The Race of the Zodiac Animals
Once upon a time, in ancient China, there was a great confusion. Without the concept of time, nobody knew when to do anything. Some were sleeping while others were playing, and there was no order to any day.
In the heavens above, the Jade Emperors, the rulers of all, watched this chaos. They knew they had to find a way to bring order to the world. “We must create a way to measure time,” one emperor suggested. Another pondered, “But how shall we do this?” The third emperor smiled and proposed, “Let’s have a swimming race. The first twelve animals to cross the river will be honored by having a year named after them.”
The news of the race spread quickly among the animals. On the day of the race, all the animals gathered by the riverbank, buzzing with excitement. The cat and the rat, knowing they were poor swimmers, sought the help of the kind and sturdy ox. The ox agreed, and they both climbed onto his back as the race began.
The ox led the race, swimming strongly across the river. Just as they were about to reach the other side, the cunning rat pushed the cat into the water and leaped onto the ox’s head, jumping to the shore first. “I won!” squeaked the rat triumphantly.
The Jade Emperor applauded, “Well done, Rat. The first year of the zodiac will be named after you.” The ox came next, and the second year was named in his honor.
One by one, the animals arrived. The strong tiger fought the currents and was named the third. The clever rabbit, who couldn’t swim, hopped across stones and found a floating log, earning the fourth spot.
The dragon, who could have won easily, arrived fifth. He explained that he had stopped to help the rabbit and put out a fire in a village. His kindness was rewarded with the fifth year.
The horse galloped towards the shore but was startled by the sneaky snake, who claimed the sixth spot, leaving the horse with the seventh.
A raft then arrived carrying the goat, the monkey, and the rooster. They had worked together to find the raft and navigate the river. The emperor was pleased with their teamwork and named the eighth, ninth, and
tenth years after them, respectively.
Not long after, the dog arrived, paddling leisurely to the shore. He had been too busy enjoying a bath in the clean river. The Jade Emperor chuckled and assigned the eleventh year to the dog.
Finally, the boar arrived, panting and cheerful. He had stopped to enjoy a snack and a nap, but he made it just in time to claim the final spot in the zodiac.
Sadly, the cat, wet and unhappy, arrived too late. The positions were all taken. This is why, to this day, cats chase rats and are not part of the Chinese Zodiac.
Every year thereafter was named in honor of these animals, and their story was told over and over. It became a way to bring order to chaos and to celebrate the unique traits of each creature.
And so, the Chinese Zodiac was born, a cycle of years that continues to this day, each bearing the name of an animal that participated in that legendary race so long ago.
. Warm-Up (5-10 minutes)
- Activity: Start with simple stretching and movement exercises to prepare the children for physical activity.
- Objective: Get the children comfortable with moving their bodies and ready for more structured movements.
2. Introducing the Story and Characters (10 minutes)
- Activity: Briefly narrate the story, introducing each Zodiac animal and their characteristics.
- Movement Exploration: For each animal, demonstrate a simple movement or gesture that represents it (e.g., hopping for the rabbit, strong strides for the ox).
- Suggested Movements
- Rat –Movement: Quick, scurrying steps and twitching nose movements.
- Action: Children can pretend to be rats by scampering in place and twitching their noses.
- Ox –Movement: Strong, slow, and steady steps, like plowing a field.
- Action: Children can act like oxen by marching slowly with heavy footsteps, pretending to pull a plow.
- Tiger –Movement: Stalking movements, crouching and leaping.
- Action: Children can imitate tigers by crouching low and then leaping forward.
- Rabbit –Movement: Hopping and bouncing.
- Action: Children can hop around like rabbits, using their hands to make bunny ears.
- Dragon –Movement: Wavy, serpentine motion, like flying or swimming.
- Action: Children can wave their arms smoothly and gracefully to mimic a dragon flying or swimming.
- Snake –Movement: Slithering movements, wiggling their bodies side to side.
- Action: Children can move across the floor on their bellies or stand and wiggle their bodies like snakes.
- Horse –Movement: Galloping and neighing.
- Action: Children can gallop in place or around the room, using their hands to mimic horse’s ears and neighing occasionally.
- Sheep (Goat) – Movement: Gentle, meandering steps, and head-nodding as if grazing.
- Action: Children can walk around slowly, nodding their heads like sheep grazing in a field.
- Monkey –Movement: Playful jumping, climbing, and swinging motions.
- Action: Children can jump around, swing their arms, and make monkey sounds.
- Rooster –Movement: Strutting steps and flapping wings.
- Action: Children can strut around and flap their arms like wings, and crow like a rooster.
- Dog –Movement: Panting and wagging tail, playful running.
- Action: Children can run around, panting and wagging their imaginary tails.
- Boar (Pig) –Movement: Snuffling around, waddling walk.
- Action: Children can walk with a waddle and pretend to sniff around like a boar.
- Objective: Help children associate each animal with a specific movement.
3. Movement Storytelling (15-20 minutes)
- Activity: Tell the story again, but this time, incorporate the movements for each animal as they are introduced.
- Interactive: Encourage the children to mimic the movements as each animal is mentioned.
- Objective: Allow children to physically express the story through movement, enhancing their understanding and engagement.
4. Role Play and Movement (20-25 minutes)
- Activity: Assign each child (or group of children) an animal character.
- Direction: Guide the children to act out parts of the story using the movements they learned. For example, the ox can pretend to swim across the river with the rat and cat on its back.
- Objective: Encourage imagination and physical expression of the story’s events.
5. Creating a Movement Sequence (15-20 minutes)
- Activity: Help the children create a simple sequence of movements that tells the story of the race.
Movement Sequence for the Zodiac Race
- Starting Line-Up
- Movement: All children stand in a line, ready to race. They can do stretching movements, showing their excitement and anticipation.
- Narrative Element: The race is about to begin, and all the animals are gathering at the riverbank.
- The Race Begins
- Movement: Children start with slow, deliberate steps, like the ox leading the way.
- Narrative Element: The ox begins swimming across the river with the cat and rat on its back.
- Rat’s Cunning Move
- Movement: The child representing the rat makes a quick, sneaky movement, pretending to push the cat (another child) and then scamper ahead.
- Narrative Element: The rat betrays the cat and rushes to finish first.
- Ox’s Steady Progress
- Movement: The ox continues with strong, steady steps.
- Narrative Element: The ox, unaware of the rat’s trick, keeps moving towards the goal.
- Tiger’s Mighty Effort
- Movement: Leaping and jumping movements, as if struggling against a current.
- Narrative Element: The tiger is fighting the currents of the river.
- Rabbit’s Smart Approach
- Movement: Hopping movements, then children pretend to float on a log.
- Narrative Element: The rabbit hops on stones and finds a log to carry it across the river.
- Dragon’s Graceful Flight
- Movement: Wavy, flowing arm movements to represent flying and helping the rabbit.
- Narrative Element: The dragon, flying overhead, helps the rabbit and then proceeds in the race.
- Snake’s Sneaky Surprise
- Movement: Children slither on the ground and then suddenly jump up.
- Narrative Element: The snake surprises the horse and takes the sixth place.
- Horse’s Gallop
- Movement: Galloping steps and a surprised jump.
- Narrative Element: The horse gallops towards the finish but is startled by the snake.
- Teamwork of Goat, Monkey, and Rooster
- Movement: Children work together, mimicking rowing a boat.
- Narrative Element: The goat, monkey, and rooster share a raft and help each other across the river.
- Dog’s Leisurely Swim
- Movement: Casual, playful swimming motions.
- Narrative Element: The dog is enjoying its time in the water, unhurried.
- Boar’s Relaxed Journey
- Movement: Slow, contented walking, with occasional stops as if resting.
- Narrative Element: The boar takes its time, enjoying the day and finishes the race last.
Finale: The Zodiac Line-Up
- Movement: All children line up in the order they finished the race.
- Narrative Element: The Jade Emperor announces each animal’s place in the Zodiac.
Tips for the Sequence:
- Music: Use background music to set the pace and mood for different parts of the story.
- Practice: Allow children to practice their movements several times.
- Guidance: Narrate the story as they move, guiding them through the sequence.
- Collaboration: Encourage children to work together to decide how their movements can tell the story in order.
- Objective: Teach sequencing and storytelling through body movements.
- Starting Line-Up
6. Final Performance (15-20 minutes)
- Activity: Have the children perform their movement story in front of an audience (e.g., parents, other classes).
- Showcase: Each group of animals performs their part of the story in sequence.
- Objective: Celebrate their achievement and reinforce their learning through performance.
7. Cool Down and Reflection (10 minutes)
- Activity: Lead a cool-down session with gentle stretches.
- Discussion: Talk about what they enjoyed, what they learned about each animal, and how they felt expressing the story through movement.
- Objective: Encourage reflection and relaxation after physical activity.
Materials Needed:
- Space for movement.
- Simple costumes or props to represent each animal (optional).
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