All Are Welcome K (Theatre)

A colorful banner with a book cover titled "All Are Welcome," the words "Creativity Task Cards," and a large letter "K" on bright circular backgrounds.

Art Form: Theatre

Supplies Needed

-All Are Welcome book
-Paper and Pencil

Vocabulary

Character - a person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Detail - an individual feature, fact, or item; a small part of something much larger

Line - a sentence that a character says in a play

Illustration - a picture in a book

Instructions

1. Read the book and choose a character that interests you. Choose a letter of the alphabet – perhaps start with A, B, C.

2. Look at the character and decide on three details about your character that start with that letter: their name, the place they are from, and something that they like. (They can start with the same letter and/or the same sound. For example: Gigi/Jackson, County/Jelly beans, and Philip/Fort Valley/flowers.) You can use clues from the illustrations, including how they look, what they are wearing, and what they are doing. Note these choices on a sheet of paper or on a device.

3. Stand or sit like the character, and imagine how the character would talk. What would their voice sound like?

4. Bring it all together: as your character, speak a line sharing the details. For example, “I am Abigail, I am from Athens, and I like asparagus, ” or “I am Bodhi, I am from Bangladesh, and I like baseball”.

5. Repeat this process for different characters in the book with letters of the alphabet.You can go in order – A-B-C – or skip around. You can also skip around the book looking for interesting characters.

Extensions

Add other details about a character, using the same letter of the alphabet. These could include favorite food, favorite toy, best friend’s name, pet’s name, and more.

Choose two characters near each other on a page. Have them introduce themselves to each other, and then have a conversation. Continue using the letter of the alphabet, and possibly
brainstorm other words beginning with that letter that you can bring into the conversation.

Illustration of diverse children and an adult walking together, smiling, on the cover of the book "All Are Welcome" by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman. The children carry backpacks and books; the title is in large colorful letters.
Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.

All Are Welcome K (Music)

A colorful banner with a book cover titled "All Are Welcome," the words "Creativity Task Cards," and a large letter "K" on bright circular backgrounds.

Art Form: Music

Supplies Needed

-All Are Welcome book

Vocabulary

Tempo - the speed of the beat

Ostinato - a repeated pattern

Rhythm - long and short sounds and silences

Stead Beat - the consistent pulse or “heartbeat” of music

Rest - silence

Form - the organization of a piece (how the music is put together)
Character - a person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Instructions

1. Read the book. Discuss the events in the book. Who are the characters? What is the setting? What is the main idea or theme of the book?

2. Listen for the repeated phrase, “All are welcome here”.

3. Pat the steady beat on your knees. Say, “All are welcome here”, in a four-beat rhythm. You may say more than one word or syllable on a beat. Some beats may not have any words (this is a rest).

4. Add a repeated pattern or ostinato by patting and clapping the steady beat (pat-clap, pat-clap, etc.). Say, “All are welcome here”, while performing the ostinato.

5. Have someone read the book rhythmically while continuing the ostinato. They will read each line in a rhythm for four beats, so there will be multiple words and/or syllables on each beat. Each time they get to the repeated phrase, “All are welcome here”, read it together chorally.

6. Talk about how the book is organized: each section has three lines (in regular font) followed by the repeated phrase (in bold font). This is the form!

Extensions

Find materials around you to use as instruments (paper plates, empty paper towel rolls, pencils, empty cans filled with rice or beans, etc.).

Compare and contrast two sounds in the story. How are they alike? How are they different?

Illustration of diverse children and an adult walking together, smiling, on the cover of the book "All Are Welcome" by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman. The children carry backpacks and books; the title is in large colorful letters.
Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.

All Are Welcome K (Dance)

A colorful banner with a book cover titled "All Are Welcome," the words "Creativity Task Cards," and a large letter "K" on bright circular backgrounds.

Art Form: Dance

Supplies Needed

-All Are Welcome book

Vocabulary

Body Shape - refers to an interesting and interrelated arrangement of body parts of one dancer

Level - one of the aspects of movement (there are three basic levels in dance: high, middle, and low)

Movement - change of place, position, or posture

Pattern - something that repeats in a predictable way

Rondo - a form where a sequence of contrasting moves or sounds occur with a return to the first movement or sound (ABACADA)

Central Message - the big idea or lesson of the story

Instructions

1. After reading All Are Welcome Here, discuss the main repeating phrase in the story - the line, “All are welcome here!”. What is the central message of the story? You will be creating choreography in a rondo pattern, and the movement that you create to represent this line or central message will become your dance move “A”.

2. A rondo follows the pattern A B A C A D. Begin by creating your dance move A by thinking to yourself “What movement can I do to show that all are welcome here?” (Ex: Arms moving outward from body slowly and open palms).

3. Then, read through the book once more and for each rhyming section, create one summary movement that will become dance moves B, C, D, and so on.

4. Lastly, perform your rondo dance.

Extensions

Play music while performing the dance and experiment with how different music may cause you to change your dance’s tempo, rhythm, or duration.

Illustration of diverse children and an adult walking together, smiling, on the cover of the book "All Are Welcome" by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman. The children carry backpacks and books; the title is in large colorful letters.
Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.

All Are Welcome K (Visual Arts)

A colorful banner with a book cover titled "All Are Welcome," the words "Creativity Task Cards," and a large letter "K" on bright circular backgrounds.

Art Form: Visual Arts

Supplies Needed

-All Are Welcome book
-Paper or cardstock
-Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
-Optional: stickers, ribbon, collage materials, tape

Vocabulary

Welcome - to greet someone in a friendly way

Color - an element of art with three properties: 1) Hue: the name of the color, e.g. red, yellow, etc.; 2) Intensity: the purity and strength of the color (brightness or dullness); 3) Value: the lightness or darkness of the color (shades and tints)

Pattern - repetition of specific visual elements such as a unit of shape or form

Kindness - showing care for others through words and actions

Belong - to feel included and accepted

Design - the way something is arranged or planned to look

Character - a person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Instructions

1. Read All Are Welcome together and talk about how people in the story make others feel included. Who are the characters in the story? What happens in the beginning of the story? What happens in the middle of the story? What happens at the end?

2. Ask yourself, “What words or pictures could we use to show people they are welcome at our home?”.

3. Work together to design a welcome sign using bright colors and fun
patterns (stripes, dots, zigzags). Include kind words like: “All Are Welcome,” “Hello, Friends!” or “We’re Glad You’re Here!”.

4. Hang your sign on your front door, porch, or a window for neighbors and visitors to see.

Extensions

Talk about how your family shows kindness to guests or neighbors.

Add phrases in different languages spoken in your home or community to your sign.

Go on a “Welcome Walk” and look for other signs of kindness in your neighborhood.

Illustration of diverse children and an adult walking together, smiling, on the cover of the book "All Are Welcome" by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman. The children carry backpacks and books; the title is in large colorful letters.
Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.

Math Curse 5 (Music)

A banner with “Math Curse” book cover on the left, “Creativity Task Cards” in white script on a pink circle in the center, and a large white number 5 on a yellow circle to the right.

Art Form: Music

Supplies Needed

-Math Curse book
-Items for sound making (pencil, pot, spoon, etc.)

Vocabulary

Dynamics - loud and soft sounds; volume

Steady Beat - the consistent pulse or "heartbeat" of music

Tempo - the speed of the beat

Found Sound - materials in the environment that make sound, including the body

Timbre - the distinctive quality of sound

Character - a person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Central message - the main point or lesson of the story

Key Details - specific pieces of information that support or add meaning to the story

Instructions

1. Read the book. Notice the many problems the character encounters during his
day! Who is the main character? What is the central message of the story? Think about the events and issues the character experienced. What was the sequence of events. What are the details the author adds to make the book interesting?

2. Using found sound, experiment with different ways of making sound. Notice the distinct sound (timbre) each makes. Some materials may make several different sounds. When sounds are played together it creates texture. Notice the dynamics of each sound. Practice performing the steady beat using several found sounds.

3. Create music to illustrate the events or details in the book. For example, how could the plaid shirt, the blue shirt, and the striped shirt be represented with found sounds? How could you change the found sound to demonstrate the ugly, plaid shirt? What it sound differently? Why did you make those choices? Next, try using your favorite sound at different volumes to represent each type of shirt and show the difference with dynamic changes.

4. Find other events or details in the story and add sounds as you reread the pages. What sounds would the character make when he feels trapped in the math curse? What sounds could you create to demonstrate how the character feels when the curse is broken? How do the sounds compare?

Extensions

Create rhythms using the sounds you created. Combine the sounds to add texture.

What would happen if the math curse wasn't broken? Write a new musical ending
to the story.

Book cover for "Math Curse" by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, featuring a child looking distressed in the center, surrounded by large red text and a border with math symbols and numbers.
Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.