Armadillo Tattletale
Character Connection
Armadillo is an example of someone who would benefit from a good character education program. He totally lacks Respect for his friends in the forest and for himself, as he shows in his constant lying which makes the others dislike him. He also lacks Self-Control as he is heart broken when the other animals chastise him for his tall tales, but he immediately eavesdrops and twists their conversations the very next time he has an opportunity,
Activity: He Said…She Said
Use a magic marker to draw a series of lines on an overhead transparency. The lines should be dark and about one quarter or an inch wide and approximately 10 inches long. Make about 8 lines on the overhead. To begin the demonstration, call one person up to the front of the room. Give them a small tube of toothpaste. Explain that the object is for the person to see how many of the lines they can cover with toothpaste. They are going for distance. They want to see how many inches of black lines they can cover with the toothpaste. The toothpaste must completely cover the line so none of it shows through. After you say begin, give them about fifteen to twenty seconds or until they run out of toothpaste to cover as much of the lines as they can. When time has expired, measure how many inches of the black magic marker line they were able to cover.
Now give the person a plastic table knife. Explain that they now have fifteen to twenty seconds to see how much of the toothpaste they can fit back into their toothpaste tube. The toothpaste must go back inside of the tube. It may not sit on the top of the tube or remain on the knife. Have them start scraping the toothpaste from the end of one of the covered lines. Once again use the ruler to measure how much of the line they uncovered.
Questions:
If we compare words to toothpaste, how hard is it for us to take back something we said?
Can words hurt other people’s feelings?
How can we show respect to someone by the words we use?
How do rumors start?
Why do rumors and gossip spread so fast?
Why do we start rumors?