read the script as a class.
4. Review the vocabulary words.
5. Read the script again, but this time have each student choose a character they would like to read for. Have students place their chosen puppet on their desk. Call out each character (snake, rabbit, coyote) and have students practice raising their chosen puppet.
6. Read through the story again, call out character before each line and have students raise their puppet while they read their part. “When you are not reading, put your puppet down, concentrate and be patient.”
7. After reading the script, ask the following questions, focusing on one character at a time:
   • Where is this character? (e.g., snake under a rock, rabbit by a cactus, coyote on a mountain)
   • What emotions did this character have? (e.g., snake-hungry, rabbit-concerned, coyote-friendly)
   • How did this character treat the others? (e.g., Rattlesnake tried to eat Rabbit, Rabbit was kind, Coyote solved the problem)
8. Write the Golden Rule Challenge on the whiteboard or print to display it somewhere visible in your class. Read the Golden Rule Challenge as a class, “As a class, we will use empathy (empatía) to understand how someone feels.“

Prospecting for Gold: Empathy is understanding feelings. How have we shown empathy in our classroom?

Golden Rule Activity:

1. “It’s time to search for gold! (Prospecting for Gold) Empathy is understanding feelings. How have we shown empathy in our classroom?” Invite students to share answers, or share your observations of empathy.
2. Show the Golden Rule Compass Visual Resource. Review and point to the learned compass directions.
   • Kindness “bondad” (North)
   • Empathy “empatia”(East)
3. Point to Respect. “Respect. Respect is showing that all people are important through your responses and actions.”
4. “The Spanish word for respect is “respeto.” For pronunciation use “respeto” audio (under cultural focus, beginning of activity).
5. “We can show people they are important by asking questions.” Model by asking one of your students a question about themself (e.g., what do you enjoy doing with your family?). Once the child responds, ask clarifying questions, maintain eye contact and repeat back what they shared.
6. Invite your students to turn to a neighbor and ask their neighbor the same question, encourage them to listen and try to really understand their neighbor’s answer.
7. “Time for a Golden Rules discussion!” Remind your students to use Kindness Turtle ABC’s (A=Add, B=Be Patient, C=Concentrate).
8. If assistance is available, split the class into smaller groups with an adult facilitating each group’s discussion.
   • How can we learn more about other people?
   • What do we do when people are different from us?

Doing the Dance:

1. Play the song Help Me (“Danza del Conejo y Serpiente” Video Resource)and invite students to begin to move to the music. Pause the music and talk about how the different animals from the story might move. Play the music again, and after several seconds pause the music and call out a different character. Repeat till the song ends.
   • Snake
   • Rabbit
   • Coyote
2. Begin by teaching the dance, similar to the basic movement of the “Jarabe Tapatío.” To see dance performed, view (“Danza del Conejo y Serpiente” Video Resource). The steps are as follows:
   • The “Jarabe Tapatio” movement is done by switching feet, Right, Left, Right (hold), Left, Right, Left (hold) with a flexed foot. Repeat, Right, Left, Right (hold).
   • While moving the feet, the arms are held in front, left hand touching the right elbow, right arm, elbow bent with the hand reaching upwards (L shape). Same hand as leg. This movement is done during the “Help me” choruses.
   • After the chorus and during the trumpet sounds, have students walk in a circle in place with their hands on their hips.
3. Have your students choose another character (or keep the same one) to act out the verses of the song. They can choose between:
   • Snake
   • Rabbit
   • Coyote
4. Practice the verses by having them use their puppet to act out the character when it speaks. Read the lyrics of each verse and help the your students know when to move their chosen puppet.
5. After reviewing the verses and giving students plenty of time to remember their parts, they are now ready to perform the whole song!
6. Play the song “Help me! I’m Stuck” Resource and have your students perform with their puppets to the song. They will need to set the puppets down during the chorus.
7. Write the Golden Rule Challenge on the whiteboard or print to display it somewhere visible in your class. Read the Golden Rule Challenge as a class, “As a class, we will use respect (respetó) to help other people feel important.“

Prospecting for Gold: Give Respect, Get Respect.  How have we shown Respect in our classroom?

Golden Rule Activity:

1. “It’s time to search for gold! (Prospecting for Gold) Give Respect, Get Respect. How have we shown Respect in our classroom?” Invite students to share answers, or share your observations of respect.
2. Show the Golden Rule Compass Visual Resource. Review and point to the learned compass directions.
   • Kindness “bondad”(North)
   • Empathy “empatia”(East)
   • Respect “respeto” (South)
3. Point to Civility. “Civility. Civility is talking or treating others in a polite and good way.”
4. “The Spanish word for civility is “cortesia”. For pronunciation use “cortesia” audio (under cultural focus, beginning of activity)
5. Help your class understand 3 ways to show civility when facing challenges.
   • Use polite phrases (e.g., thank you, please, sorry, help me understand, etc.)
   • Stay calm when responding to unkind things (e.g., “I’m sorry you feel that way”, “Why did you say that?” etc.)
   • Focus on solving the problem and teach the Golden Rule (e.g., What can I do to make it better?, “Can you help me understand?” etc.)
6. “Time for a Golden Rules discussion!” Use Kindness Turtle ABC’s (A=Add, B=Be Patient, C=Concentrate). “Time for a Golden Rules discussion!” Use Kindness Turtle ABC’s (A=Add, B=Be Patient, C=Concentrate).
7. If assistance is available, split the class into smaller groups with an adult facilitating each group’s discussion.
   • How can we help solve a problem?
   • How does civility (i.e., being polite and calm) help us get along with others better? 

Creating the Art:

1. Pass out art materials. Show students how to glue a circular shape or loop with their paper strips.
2. Have them create their first loop. Then cut out the snake head Rattlesnake Story Chain Print Resource, color it and glue it to the loop.
3. Play the story of “Senor Coyote the Judge” and pause at each of the following main events and help students draw a picture of each event, one on each strip of paper (ideas for drawings in parenthesis):
   • Snake is under a rock. (Rock)
   • Rabbit helps Snake. (Smiley face)
   • Snake tricks Rabbit. (Frowning face)
   • Rabbit does not like the reward. (Present/square w/ an “X” on it)
   • Snake chases Rabbit. (Write “HELP!”)
   • Coyote asks questions. (Question mark)
   • Coyote and Rabbit put Snake back under the rock. (Rock)
   • Snake is stuck. (Frowning face)
4. As a class, put the events in order by looping the strips together, starting with the “snake” loop.
5. As they are gluing each loop, ask, “Was this character showing civility? (i.e., being polite or calm)”
6. Once the snake is finished, listen to the song again and have the point to the different parts of the story on their snake.
7. Write the Golden Rule Challenge on the whiteboard or print to display it somewhere visible in your class. Read the Golden Rule Challenge as a class, “As a class, we will practice civility (cortesia) when we talk to each other.”
8. After a period of time, be sure to follow up! Prospecting for Gold: Civility is being polite. How have we shown Civility in our classroom?

Bulletin Board for Assessment: Print and place the Golden Rule Compass in the center of a yellow bulletin board. Print and place the four compass words, with Spanish translations, to the four sides of the compass. As you see students doing acts of Kindness, Empathy, Respect and Civility, place “golden nuggets” with the student’s name on it in the area just right of the associated word.

Arts Experience Teacher Guides