Golden Rule Project Circle of Circles

Line of Inquiry: How do circles help us connect with others? How is The Golden Rule like a circle? Age Range: K-12th grade (Elementary-Adult) Group Size: 5-20 Activity Time: 20 minutes (with reflection time) Set-Up Time: 5 minutes Materials: 8.5 feet yellow duct tape (and/or 1 hula-hoop), 1 sharpie marker, a clock/timer or watch. A poster of the variations of The Golden Rule is helpful to have in sight. Activity Objective: To pass the circle-loop (or hula-hoop) around the circle of students as quickly as possible. Utah Core Standards: Language Arts: Speaking and Listening: For Grades K-12 these lessons support Utah Core Standards 1-4. In Kindergarten and 1st grade, Standards 5 and 6 are also supported. Language Arts: Writing: For Grades K-5 the reflection topics of these lessons can be used to support Utah Core Standards 1-4,7&10 (excluding Standard 1 in Kindergarten and Standards 4 &10 which begin in 3rd Grade). For Grades 6th -12th the reflection portion of these lessons can be used to support Utah Core Standards 1,2,4&10. Social Studies: (Citizenship) Demonstrate positive relationships through play and friendship, demonstrate 1 of 6

Golden Rule Project Activites

respect for each individual and appropriate social skills necessary for working in a group, modeling appropriate group behavior and expressing feelings in appropriate ways. Skills Developed: Goal Setting, Process Improvement, Problem Solving, Trust, Creativity, Making Connections. Story Card: Einstein, from the story card collection. Quote: “Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to ­embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its ­beauty.” –Albert Einstein The quote as well as the entire story card (pages 5-6) can be included during this lesson. Directions for Set Up: 1. Create a circle-loop out of an 8 foot long piece of yellow (to represent The Golden Rule) duct tape. As you pull the tape off the roll, fold the sticky sides together in half lengthwise. Connect your ends using another short piece of yellow duct tape. You may also use a hulahoop for this activity (preferably yellow or gold in color). 2. Using a sharpie marker, write your favorite version of The Golden Rule on the outside edge of your duct tape loop so it can be seen. A fun option: ask a student volunteer to tell the class their favorite version of The Golden Rule or have the class create their own version and write it on the circle-loop. If using a hula-hoop: stretch 6-8 feet of yellow duct tape (depending on the size of your hoop) flat on a table, write your favorite version of the golden rule on the tape using a sharpie marker, then stick the tape around the circumference of the outside edge of your hoop so the rule can be seen, or if you prefer: write directly onto the surface of the hula-hoop. Deliver the Challenge: 1. Instruct the group to stand in a circle. Ask students to hold hands. Have two adjoining students release their hands and put them through the circle-loop, then reconnect hands. The loop should now be resting on the joined hands of those two students. These two students become the “start/stop” line for the game. 2. Read the Storyline: “Your homeland is in great danger! In order to save your world, this team has traveled back in time to an ancient land to learn the forgotten secret of peace and happiness. The Golden Loop is your time machine and you have written the secret on its surface. You must be fully present and aware of the moment by paying careful attention to each movement as you pass through the loop in order for it to work.Your mission is to get each member of your team back through time as quickly as possible and share the secret with the world.” Present the Rules: 1. The Golden Rule Loop must travel clockwise around the circle. (For younger students this is a great review of telling time. If the start/stop line is 12 o-clock, which direction will our group pass the loop? You could also have students take turns being the time-keeper for this 2 of 6

Circle of Circles

activity as they try to reach faster and faster goals for each attempt. For kindergarten, point to the direction in which you want them to pass the loop). 2. Keep your hands connected, don’t let go of your partners’ hands (or they will be lost in time forever!). 3. Stay in position. Do not let your circle of people rotate or move in a walking motion as you pass the loop around. Safety Lesson: 1. If a student has shoulder or neck injuries they should not participate in passing the loop. A good option might be for them to keep time, or be a group observer to give helpful feedback/suggestions for how the group might increase their speed. 2. Glasses should be removed so they don’t fall off and break. 3. Flat shoes or bare feet are best for this activity (no heels). Notes: 1. Younger groups may have more difficulty with this activity at first and may be confused about getting through the loop. Encourage them to try some ideas, take suggestions from the group and work with their partner to safely find a solution. 2. This may be a difficult challenge for individuals who are obese or struggle with balance. Be sure to spot the group for these kinds of difficulties. You might want to announce at the beginning of the activity that individuals have the option of keeping time for the group or being a group advisor if they wish. Reflection Topics: 1. What do we notice about circles in this activity? How many circles (seen or unseen) are there in this activity? Why do you think we wrote The Golden Rule on the loop as we passed it around? How is The Golden Rule like a circle if we apply it to how we pass it on to people in real life? Who can think of an example? How did standing in a circle help us to connect as a group? Did being able to see each other work through the challenge help you to increase your speed? Do you think we could solve this challenge quicker if we made a different shape as a group? Why or why not? (If time allows, try different shape ideas and compare your time and what the group notices about the differences). 2. In this activity we had to climb through the loop, much like people in real life often have to jump through “hoops” in life for different reasons. An idea for a journal writing activity/ reflection or discussion. Ask students to write about or discuss: What are some actual hoops in your life you have jumped through? Did you use the principle of The Golden Rule as you jumped through that hoop? If not, how might your experience be different if you remembered to apply The Golden Rule in that challenge? Are hoops good or bad? Do some 3 of 6

Golden Rule Project Activites

people have more to deal with than others? Why is it important to think about the hoops other people might have? Suggestion: The Circle Pass Activity should become part of a morning routine for the week (or a reflection routine at the end of the day). Complete one round of passing the loop and record the group’s speed (use variations listed below to increase the challenge), then have students answer one of the above questions either verbally or as a written reflection in their journals to build on the idea of the circle and how it applies to The Golden Rule in their lives. Adaptations: Make two duct tape circles and require the group to pass both loops around the circle (record the speed). Also try sending the loops in opposite directions simultaneously (one clockwise and one counterclockwise starting from the same location). Record the group’s speed and try to decrease the time each try. Reflection: In life do we sometimes have more than one challenge to deal with at once? Who can think of some examples? Does having more than one hoop to jump through change how you feel and act? Why or why not? Acknowledgements: This lesson has been modified from a teambuilding game found in Duct Tape Teambuilding Games, by Tom Heck published in 2009. For more activities and lessons utilizing the Golden Rule, see GoldenRuleProject.org.

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Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity—which is one of the two pillars of modern physics. While best known for his mass-energy equivalence formula, E=mc² (which has been dubbed “the world’s most famous equation), Einstein also received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, and for his contribution to theoretical physics. So widely recognized are Einstein’s intellectual achievements and originality that the word “Einstein” in popular culture has become synonymous with genius.

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