The Golden Rule

Last night I was out-and-about during rush hour.  I was quickly reminded why I do not travel during the five o'clock hour.  Everyone is in a hurry.  When people are in a hurry, I think their worst traits seem to appear.  As I was sitting in traffic observing bad behavior being practiced by adults, I was quickly reminded of one of my favorite picture books: The Golden Rule by Ilene Cooper.  I wish I could have stepped out of my car and shared this book with my fellow drivers.  Sometimes even adults need a reminder about practicing the Golden Rule!

Cooper's book is such a great book to share with children.  It is one of those books that works with kids in kindergarten and kids in high school.  A young boy and his grandfather discuss the meaning and how to practice the Golden Rule.  The grandfather shares many cultures and religions have their own versions of the golden rule.  He shares examples with the young boy.  The boy contemplates what the world would be like if everyone practiced the Rule.

This book is more than a story.  It is a conversation starter.  It really lends itself to talking about how you and your child can incorporate the Golden Rule into your daily lives.  This is a super book for text-to-text connections and text-to-world connections.  If you want your child to learn how to practice the Golden Rule, it is important they are able to connect the story to their life and to the larger context of the world.  This is also a great opportunity to have your child synthesize information.  How does their thinking about the Golden Rule change throughout the story?  You want your child to get the big idea - what is the story trying to teach, but you also want to see how your child's thinking is enhanced throughout the story.  


Some questions and sentence stems to start your conversation:

1.  Read the first page "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and ask your child:  Have you ever heard that saying before? What do you think it means?


2.  Read to "How do you think that boy or girl is feeling" and ask your child:   How do you think a new child feels at school? How would you feel if you were the new kid at school?


3. Read to "You're getting the idea" and ask your child:  Can you think of a way you can practice the Golden Rule?  or use the sentence stem: My new thinking about the Golden Rule is....


4.  Read to "Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many problems between people.  Between countries"  Ask your child:   Why do you think it is so hard to practice the Golden Rule?


5.  Read to the end of the story.  Talk with your child about what message you think the book is trying to teach.  Use a sentence stem to continue the conversation.  Some examples are:  I used to think_________but now I think  or I think the Golden Rule means ___________and I can implement it by __________.


There are so many great extensions to this story.  You can write your family's own version of the Golden Rule and help each other put it in practice.  You can keep a log of all the times you notice your child doing a specific deed that practices the Golden Rule.  Once a week you can review each child's log and celebrate!

Another GREAT book to share with younger kids about the Golden Rule is Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller.  It does a great job of teaching the Golden Rule in a very primary way.  It might actually be a good book to start with and use The Golden Rule as a follow-up!