Twinkle, articulated
You know this tune from Stage 1 as plain even notes. Suzuki's whole first book uses it to drill articulation — and Stage 3's job is reading that articulation off the page. Here is Twinkle with a scheme on it: the bright "sparkle" phrases short and separated, the settling answers smooth and joined.
In A major, first position, on the A and E strings. Shape: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 1 – 2.
Phrase 1 — "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" (staccato)
How to play it
Dots on the first six — short, the bow stopping on the string after each, half of every beat silence. Middle of the bow, small strokes. The last E is a tenuto (a line, not a dot): give it its full two counts, leaned on. Short–short, then held.
Phrase 2 — "How I wonder what you are" (legato)
How to play it
The answer, all on the A string, all joined. First four notes in one bow — the fingers change, the bow keeps travelling; then the two B's in one bow; then the open A. No stops anywhere. This is the opposite of phrase 1: connected, spoken as one line.
Phrase 3 — "Up above the world so high" (tenuto)
How to play it
Tenuto lines — full length, a little weight into each, only the smallest lift between. Not short like phrase 1, not joined like phrase 2: each note is its own deliberate gesture. Put the 3rd finger on the A string down early for the crossing off the open E.
Phrase 4 — "Like a diamond in the sky" (dots under a slur)
How to play it
The marks stack: dots under a slur is portato. One bow for the first four notes, but the bow gently leans and releases on each — 'da-a, da-a' — separated without stopping. Then the two C♯'s the same way, then land the B.
The whole tune, with its scheme
The one thing this tune is for
Reading an articulation scheme — playing staccato where you see dots, legato under a slur, tenuto under a line, and switching between them cleanly, all inside one tune you already know by ear.
The usual mistake
Letting every phrase drift back to the same "medium" touch — the whole point is the contrast between them. And playing staccato louder to make it "more staccato": it's shorter, not harder. Keep the bow small and let the silence do the work.