The Right Start > Contents - PPDS...a poster of the rules, in collaboration with the children....

CON T E N T S

A b o u t T h i s Re s o u r c e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

I n t ro d u c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Te a c h e r s ’ To o l b ox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Ac t i v i t y F r a m e wo r k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

T h e m e 1 : E m pa t h y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0

T h e m e 2 : C o m m u n i c a ti o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2

T h e m e 3 : C o - o p e ra t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4

T h e m e 4 : Re s p e c t & Re s p o n s i b i l i t y . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8

T he m e 5 : Co n f l i c t Re s o l u ti o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2

A pp e n d i ce s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4

C u r r i c u l u m L i n k s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4

B o o k L i s t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2

Re s o u rc e S h ee t s

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A B OU T THI S RES OU RC E

This resource is part of a comprehensive human rights education programme developed by the LiftOff Initiative, which aims to promote human rights education (or HRE for short) within primaryschools. The entire programme, which consists of three resource books for junior, middle andsenior classes have been written by practising teachers from Northern Ireland and theRepublic of Ireland.

It is important to stress at this point that this resource is a pilot edition. Like every pilot edition,there is always room for improvement based on evaluation. Therefore, all comments andsuggestions for improvements are greatly welcomed before the final editing stage, which isplanned to commence in the summer of 2006.

As you look through this resource, you may begin to wonder why there is no explicit mention of‘rights’. Indeed, you may even think it strange that a human rights education resource does notinclude any mention of ‘rights’. The rationale behind this is grounded on the premise that humanrights education is not just about the acquisition of knowledge, but a process that involves thedevelopment of skills and attitudes necessary to promote, defend and protect our rights and therights of others.

Through a lengthy consultation process, a decision was made to develop a predominantly skills-based resource. Teachers felt that the initial steps of the programme should focus on thedevelopment of essential skills and attitudes necessary to support and enhance both the teachingand learning of the later resources.

You may also wonder as to why and how the five themes contained within this resource werechosen. Are these five themes representational of what a human rights education for junior classesshould always look like? The answer to this question is ‘no’. These five themes, namely empathy,communication, co-operation, respect and responsibility, and conflict resolution were decidedupon through a lengthy process for some of the following reasons.

It was felt that:■ these themes would best complement the follow-on resources in the series;■ there are few resources in circulation in schools that focus on these themes, so this

resource would fill a ‘needs gap’;■ these themes are broad enough to accommodate and cover many concepts central

to human rights education.

Finally, this resource is best used as part of a comprehensive human rights programme that aimsto promote a whole school approach to human rights education.

What is Human Rights Education?Human rights education belongs at all levels of education. Young children are acutely aware froman early age of issues of justice, a concept that underpins human rights education. Seeking oppor-tunities during formal education to encourage human rights thinking and action forms a naturalpart of the learning process of all children. Human rights education is best described as a learningprocess which seeks to:

Introduction

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■ ensure that children have an understanding of their own human rights and theircorresponding responsibilities;

■ foster attitudes of respect, appreciation of the uniqueness, individuality, anddifference of the other;

■ promote the skills among children that will enable them to act in ways that defendand promote human rights.

Why Teach Human Rights Education to Young Children?Many of you may have questions relating to the prospect of teaching young children about humanrights. You may be wondering whether it is appropriate, or whether it may be too difficult for them.

Let us begin by assuring you that these questions are very natural. For many, it can be difficult toimagine teaching human rights education to very young children, especially when there are somany misconceptions about the meaning of human rights and human rights education. However,we are confident that through the use of these resources you will quickly see that human r i g h t seducation belongs at all levels of of education, and has an integral part to play in school life.

We all have contact with human rights on a daily basis and young children are no exception. Weall have the right to a name, nationality, right to an education, a home, healthy food and cleanwater, just to name a few. Therefore, children’s lives are already filled with opportunities to explorethe understanding, attitudes and skills that underpin the human rights education process. Seekingopportunities during formal education to encourage human rights thinking and action forms anatural part of the learning process for all children.

It is also important to outline our international obligations to teach children about human rightseducation. The Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland have ratified the UNConvention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This means that each is obligated under interna-tional law to implement the rights enshrined in Article 29 of the Convention, stating that we havethe right to an education and to learn about our rights and responsibilities.

In essence, the key point to be made is that human rights education does have an important partto play in our education systems and is best begun in the early years continuing through all theclass levels of the school.

Why Educate for Human Rights in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland?Children are not simply the adults of the future, they live in the here and now. Their lives are filledwith opportunities to explore the understanding, attitudes and skills that underpin the humanrights education process.

Primary school children of Northern Ireland and of the Republic of Ireland are children of anisland that has experienced conflict and controversy. They are children of an island, which hasclaimed peace as the way forward and recognised that for real and lasting peace there must be acommitment to recognising and valuing the rights of all. Therefore, educating for human rights andresponsibilities is a current issue. An active awareness of this issue can empower children to taketheir place as creative actors now and in the future.

Introduction

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> Human Rights Education>

The Primary School Curriculum and Human Rights EducationPrimary education is concerned with the development of the whole child as a unique individual.It seeks to create an environment within which the child can grow and develop so as to reach theirfull potential. It recognises that each child is not an isolated individual but rather is a member ofa family, a local community and indeed a global community. Throughout these early years thechild is growing in the understanding of what it is to be unique and what distinguishes them fromothers. Human rights education supports this development through providing an educationalexperience that gives children the opportunity to develop personally and socially. It is clear fromthe broad aims of primary education in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that humanrights education can play an important and pro-active part in fulfilling these aims. For example,the curriculum at Key Stage 2 in Northern Ireland seeks to foster the holistic development ofchildren. It encourages this by:

■ developing the skills necessary to enable pupils to participate as contributingmembers of groups;

■ continuing to develop pupils’ natural curiosity and stimulate their imagination;■ providing opportunities for exploration, investigation, problem solving and decision-

making.(The Northern Ireland Curriculum, Key Stages 1 and 2, Characteristics of theCurriculum at Key Stage 2)

In considering the aims of the primary curriculum in the Republic of Ireland, the second generalaim points directly to the importance of including a human rights education dimension in thecurriculum:

“To enable the child to develop as a social being through living and co-operating withothers and so contribute to the good of society.”(Republic of Ireland Primary School Curriculum, Introduction, page 7)

Human rights education therefore, with its emphasis on the development of skills and the fosteringof attitudes, complements and supports the learning processes in both curricula.

While human rights education is a process that should underpin all learning and all activitieswithin and outside the school, initially it is important to enable teachers to identify a curriculumspace that can support its introduction. This module supports teachers and learning in the contextof the Northern Ireland Curriculum and Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE). It seeks toengage children in the development of those process skills that underpin the curriculum. Inchoosing this curriculum location the module seeks to add value to the experience of children. Itenables them to explore issues in relation to their own development and that of society, throughthe lens of human rights and responsibilities, thereby supporting their development as individualsand citizens.

A P P ROACHES T H AT MAY B E CON SID ERED WHEN U SIN G T HIS R ESOU RC E

Creating a Human Rights ClimateEstablishing a Code of Behaviour for the ClassroomThe environment within which we teach is fundamental to ensuring that children come to agenuine understanding of human rights and responsibilities. It is the experience of having their

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human rights respected that will best enable children to realise that human rights and responsi-bilities are not simply concepts, but a way of life.

It is important that children:■ are not just taught about respect but experience respect in the classroom;■ are not just taught about responsibility but experience age appropriate responsibili-

ty in their everyday lives in school;■ are not just told about the need to be tolerant but witness the appreciation of

diversity.

It is important that the classroom environment:■ values the contribution of each child;■ respects the right of freedom of expression;■ encourages active participation.

Such an environment is created by teachers and children working together to ensure that theexperience in the classroom reflects those values and attitudes that support human rights. Whilea set of classroom rules can help support and reinforce the idea of human rights and responsibil-ities, it is vital that such rules are developed in a collaborative and respectful manner.

Developing a Set of Classroom RulesAs you begin to use this module, if you have not already done so, consider with the children thevalue and importance of making the classroom a fair place for all. Develop with them a set ofbasic rules that they believe will make the classroom such a place. Begin the brainstorm with thequestion:

What can we do in this classroom to make sure that everyone is treated fairly?(Be sure the list reflects rules that apply both to the teacher and the children)

Once the brainstorm is complete children may discuss, in groups of up to six, which are the mostimportant. You may ask each group for their ideas and lead a whole class discussion until aconsensus has been reached. Alternatively ask each group to agree a list of five to ten rules. Createa poster of the rules, in collaboration with the children. Suggest that they revisit this to see if theset of rules is working, amending them as the year goes on.

Participating in the Learning ProcessActive Learning MethodsThis module is based on the premise that children are not merely recipients of knowledge but par-ticipants in the learning process. Throughout the module there is a commitment to ensure that thevoice of the child is valued and that the skills necessary for the promotion and protection ofhuman rights are developed through active and participative learning. The module seeks to ensurethat there is a balance between individual learning, collaborative learning and whole classlearning and uses a variety of other supporting methodologies.

Individual LearningSome of the suggested activities are designed to ensure that each child can express himself/herself.The use of individual worksheets and other individual exercises helps children participate in thelearning process as individuals and allows them maintain a record of their own learning.

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Collaborative LearningWorking in small groups heightens children’s participation in the learning process. Collaboratingin mixed ability groups encourages children to appreciate each other as individuals recognisingthe diversity that underpins all human activity. Throughout the module, group work activities maybe used to help children develop their understanding of human rights and to build key skills suchas communication, consensus building and decision-making.

Whole Class LearningWhole class discussions are a valuable way for children to explore human rights ideas and issuestogether. Such discussions can ensure that the widest range of views are heard. The children maycome to know and realise the diversity of views that can exist on any single issue. Thedevelopment of a respect for other views may thus be encouraged.

ReflectionAt the end of some, or all, of the lessons the teacher may encourage the children to criticallyengage with their own learning. This may be done by encouraging the children to tell if theyenjoyed the activity, to discuss what they learnt and to describe the feelings they had during theactivity.

Other key methodologies may include:■ Role-play situations that seek to encourage a greater understanding of an issue and

a greater empathy with those involved.■ Artwork, which aims to ensure that the children engage imaginatively with the issues

and situations. They may be encouraged to express themselves in forms other thanwords.

■ Circle Time type activities may give the children the opportunity to speak openlyabout an issue that is important to them, in a safe environment.

■ ICT helps children appreciate and use the computer as a tool for communication anda source of information.

C I RC L E T I ME I N T RO D U C T I O N

The rules of circle time should be introduced or reaffirmed if children are used to the concept.Every one will have a chance to speak but every one will also listen to each other’s contribution.Something can be passed around the circle (a small toy or a special shell/ leaf/ symbol) to remindchildren that they cannot shout out and that the person with the symbol is the only person that isallowed to speak.

Nothing is to be said about others within the circle that is negative or hurtful. If the children needto speak about conflict within the class they must talk about the behaviour rather than the personthat is involved in the conflict and talk about their own feelings around it. How to listen properlycan be described as using your whole body to listen. Body language can be introduced in thisactivity – eyes looking, ears listening, body at rest and receptive to new information.

It is important that teachers and classroom assistants are part of the circle and take part in theactivity. It can be necessary for the teacher to support some of the children who are initially shy

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about speaking by gentle encouragement or by saying their name for them.

The activities initially can take a while to complete but if circle time is a regular part of classroutine – at least once a week is recommended – then the children become used to the systemand it is possible to introduce a further range of activities.

Circle time is an appropriate way to extend work on feelings – “I feel happy/scared/cross/embarrassed when...”

For older children the concept of standing up for the rights of others can be introduced – “Standup if you stand up to bullies, racists...”

Circle time activities can also promote literacy and maths skills – “Swap seats if your name startswith the letter A, Stand up if your name has 5 letters in it, 2 syllables…”

Note for the Teacher:

■ Article 19 in the Uni versal Declaration of Human Rights states ‘We all ha ve the right toexpress our opinions and ideas’.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this includes the freedom to holdopinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas throughany media and regardless of frontier.

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TEACHERS’ TOOLBOX

Feelings CardsThese can be displayed on the wall or used as a visual dictionary; they can be cut up for matchingand sorting activities, or used to stimulate discussion in circle work.

As an extension, children can make their own pack of ‘feelings cards’.

You might like to use these as a literacy resource, allowing children to hold up appropriate feelingscards as they engage with the characters’ emotions in the books you read together.

Feelings DiaryThis can be used as a continuous/regular activity with a view to helping children identify a rangeof feelings and how they feel in response to everyday situations.

As children become more practised in the exercise they can examine what situations result inthem feeling sad, happy, cross …etc.

Through class discussion, circle work, games, stories and activities children will explore ways inwhich they can acknowledge and deal with their own emotions in an appropriate way.

It is important to emphasise that everyone has a full range of feelings, that it is ok to feel anger andjealousy etc., but that we need to be careful not to express them in ways that hurt other people.

It is important that the teacher models the feelings diary every day and that discussion follows.A range of feelings badges could be used – pathways allowing children to change as the day goeson if needed.

We can devise other strategies to express and manage our feelings:

■ Time Out■ Special Chair/Table■ Special Collections for making you feel good■ Recording things that make us feel good, thinking of them when we feel sad■ Counting or scribbling when we are angry■ Sand or dough for when we feel frustrated or cross■ A range of textured materials■ Music ■ Circle Time■ Crafts■ Puppets■ Role Play & Mime

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FRAMEWORK FOR ACTIVITIES

TITLE Each activity has a title to help you introduce the work to the class andto familiarise children with activities which you may return to againand again.

STAR RATING Activities have been star-rated to help you choose those you feel mostsuitable for the children in your class, from those which require noprior learning (e.g. 1 star) to those which require critical thinking,reflection and action (e.g. 3/4/5 stars).

Learning objecti ves These set out the intended learning for children and should help youevaluate activities.

What you need Most of the activities are classroom ready, but if you need to gathermaterials or do some preparation work, we’ll let you know!

Sample activity:

Many of the activities can be adapted for different age groups. There may also be some helpful tipsfor teachers. Below is a sample:

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TITLE: FINGER PICTURES

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To experiment with simple hand and finger-print techniquesTo explore and discuss teamwork and collaborati ve learning

What you need: Large paper, paint, newspaper to co ver desks, tissue/kitchen paper

Tip: “Put paint in small trays for handprints. Fingerprints can be done more

easily using paint in yogurt containers.”

E M PAT H Y – I N T RO D U C T I ON

Steps to the development of empathy

1. The child first needs to recognise and understand feelings within themselves and be equippedwith emotional language to express these feelings.

2. The child then moves on to recognising, understanding and relating to other peoples’ emotionalexpression.

3. Finally the child is enabled to put themselves in the ‘emotional shoes of another person’, thatis, understand their emotional perspective and therefore empathise with them.

The rationale behind the inclusion of this theme is to enable children to view a situation fromanother person’s perspective and emotionally relate to that person. In so doing he/she will betaking the necessary steps to develop the skill of empathy.

Step 1: Recognising and understanding one’s own feelings and having the emotional language toexpress them

Differentiation: A c t ivities can be adapted to suit all ages and abilities through theextension/adaptation of the emotional language explored e.g. for J/S. Infants – P1/2, focus on‘happy, sad and angry’; for 1st/2nd and P3, the range of emotions can be extended to include‘afraid, nervous, proud, excited, lonely, disappointed, hurt, annoyed’, etc.

Step 2: Recognising, understanding and relating to feelings in others

This step can be reinforced daily at an incidental level. For example if there is any kind of conflictin the class, e.g. one child hits another, takes his/her toy, ball etc. the teacher can take just aminute or two to discuss how the action made the other child feel, get the child to express howtheir behaviour made another person feel and what we can do so that both people are happy e.g.sharing, saying sorry etc.

Step 3: Developing emotional perspecti ve

Before children can understand emotional perspective they must first have a grasp of physicalperspective. Some activities are included here to help develop both physical and emotionalperspective.

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Show the class some pictures of faces with different expressions. You could start with 2 or 3 and build up to no more than 6. These should portray various emotions, for example: happy, sad, angry, worried, lonely, excited etc.

Discuss with the class how the people in the pictures are feeling.Ask the children to think of times when they have felt like this.Children could complete the sentence, “I feel happy/sad/excited when...”

Show the pictures again and ask the class to show their ‘happy/sad face’. Allow each child to ‘act out’ one of the emotions illustrated. “This is my . . . face”.Ask children to mime other emotions, using only their facial expression as a clue for other childrento guess how they are feeling.

These activities can be extended and repeated by sticking the pictures onto a cube or dice.Older children may like to make their own dice, using the template provided.

Allow children to take turns at rolling the dice and portraying the emotion shown. You might alsofollow up with another round of, “I feel . . . when . . .”.

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> Empathy

TITLE: EMOTIONS DICE

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To identify and name a variety of feelingsTo look at situations where these may be experienced

What you need: Resource Sheet 2 (Emotions Dice Faces)Resource Sheet 4 (Emotions Dice Template)

The teacher gives each child a card with an emotional face portrayed on it (ideally the same cardsused in the emotions dice game).

The children are asked to move around the room in various directions holding their cards. You maywish to play music in the background.

When the teacher gives a signal, e.g. the music stops or two claps, the children have to findanother person with the same emotional card as them.

P1/2, Junior Infants, could simply mime the emotion to their partner, and their partner has to guesswhat emotion they think it is. For older classes, P3 – 1st/2nd, the children could be asked to makeup a reason as to why they are sad, angry, etc. Alternatively, this activity may be adapted by askingthe partners to try and offer an explanation as to why they think the other person is feeling thatway, e.g. “you are happy because this is a good game?”


Theme 1 > Empathy

TITLE: I’M SAD TOO!

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To recognise the feelings of othersTo ex p l o re the relationship between events and our feelings/emotions

What you need: Resource Sheet 3 (“Faces”)

Children stand in a circle and each says their name in turn.

They then each get a turn at expressing their name in a happy, sad, angry, voice etc.

One child stands while the others sit, and expresses his/her name in a happy, sad or angry voice.The other children have to guess how he/she is feeling.

Extend the activity by allowing children to make ‘emotion masks’ for use in circle time and otheractivities.

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> Empathy

TITLE: MY HAPPY VOICE

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To explore the communication and expression of feelings/emotionsTo be sensitive in our communication to the feelings of others

Each child is given a number of emotional picture cards as seen in the drama activity e.g. a pictureof happy, sad, angry faces.

The children are asked to close their eyes and listen to the first piece of music e.g. a very definitesad piece of music.

When the music ends the children are asked to look at their emotion cards and hold up the cardthat best ‘fits’ the music.

Repeat this process for the other pieces of music.

Then repeat all three pieces in order, stopping after each one to discuss why did the child think itwas sad, happy, what sort of pictures did they see in their heads, etc.

First/Second Class or P3 children may then compose angry, sad or happy music.

* Footnote for teachers: unfortunately, this pilot edition does not include an accompanying musicCD for these kinds of activities. Many music programmes, which you might have in yourclassroom, may have accompanying tapes with similar activites, which you could use.


Theme 1 > Empathy

TITLE: IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE DANCING!

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To explore music as a means of expressing feelingsTo think about how different pieces of music make us feel

What you need: Resource Sheet 2 (Faces); music that reflects different emotions,e.g. slow music to reflect sadness; loud, fast music to reflect anger*

Introduce the symbol cards to children.

You might also like to add some more of your own.

Ask younger children to match each of the symbol cards to one of their ‘emotions’ pictures.Let children explain their choice.

Ask older children to work in small groups and think about the symbol card they have been givenor have chosen. What emotions might they associate with it and why?

Let children come back to the class group and explain their choices.

The symbol cards could also be used in circle work as the ‘talking object’, to stimulate discussionon feelings and emotions.

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> Empathy

TITLE: PICTURE THIS

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To think about emotions and how different things make us feel

What you need: Resource Sheet 10 (Symbols)

The teacher plays one of the music pieces, e.g. sad piece, and asks the children to again close theireyes and this time see what images come into their heads while listening.

The children are then encouraged to paint/draw this image.

The children’s artwork forms the basis for discussion: what is the picture about? What kind ofpicture do you think it is? Is it happy/sad? Who is in the picture, why are they sad? What could wedo to make them feel better?

Explore the use of colour with this activity. How do different colours make us feel? Do weassociate different colours with different emotions?

Children could ‘paint’ emotions, using the colours they feel best illustrate each emotion.

From Senior Infants/P2 up, the children could be involved in an activity in which they match theemotional picture card to the relevant written word.


Theme 1 > Empathy

TITLE: MUSICAL PICTURES

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To communicate feelings creati vely through music and art

What you need: Pieces of music (happy, sad, etc.), materials for dr awing/painting

The teacher displays a feelings chart on the wall e.g. poster page with feeling cards that can beremoved and replaced and a blank section in the middle with ‘I feel’ written underneath.

The activity would run over 10 days for example if you had 30 children in the class, three per day.

For the first 5/10 minutes of each day you would start with circle time, three children would go tothe chart and pick one of the feelings cards and put it in the blank space to express how they werefeeling that day.

The child could then explain why they are feeling that way and if the child was feeling a negativeemotion such as sad or lonely the other children could be encouraged to support him/her that dayand come up with solutions to try and help that child feel more positive.

If a serious problem arises, e.g. bullying, the teacher can express that it is something that needs tobe talked about further. Agree with the children that the issues raised will be dealt with at aspecified time, e.g. after school with the support of parents, or discussed further at circle time.

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> Empathy

TITLE: FEELINGS CHART

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To identify our own feelings and to share these with othersTo explore the reasons behind the w ay we feelTo become aware of how we can support others to feel positi ve

The teacher puts up a poster of ‘Sad Sylvie’ on the board, for example, a representation of a girllooking down and gloomy, with other children playing happily in the background and Sylvie onher own.

Over the course of this, or a number of lessons, the children can build up the story around her:Who is she? Where is she? What is she feeling? Why is she feeling that?

The children then use the information to compose a short story about ‘Sad Sylvie’ as a class. Olderchildren may wish to create a picture story about ‘Sad Sylvie’.

Then in groups the children could discuss ways in which they think they may be able to makeSylvie feel better. They could then share their thoughts with the class.

Circle Work

■ Have you ever felt like Sylvie?■ If you saw someone in the yard who was looking a little sad like Sylvie, what could you do to help?

You could introduce other characters and build stories around them as well – Happy Heidi,Nervous Ned, Angry Ali etc.


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TITLE: CHARACTER BUILDING

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To be aware of and sensiti ve to the feelings of othersTo realise our potential to affect the feelings of othersthrough our actionsTo develop creative writings skills

What you need: Sad Sylvie poster

If the children have a set seat in the classroom start by asking the children to swap places. Askthem to discuss what things look different from the alternate seat, e.g. can they see things in thenew seat that they couldn’t before, do they have a better view out of the window? etc.

This could be followed up with all the children sitting under the desks for a few minutes, how doesthe classroom look from there?

Or they could be asked to lie on the ground looking up – what can they see?

What does the world look like from a baby’s point of view? Ask children to get down low on theirhands and knees and find out.

The children could also play a game of blind man’s buff – what is the classroom like when youcannot see, how do you get around?

This could be followed up in P.E. with activities in which the children can only use one arm, hopon one leg, etc.

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> Empathy

TITLE: FROM WHERE I’M SITTING

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To see things differently from another’s point of vie wTo begin to understand perspecti ve

A story can be read to the children that relates to their everyday experience.E.g. ‘Not Now Bernard!’See suggested reading list for others.Discuss how the characters are feeling.Why are they feeling like that? Do you know anyone who has ever felt like that?If using the story ‘Not Now Bernard!’, ask the children to begin with Bernard and imagine how hefeels. Then they could begin to imagine how his parents felt, i.e. begin to look at the story fromthe parents’ persepective.

Why did they say ‘not now’?Does anyone at home ever say that to you? Why? What else might be happening for them?

Extend the activity with the design and use of masks.Children with Bernard masks could tell the story from his side while the children with Mum andDad masks could tell it from their side.

Don’t forget to include the monster!How was he feeling?


Theme 1 > Empathy

TITLE: NOT NOW, BERNARD

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To recognise how others are feeling and to explore reasons for thisTo understand the importance of listening to each otherTo begin explore stories/e vents from the perspecti ves of others

What you need: A story (from the suggested reading list)

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> Notes

COM M U N I C AT I O N – I N T RO D U C T I O N

“Allow us to tell you what we are thinking or feeling. Whether our voices are big or small;whether we whisper or shout it, or paint or dr aw or mime or sign it – listen to us and hear whatwe say.”

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states ‘We all have the right to expressour opinions and ideas.’ Every one has the right to freedom of opinion and expression: thisincludes the freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive and impartinformation and ideas through any media and regardless of frontier.

It is very important to point out that the same article of the Universal Declaration outlines somerestrictions of this right. It cannot be used to say something which may incite hatred or isslanderous. If explaining this to children, simple language can be used, i.e. it cannot be used tosay things that are hurtful or that you do not know to be true. Communication is an essential partof the learning process. Through this unit, children develop their speaking and listening skills.They learn that communication is a two-way process; it involves listening as well as speaking.They also learn that communication is more than just speaking, that communication depends onhow you communicate (speaking, drawing, miming...) and on how you are heard or understood.The activities included in the section can be used to challenge negative stereotypes about gender,race and disability and can be extended as the learning progresses. They serve to develop high self-esteem in the children and allow each child to understand that their contribution is of value,while also accepting the value of everyone else’s contribution. Children will learn that differencesare valuable and that they too have a right to hold different views from their peers. Children willbegin to listen to themselves and to develop an understanding of themselves and their ownfeelings.

This unit will continue to develop empathy skills and help children become more aware of howtheir words, attitude and actions can affect the feelings of others. This understanding can then beused as a basis for identifying similarities and differences between themselves and others andexamining the question of rights on a level appropriate to their understanding.

This unit on communication uses practical activities, such as circle work and story, as a means ofintroducing these concepts to children in a way that has relevance to their experiences. Theactivities are delivered using a range of methodologies that support the teaching and learningpractices as laid out in the new curriculum in the South and the enriched curriculum in the North,while also allowing the class to explore many of the issues and topics in SPHE and EmotionalLiteracy.

Theme 2


> Communication>

This is a good circle work activity to help celebrate and remember all our different names.

Seat children next to their Listening Friend (see page 33) and give the symbol to one child to startthe circle activity.

The child says ‘I am _________’ and the other children repeat the name while clapping thesyllables in the name. The symbol is the passed to the next child and repeated all the way roundthe circle.

Include yourself in the circle. You may need to support some of the children who are initially shyabout speaking by gentle encouragement or by saying their name for them.

When everyone in the circle has had a turn, ask children to turn to their Listening Friend andpractice clapping their name because the activity will now be repeated but this time they will saythe name of their friend and vice versa.

Theme 2

The Right Start 23

> Communication

TITLE: NAME NAME CLAPPING GAME

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To become comfortable taking part in circle activitiesTo become familiar with each others namesTo improve co-ordination and rhythm

Explain to children that for a part of the day we are not allowed to use names.

Try and follow the normal daily routine for a while referring to people only by the term ‘you’.

Children will enjoy the ensuing chaos and appreciate the value of names.

Discuss with them how they felt calling and being called ‘you’.


Theme 2 > Communication

TITLE: ANY NAME WILL DO?

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To understand that our names contribute to our uniquenessTo value our own names and the importance of calling othersby their own names

Help children to make name badges.

Explain that every name is special and given for a reason.

Ask children to find out at home where their names came from and why they were given them.If necessary, help children by doing an internet search.

What countries/cultures are represented by names in your class? Make a list.

Ask each child to illustrate their own name with pictures/colours that are important to them.Use as a wall display.

Theme 2

The Right Start 25

> Communication

TITLE: WHERE ARE NAMES FROM?

STAR RATING: ALL LEVELS

Learning objecti ves: To help children appreciate that names are specialTo explore the origins and meanings of different names

What you need: Materials for making stick on badges

Ask children to spend a few moments thinking about things they like, because this activity is basedon likes and dislikes.

Explain that it is ok to like different things than your friend, that everyone is different.

Seat children in a circle and ask them to listen carefully, while you call out directions:‘Swap seats, if you like cornflakes,’ – the colour blue/ Scooby Doo/ hopscotch etc.

Children do not need to sit beside their Listening Friend for this activity.

Once children are comfortable with this activity they can take turns calling out the directions.

Reaffirm that we are not allowed to use people’s names, e.g. ‘ ...if you like Mary’.

Instead think of a quality you like in the person, e.g. ‘...if you like it when somebodyshares/smiles/asks you to play...’



TITLE: SWAP SEATS IF YOU LIKE

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To appreciate that there are similarities and differencesbetween us allTo appreciate our own uniqueness and de velop self-esteemTo practise oral communication and listening skills

Now ask children to sit beside their Listening Friend and start the circle again with each childsaying, ‘I like...’

Ask the children to talk to their special friend to find out something they like and for them to saythat in the circle.

After ‘I like...’ do a round of ‘I don’t like... pizza/ rain/ going to bed...’

Again, reaffirm the rules about naming people in this kind of activity.

Both of these activities can be useful in challenging gender stereotypes, e.g. not every girl likesBarbie, not every boy likes wrestling...

Theme 2

The Right Start 27

> Communication

TITLE: I LIKE, YOU LIKE

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To develop listening and speaking skillsTo express personal opinion and preference and appreciatethe opinions and preferences of othersTo challenge gender stereotypes and preconceptions

Use ‘likes & dislikes’ as a writing activity on a regular basis.

E.g.:

I like ___________

I don’t like ____________

If written on card, these can be cut up and used for sorting and graphing activities. Children canthen add these to the display of names to create profiles, noting similarities and differences.

They can also be kept in individual files and used as tools for review. How do our likes anddislikes change?



TITLE: MUSHY PEAS? YES PLEASE!

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To discuss, compare and analyse similarities and differenceswithin the classTo begin to understand that our opinions and preferencescan change To increase our self-a wareness by identifying and r eviewingpersonal choice

EMILY’S PAINTBOX

Story: Emily’s Paintbox by Rianna Duncan André Deutsch LTD 1998 ISBN 0-233-98091-1Include this adaptation of story, if book is not available.

On her birthday Emily got a box of paint and a book to paint in. She loved her present and painteduntil the book was finished. She still had paint left and she went outside. Emily’s house was whiteand she painted it blue. There were white flowers outside the house and she painted them purple.

Along came a bee. ‘A, a, Emily!’, he said. ‘Please don’t do that, I can’t get pollen to make myhoney from those flowers.’

Emily heard the bee but she didn’t listen, she didn’t think and she didn’t stop painting. She wentinto the field beside her house. The grass in the field was green but Emily started painting it red.

Along came a cow. ‘A, a, Emily!’, she said. ‘Please don’t do that, I can’t eat red grass.’

Emily heard the cow but she didn’t listen, she didn’t think and she didn’t stop painting. There wasa big oak tree in the field. The tree was brown with green leaves but Emily started painting itorange.

Along came a squirrel. ‘A, a, Emily!’, she said. ‘Please don’t do that, I can’t find acorns to eat ifthe tree is orange.’

Emily heard the squirrel but she didn’t listen, she didn’t think and she didn’t stop painting. ThenEmily reached up and started painting the sky. The sky was blue but Emily painted it yellow, theclouds were white but Emily painted them green.

Along came two birds, a seagull and a lark. ‘A, a, Emily!’, they said. ‘Please don’t do that, we can’tsing in a yellow sky and we don’t want to fly over green clouds.’

Emily heard the birds but she didn’t listen, she didn’t think and she didn’t stop painting. Emily onlyhad a wee bit of every colour left and she mixed them all up and made brown paint. She reachedup and painted the sun brown.

SUDDENLY every thing went dark and Emily was very cold. She couldn’t see anything andcouldn’t find her way home. She sat down under the tree. She was cold and scared and ready tocry when she started to think about what she had done.

Just then it started to rain. The rain cleaned all the painting Emily had done and Emily could seeher house. The sun shone again and it used all Emily’s colours to make a beautiful rainbow. Therainbow was still there when Emily went home.

Every time Emily sees a rainbow now she remembers that it is very important to listen and veryimportant to think about what you hear.

Theme 2

The Right Start 29

> Communication

Ask children to recall the reasons why Emily shouldn’t paint the tree, flowers, grass etc.(E.g. the cow couldn’t eat red grass).

Look at reasons for positive behaviour – class rules for example – why do not swing on our chairs,why do we share toys...

Link the story with Feelings Diary – why do we feel scared/ happy/cross...

Explore and discuss how the animals felt when Emily didn’t listen.

How did Emily feel sitting under the tree? Have you ever felt this way?

Remind children of the importance of telling someone when you feel scared or unhappy.

Discuss strategies to use if you are feeling sad/ angry – What can we do?



TITLE: COMMUNICATING FEELINGS

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To understand, appreciate and respect the feelings of othersTo understand that communication is a two-w ay process betweenspeaker and listenerTo begin to explore ‘consequence’

Give children a copy of Emily’s House each or in pairs. Hand out a range of coloured crayons,pencils or pens.

Explain that this is a listening activity and that children should listen carefully to the instructionsbefore they begin colouring.

Cater for different ability levels by calling out instructions one at a time, several at a time or alltogether.

Call out the instructions – colour the house blue, the grass red, etc.

Extension: Ask the children to use different colours than those used in the story.

Theme 2

The Right Start 31

> Communication

TITLE: LISTEN AND COLOUR


Learning objecti ves: To develop and practise listening skills

What you need: Resource Sheet ‘Emily’s Paintbox’, coloured cr ayons, pencils or pens

In groups ask children to paint pictures of the characters in the story on card for a wall display.

Follow up this activity by making speech bubbles for each of the characters.

Ask children for help in writing what each character says. This could be taken directly from thetext or the children could extend what the animals have to say.

Introduce children to thought bubbles. Use a range of comics to help their understanding.

Now ask children to give examples of what the animals are thinking – for example the squirrelcould be thinking ‘I’m going to be hungry because of her painting, my babies are going to behungry, what am I going to do?’

Use the characters painted by children in a puppet show version of the story before they go on thewall for display.



TITLE: SPEECH BUBBLES

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To develop empathy and understanding of othersTo use art as a medium for communicating feelingsTo develop creative story-telling skills

What you need: Paint, paper, card

This can be done either as a class or on a whole school basis.

Pair younger children with an older child in the school or in class, pair children who do notusually work or play together.

These pairs are to become ‘Listening Friends’.

Ask children to think about how Listening Friends can help each other.

Give scenarios, to include an example of sharing with a teacher something confided in you as aListening Friend. How would a Listening Friend behave?

Reinforce this message of asking for help when you need it.

Remind children of the Listening Friends scheme during circle work, assemblies etc.

Encourage children to feed back on their partnerships and see how they develop.

Theme 2

The Right Start 33

> Communication

TITLE: LISTENING FRIENDS


Learning objecti ves: To explore and discuss supporti ve behaviourTo develop friendships with a wider range of childrenTo develop the self-confidence to ask for help when it’s needed

Cut a hole about 8cm in diameter in a piece of A4 card.

Use the card to mask pictures or photographs, so that only the small area revealed by holecan be seen.

Invite children to think about what the rest of the picture might look like and to draw thison the card.



TITLE: THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To explore perceptionTo encourage critical thinking

What you need: A4 card, cutting tool

Display a picture/poster with a lot of detail for children to see.

Ask children to study the picture they have been given in silence, remembering as much as theycan about it.

When time is up ask children in turn to tell you as much about the picture as they can recall.How would they describe the picture to someone who couldn’t see it?

Look at the poster again together and discuss how much of the detail they remembered to includein the description, what did they remember/leave out?

Theme 2

The Right Start 35

> Communication

TITLE: SAY WHAT YOU SEE!

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To develop verbal communication skillsTo improve concentration and memor y

What you need: Detailed poster/pictur e

Explain to children that you are going to describe the picture, without showing it to them, bytelling them what you can see when you look at it.

Ask children to close their eyes and listen carefully, while you describe the picture you are lookingat. Repeat this exercise, asking children to concentrate on your description and on the picture thatis being painted in their mind.

Ask children to open their eyes and to draw the picture they imagine you are looking at.

When everyone has finished, compare the children’s pictures with the original.

Every child’s picture will be different. Look for the similarities and differences. See how muchdetail children were able to record.

Repeat this activity occasionally, as a communication and memory task.

Allow children to be the ‘describers’ as well as the ‘translators’.



TITLE: SOUNDS LIKE, LOOKS LIKE

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To understand that we all see things differentl yTo develop concentration and communication skillsTo become familiar with visualisation

What you need: Paper, coloured pencils, crayons or pens, detailed photographor pictur e

Read children the story, ‘Not Now Bernard!’See suggested reading list for details.Have a class discussion on the story: Why were Bernard’s parents not listening?What are the occasions when adults don’t listen to children?

Make a class list of times when it is not easy to talk to an adult – when they are talking to someoneelse. Putting the baby to bed, at the checkout in the shop...Sometimes it is better to wait until some one has time to listen but what if is urgent? Refer back tothe story – a monster ate Bernard.

Make a class list of urgent things that would need told immediately – a fire, a monster, a toddlergoing on the road...Compare these things with some of the day’s stories – a new pair of shoes; some one was goingto the swimming pool.

Ask the class to identify the difference in the situations.

Agree a code or symbol with the class for urgent news – a purple leaf on the tree, a special wordagreed with parents that they could use if they are in trouble of some sort.

Theme 2

The Right Start 37

> Communication

TITLE: IT’S URGENT

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To look at what we can do to make our voices hear dTo understand the importance of listening to each otherTo explore how we, and others, feel when we are not listened to

What you need: ‘Not Now Bernard!’ or similarly-themed picture book

Ask the class to think about when we share our news in class.Why is it important to share our news?What would happen if everyone gave his or her news at the same time?

Try it and see:Ask all the children, except one, to shout out their news at the same time.Ask the remaining child to make out what is being said.How much information did that child hear?Try to come to an agreement that we need to take turns at communicating.Agree on class rules about communication and try and include the following:

Everyone must be heard.Everyone must listen.Try and remind each other of this in positive terms.



TITLE: ONE AT A TIME!


Learning objectives: To understand the importance of having our voices heard and oflistening to othersTo explore rules as a way of ensuring we all have our say

Discuss the following statement with the class:

‘Allow us to tell you what we are thinking or feeling. Whether our voices are big or small; whetherwe whisper or shout it, or paint or draw or mime or sign it – listen to us and hear what we say’. (Article 19 from For Every Child . UNICEF)

Brainstorm and make a list on different ways of communicating.In groups ask the children to communicate news or a piece of information given by the teacherwithout speaking.Children could use pictures, dough, puppets or mime.Older children could use comic strip or writing as a resource.Give each group a turn at communicating their news. Did the rest of the class understand the message?This activity could be used on a regular basis as a literacy hour activity.

Theme 2

The Right Start 39

> Communication

TITLE: SHOW ME WHAT YOU MEAN

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To understand that there are many w ays of communicatingTo explore non-verbal communication

What you need: It’s up to you!

Discuss how disability affects communication.

Try listening to each other with eyes closed.

Watch a video with no sound.

Ask the class what they understood without the sound; what other clues did they use to tell themwhat was happening?

Watch an episode of Pingu.

The cartoon uses no language, only sounds, and is an effective tool in exploring understandingthrough body language and facial expression.

Suggested Extension Activities


Show the children books in Braille.

Invite someone to the school to show the class sign language.

Discuss different languages with the class. How many children can say a phrase or greeting in adifferent language? Introduce some simple words and phrases.



TITLE: I SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY


Learning objectives: To ex p l o re how different types of disability can affect communicationTo develop critical thinking and reasoning skills

Ask children to work in pairs.Show them the demonstration picture and ask them to think about what instructions they wouldgive someone on how to draw it. Practice on the board.

You might ask one pair to demonstrate. They should sit back-to-back, one child with the picture, giving instructions, the other child withpen and paper, drawing.

No short cuts or clues can be used, e.g. ‘like a leg’ and the instructor should not look at the pictureuntil it is complete. Then children can compare their drawings.

Now give each pair a copy of one of the other pictures from the resource cards and let them begin!When children have compared drawings, switch roles and give each pair a new picture. Aschildren become familiar with the game they can make their own simple pictures and add to theresource.

Discuss the activity with children:Was it easy or difficult to draw correctly from the instructions? Why?Was it easy or difficult to give clear instructions on what to draw? Why?Did we find that sometimes, even if we thought we gave clear instructions, that our partner wasn’table to follow them?Does this ever happen when we are trying to tell someone something important? What can we do when misunderstandings like this arise?

Theme 2

The Right Start 41

> Communication

TITLE: DIRECTIONS

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To develop listening skills To become familiar with giving and receiving directionTo ex p l o re communication difficulties and how they might be ov e rc o m e

What you need: Posters of animals, etc.

(Based on ‘Direction Following’, an activity from Primary Values, CCEA)

Who can children talk to if there is something wrong?

Do a circle round with children, asking them to think about times we have needed help – withour homework, with a problem we’re having at school or home etc.Children could complete the sentence, ‘I needed help when/with...’Do another round asking children to think about who helped them – a family member, a friend,a teacher etc.

Remind children that it very important to know that we can ask for help when we need it,especially if we feel worried or unsafe. Never be afraid to ask for help.

Ask each child to draw around their hand, or both hands for an older class. Explain that on thefinger of each hand they are going to put the name of someone that they can ask for help or thatwill listen to them if they have a problem they want to talk about.

Children will need to agree with the people named on their fingers that they are happy to be partof this project. An explanatory note for those people could be co-written by the class as a literacyactivity.

When all the names on all the fingers have been agreed, ask the children to decorate theremaining space and cut out the hands to use as a wall display and visual reminder for the childrenthat there are people that they can talk to.

Reinforce the ‘appropriate help’ message by reminding children about the structures that exist inschool for raising and talking about their concerns.

These might include: Class discussion, Listening Friends, peer mentoring, designated childprotection officers, and other structures particular to your school.

Make sure children know what these structures are and how they can use them.



TITLE: I NEED HELP


Learning objectives: To become aware of available help and supportTo know how to and to have the confidence to ask for helpwhen necessary

What you need: Pencils, coloured pens, paper, scissors

Theme 2

The Right Start 43

> Notes

CO - O P E R AT I O N – I N T RO D U C T I O N

Young children are by their nature self-centred and embark on a journey when learning how toshare, take turns and be patient. While much of this early learning for life takes place within thehome, co-operation is an essential part of being a member of a class in school. Teachers have thechallenging role of helping children to play, work, learn and live with others.

Human rights education is ‘others-centred’ and seeks to encourage co-operation among differentnations, creeds, backgrounds and abilities. The ability to co-operate and value the process ofworking with others has to be taught through varied experience and then nurtured as each childmatures.

It is hoped that the activities and suggestions in this unit allow pupils to co-operate with othersthrough play, guided discussion and activity.

Theme 3


> Co-operation>

Explain that we are going to do some thinking about our hands and how we use them.Start by giving children some simple instructions to engage them in these activities:‘Put one hand behind your back. Put the other hand up in the air. Wave at me. Make a fist.Stretch out all the fingers.’ etc.

Ask children to notice that all of our hands are different in size, shape and appearance.Some of us may have an injury or disability. Let children talk about this.

Brainstorm with children on some activities for which they use their fingers/hands.Draw up a class list and invite children to mime some of the many different ways they use theirfingers/hands, e.g. tying laces, washing, playing recorder, even tickling!

Now group children into pairs, giving each an activity from the class list.Ask one child to mime the activity and the other child to think how they might carry out the sameactivity without using:One hand/two hands/thumbs/two fingers, etc.

Bring the class back together and see what solutions they have come up with. How many of these solutions depended on help from another person?How does it feel to work together and to play together?

To finish, invite children to work together on a display heading, ‘We Work Together, We PlayTogether’.Explain that all of our artwork on ‘co-operation’ will go in this display to remind us that by workingtogether and playing together we can make the best of all our different talents and skills.Can we all agree to work together and play together?

Theme 3

The Right Start 45

> Co-operation

TITLE: THAT’S HANDY!

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To realise that we ha ve unique abilities and talentsTo explore how we can work together to make the most ofour abilities

What you need: Paper, pencils, coloured pens, scissors, glue, display car d

Begin by reading this story to children, using your fingers and thumb to illustrate each of the‘characters’:

Look at my hand because I want to tell you a story about it.

One day the fingers started to argue about who was the best!

Peter Pointer spoke first. ‘I think that I am the best and most important finger in thehand because when someone needs to know the way, I can point them in the rightdirection. Without me everyone would be lost!’

‘Wait a minute,’ said Toby Tall, ‘I am longer than any of the rest of you. The biggest isthe best.’

‘Excuse me,’ said Ruby Ring, ‘I know that I am the most important because I wear goldand silver and diamonds. How beautiful I am!’

‘Sssh... it’s my turn now,’ said Baby Small, ‘I may be the smallest finger of the wholehand but who else can run all the way around the mixing bowl to lick the chocolateicing when a cake is baked!’

There was silence.

Only the thumb had not yet spoken.

‘I am the thumb – yes not even called a finger but without me, could you hold a pencil,open your coats, peel a banana or brush your teeth? You’d find it hard, and so would I,if I didn’t have all of you to help me. We all need each other. No one finger is betterthan the rest. We are all equally important. Now, let’s shake hands and remember thatwe need each other to be the best hand we can.

Finish the story by shaking hands with one child and asking them to ‘pass it on’ by shaking handswith the person next to them.


Theme 3 > Co-operation

TITLE: ALL DIFFERENT, ALL EQUAL

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To recognise and appreciate differenceTo understand how we can help each other by working andplaying togetherTo explore relationships with people who help us

What you need: Paper, pencils, coloured pens, scissors

Have a class discussion about some of the issues in the story.Why did some fingers think they were more important than others?How was the thumb able to stop them arguing?Have we ever felt more/less important than someone else at school/home?How can you help someone at home/school who’s feeling ‘small’?Can you think of a time when someone helped you at home/school?How does it feel when someone helps us or we are able to help someone else?Explain that we are going to draw around our own hands, colour and cut them out for our display.Each child will need two cut-outs.

On one cut-out, allow children to write their name and to decorate it as they wish.We will use the other as a ‘helping hand’.On each finger of their ‘helping hand’, children draw a picture or write the name of a person whohas helped them today, at school or at home.Explain that helping hands can be updated and added to, so it doesn’t matter how many namesare on them today.

Invite children to place their cut-outs in the display.You might finish with a round of circle work, allowing each child to share who helped them todayand how.

These activities can be repeated as regularly as you like to reinforce the message of co-operationin the classroom, school and home.

Theme 3

The Right Start 47

> Co-operation

Explain that children will work in groups, to make pictures using only handprints and fingerprints.This could relate to a theme the class are already working on, e.g. My School; My Community.

Ask children in each group to agree a title for their picture, before starting to paint, and to thinkabout the things that will be in their picture.

Encourage children to experiment with the shapes and designs they can make with their fingersand hands, and to consider how each pattern and shape can make up part of the overall picture.Remind children that we are working together as a team and everyone should be able to help withthe picture.

At end of session, allow children from each group to take turns displaying their picture andexplaining how they worked together to complete it.

Talk about any problems the group had working together.

Place finished work in the ‘Working Together, Playing Together’ display.



TITLE: FINGER PICTURES

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To experiment with simple hand and finger-print techniquesTo explore and discuss teamwork and collaborati ve learning

What you need: Large paper, paint, newspaper to co ver desks, tissue/kitchen paper

Tip: “Put paint in small trays for handprints. Fingerprints can be done more

easily using paint in yogurt containers.”

Explain that pupils are to devise their own snakes and ladders board in groups.

If possible, introduce a regular game of snakes and ladders to the class beforehand to ensure theyunderstand the game.

Give each group a grid, some paper and, if necessary, templates of ladders and snakes.

Explain that for each ladder square they must think of something good and helpful that could bedone in class, and for the snake squares they must think of something unhelpful/unacceptable inthe class.

These can be thought of first and written down.

E.g. You tidy up after play! – Climb the ladder.You call someone names! – Go down the snake.

The group then needs to decide on tasks for each child before they start working together on theirgame.

Help children brainstorm on the tasks required.

E.g. numbering the squares, 1-100; cutting out/designing snakes and ladders; colouring in; neatwriting; sticking on.

At the end, allow groups to swap boards and play each other’s games.

Review the exercise with children asking how it felt to work as part of a team and to complete thetask to create a new game for everyone to share.

Theme 3

The Right Start 49

> Co-operation

TITLE: SNAKES & LADDERS

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To practice co-operation skills by working together ona co-operative task

What you need: A blank ruled grid for each group, coloured paper/card, scissors,counters and dice (to make a ‘snakes and ladders’ game)

Ask every child to write their name on a piece of paper and invite them to put these into a box.Remind children that we work together and play together to make the most of all of our skills andtalents and to help each other feel happy and safe.

Ask children to think about the jobs that need to be done in the classroom and make a class list.Eg. Distributing books/colours, giving out milk, litter duty, bringing messages to office/otherteachers, being a group leader etc.

Help children think of the less obvious jobs like making sure the light is turned off when we allleave the classroom!

Are there other jobs we would like to create?E.g. Shared reading, if not already in place.

Whose jobs are these?Do we all agree that we should all help and take turns to do the jobs that need done?

To help decide who does what, we could work our way down the list and pick names out of thehat for each task.Do children think this is fair?If not, suggest an alternative – We could pick out a name and ask each child in turn which jobthey would like to do, and why they think that job is important.Where there are more jobs than children, decide if tasks can be rotated daily or weekly.

Display this list in a prominent place and review tasks on a regular basis



TITLE: CLASS JOBS

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To see themselves as part of a larger groupTo work within the group for the benefit of allTo engage children in decisions which affect them

What you need: Pens and paper!

Get a large white sheet of card and draw out a template with enough jigsaw shapes for each childin the class. Explain that we are going to make our own jigsaws, one about our class, one aboutour school and one about our community. These can be undertaken as separate activities on anumber of different days.

CLASS JIGSAW

Give each child in class a piece of the jigsaw.Keep one piece aside for yourself, and additional pieces for any classroom assistants or helpersyou may have.

(If there are more than 28 or 29 children in class, you will need to divide some of the larger piecesin two until you have enough).

Ask children to draw a self-portrait on their piece of the jigsaw and collect these when they arefinished.Invite children to put the jigsaw together again co-operatively by allowing them in turn to take apiece and try and place it correctly.There will be at least one obvious gap!

Remind children about the list of jobs we drew up for class and all of the children who havehelped do these.Who else helps in class?Draw these portraits to complete the jigsaw.

I nvite children in small groups to see how removing one or more pieces from the jigsaw changes things.What would we miss if this person weren’t part of our bigger picture? Ask children to think about what they have learned about the people in our class.Use the jigsaw regularly in pair and small group work to remind children that we are all importantand we all belong.

continued overleaf

Theme 3

The Right Start 51

> Co-operation

TITLE: THE BIGGER PICTURE

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To identify ourselves as part of the school and wider community To respect our individuals roles in these communitiesTo begin to understand the interdependence of people

What you need: A jigsaw template, white card, coloured pens

Tip: “Mark the back of each jigsaw piece with pencil so you know which jigsaw

they belong to.”

SCHOOL JIGSAW

Undertake a similar activity to create a ‘school’ jigsaw.Children will have to think about who the people are who make up our school community andhow to represent them in the jigsaw, e.g. one piece per class.Don’t forget to include people like school secretary, cleaner, caretaker, lollypop man/lady, etc. Use this jigsaw in a similar way to help children appreciate the diversity of people who make upour school community and how much we depend on each other.

If possible, arrange a class visit by the school cleaner/caretaker/secretary to talk about their job inschool.

COMMUNITY JIGSAW

For this jigsaw, give each child their own template, which they can cut into pieces later.Explain that we all come from different families and maybe even areas and we all have differentpeople outside of school who help us by living, working or playing together.Help children brainstorm on who these people might be, e.g. family members, neighbours, busdriver, local shopkeeper, after schools carer etc.

Make sure children put themselves at the centre of this jigsaw!When jigsaws are finished, get children to work in pairs to complete each other’s jigsaws and tofind out from the jigsaw-maker who the people in the pictures are.

If possible, invite parents or members of local community (shop keeper/bus driver/farmer etc) whothe children have chosen, to visit and talk about their work.

SUGGESTIONS

These jigsaws can be used in small group, pair and circle work to reinforce all of the themescovered in this education pack.Allow children to update them when necessary, in the event of someone moving away, or a newchild joining the class.Create jigsaws for any community of interest you like! – People who live in my street, People whohelped me today, People I love, etc.

Ziplock bags might be a handy way of storing the jigsaws.Make sure templates are initialled on the back before allowing children to cut them up!



Ask children to think about their first day at school.Children might be able to refer to and add to their feelings diaries for this activity.

What do we remember? How did we feel? What was the most difficult thing about that first day?Can we remember someone who was helpful or kind to us? How do we feel now when we cometo school? What has changed to make us feel like this?

Explain that we are going to work in small groups to think about what it would be like to be a newchild in our class and how we could work together to make them feel welcome.Give each group one of the scenarios below or come up with some of your own:

For each scenario, ask children to think about how the new child is feeling. What might they beworried about? What might be difficult for them on their first day? How could we help them feelpart of our class/school community? Allow children to refer to their jigsaws and artwork to helpthem in this task. Let children give feedback to the class. See if there are answers common to allof the scenarios and if the class can agree on a welcome plan for new children.

As a whole school extension, children could interview other children, staff and parents, findingout about their first days at school and gathering their opinions on what we can do co-operativelyto make ours an inclusive school. This work could be shared with the whole school throughassemblies, corridor displays and the creation of a ‘Welcome Charter’ for all classes.

It is Seán’s first day. He has never been away from his mum before and he cries all morning.How can we help him feel happy and safe in our class/at our school?

It is Ligia’s first day. Her family just moved here from Portugal and she doesn’t speak anyEnglish. How can we help her feel happy and safe in our class/at our school?

It is David’s first day. He has Cerebral Palsy and uses a frame to help him walk.How can we help him feel happy and safe in our class/at our school?

It is Aoife’s first day. She has moved from an all girls’ school and isn’t used to having boys inher class. How can we help her feel happy and safe in our class/at our school?

Theme 3

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> Co-operation

TITLE: FIRST DAY STORIES

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To become welcoming of difference and to be inclusi ve of others inour work and pla yTo appreciate that we are all equal regardless of gender ,disability, colour or opinion

Ask children to think about what their favourite meal is and ask them to draw these on paperbefore handing out the paper plates.You will need enough coloured pens and scrap material for each child to draw or ‘make’ theirfavourite meal.Allow children to share these in a ‘show and tell’ circle session and make a list of the differenttypes of food represented.Invite children to review the list and to add other foods they eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacksetc. to it.

Explain to the children that we are going to try and find out where some of these foods come from.In class, this could be undertaken as a library or internet search.For homework, ask children to bring in a piece of food or its packaging, which clearly states wherethe food has come from.Make a classroom display of these and place a pin in the map for each place of origin.

Ask children to look at their favourite meal again.Can they see on the map where any of it has come from?How did it get from there onto their plate?Ask some initial questions to get them thinking:Who served it? Who cooked it? Where did he/she get it? Who put it in the fridge? Where did he/sheget it? Who put it in the shop? Where did he/she get it?

Ask children to think about the jobs that people in this chain have and help them with thevocabulary for this, e.g. Farmer; Picker; Packer; Driver; Factory Worker; Supermarket Worker etc

You might like to use this example of some people involved in the journey of orange juice to helpchildren think about how the chain works.

Invite children to mime each of the roles in the chain.One child plants the orange tree seed.Next child picks the orangeNext child washes, prepares and chops the orangeNext child is juice extractorNext child is juice carton maker



TITLE: WHERE’S MY DINNER?

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To begin to understand the interdependence of people To develop an awareness of food, its origins and journe y

What you need: Pencils, coloured pens, paper plates, scrap materials,drawing pins, world map

Next child seals juice cartons and labels themNext child is crate packer for cartonsNext child is lorry driverNext child is factory managerNext child is delivery supervisorNext child is pilot/ship captainNext child is supermarket purchaserNext child is the customer.Next child is the child at breakfast drinking their juice!(Adapt as necessary)

In small groups, ask children to think about the many people who co-operate in the journey oftheir food. Ask each group to choose one type of food from the display to work on and give each group acopy of the ‘Where’s My Dinner’ resource card.Get children to fill in as many people as they can in the chain, with words or pictures. Children may find it easier to work backwards in the chain, from table to origin.Allow each group to act out their role-play and to display their worksheets. You could make and display ‘paper people chains’, colouring in and naming these to complementthe worksheets.

Children might also like to make a ‘Journey of Food’ jigsaw to represent all of the people who helpus get the food we eat.

This work could be extended into a whole school project with the introduction of FAIRTRADEinformation and material.

Children, staff and parents could work together to organise a FAIRTRADE Day at school.

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> Co-operation

Try some of these co-operative games in the playground or assembly hall to get everyone workingand playing together!

Elephant and Palm TreeIn this game, children act in threes to become either an elephant or a palm tree, at the order ofthe caller.Make a big circle with room for everyone and have a rehearsal first. To make the elephant, the middle person bends down sticking their arms out in front to make atrunk. The people on either side of her become the ears by sticking their arms out to the side tomake a triangle.To make the palm tree, the middle person stands up straight with her arms above her head to makethe trunk. The people either side of her become the branches by sticking their arms out to the sideand waving them around!The caller should be in the middle of the circle and then point to someone, calling out either‘Elephant’ or ‘Palm Tree’. The person pointed always makes the middle part.

Human Pretzel Two children should turn away or cover their eyes as the others hold hands in a circle and twistthemselves over and under and through each other without dropping hands. The two peoplewaiting come back and are challenged to untangle the group. The Pretzel co-operates as the ‘untanglers’ figure out who goes where.

Knots – Variation of PretzelChildren stand close together in a circle.Everyone closes eyes and puts one hand into the middle of the circle.On the order, ‘Knots!’ each person takes another person's hand.Repeat these actions again so that everyone is holding two hands.Everyone opens their eyes and works together to try and untangle the knots without droppinghands.



TITLE: CO-OPERATIVE GAMES

STAR RATING: ALL LEVELS!

Learning objectives: To participate in co-operati ve gamesFun!

What you need: A large space!

Theme 3

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> Notes

R E S P E C T & R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y – I N T RO D U C T I O N

It is the learning intention of this unit to provide children with opportunities to develop andpractice the skills to respect human rights, by respecting themselves and others, property and theenvironment.

Teaching ‘respect’ in the junior classroom lends itself to the development of positive relationshipswith parents, teachers and friends. It strengthens self-confidence by encouraging and generatingpositive feedback from peers.

It is intended also that children will begin to understand the importance of personal responsibili-ty, for our behaviour and actions, and of collective responsibility, in contributing to the local andwider community.

This learning is action-based and seeks to provide opportunities for children to become agents ofchange, by identifying issues at school, at home and in the wider community that affect them andencouraging children to look at what they and others can do.

Children will also learn that while adults make many decisions for us, we are entitled to have asay in the decisions that affect us.

A positive classroom environment in which children experience both respect and responsibilityon a daily basis in their work and play will compliment the lessons and activities.

Whole school extensions of these and other suggested activities will be valuable in building aschool community of respectful, respected and responsible students.

Theme 4


> Respect & Re s p o n s i b i l i t y>

Part 1

Ask children to make themselves comfortable and to close their eyes and relax. Ask them to forget about the distractions of the classroom and instead imagine they are in a placethat is special to them – a place where they feel happy and safe.It might be a place they know very well, or a place they have only been to once. It might be a place where other people go or it might be a place only they know about.It might be an imaginary place – somewhere they can visit any time they like, just by imagining it!

Ask children to keep thinking about their special place.What can they see?What can they hear?What kind of things do they do there?How do they feel?Is there anyone else there?

Ask children to enjoy a final minute in their special place before coming back to the classroom.Now ask children to open their eyes.

Ask children to quietly draw their special place. Allow children to share some of the things they were thinking about, by showing their drawingsto the rest of the class.

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> Respect & Re s p o n s i b i l i t y

TITLE: MY SPECIAL PLACE

STAR RATING: ALL LEVELS!

Learning objecti ves: To encourage creati ve imaginationTo think about the importance of placeTo encourage respect for the individualTo encourage respect for the environment

What you need: Drawing materials; a small cardboard box for each child;Craft/scrap materials, e.g. pieces of coloured paper, card, fabric,wallpaper, lollipop sticks, buttons, feathers, craft str aws

Preparation Each cardboard box should be turned on its side, with two sides cutout. Time allowing, the boxes should be painted white

(Based on ‘Special Places’, an activity from ‘Partners in Rights’, a Save the Children publication.)

Part 2

Give each child a cardboard box.Explain that they are each going to recreate their special place as a 3-D model. They should use their drawings as the starting point and then decide what things they need fromthe materials you have provided.

These models could take some time!You might want to return to this activity at different times, allowing children set periods of time towork on their models.Children could also add to the ‘scrap’ resources over this time with donations from home.

When the models are finished, ask children to get together in pairs and share their special places,explaining to each other what they like best about this place and how it makes them feel.

In class discussion or circle work talk about the importance of having a place that is special to usalone.How would we feel if someone tried to spoil that place?How can we make sure that we respect other people’s special places or feelings?


Theme 4 > Respect & Re s p o n s i b i l i t y

Ask children to form a circle and explain that they are going to group themselves based on thingsthey have in common, e.g. favourite TV programme, birthday month, favourite food, number ofpeople in family, favourite animal, shoe size, favourite sport, etc.

Explain that you will call out each ‘group identity’ in turn. Children should repeat their answersover and over as they move around. When they find someone saying the same thing, they shouldteam up and continue to move around together repeating their answer, until all the groups areformed.

Repeat the activity with other categories and encourage children to think up some of their own.

You could introduce the use of different voices – whispering how many people there are in yourfamily, singing your favourite food, shouting your favourite colour, and making the noise of yourfavourite animal.

Come back together as a group and talk about what has been learnt:

Did groups always have the same number in them?Did children find themselves in groups with people they didn’t think they had much in commonwith?How did it feel to be part of a group?Did anyone find themselves alone?How did that feel?Can you always tell what people will be like just by looking at them?

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TITLE: WE ALL BELONG!

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To think about our identityTo understand that we all belong to different groupsTo respect different opinions

What you need: A large space!

(Based on ‘ Looking at our Identity’, an activity from ‘ Pa rtners in Rights’, a Save the Children publication.)

You might like to start this activity by reading a story to children about a family.Ask children to think about the different people who made up the family in the story.How similar or different is this type of family to ours?What makes our family special to us?

Think about the people in our family.Who are they? What are their names? What ages are they? What do they do? What do they looklike? How do they make us feel?Ask children to make a family portrait and to share these stories in pairs.

Now show children the family portrait cards in turn, reading the story on the back.Ask children what they remember about each family?Were there similarities and differences with their own families?

There are many different types of families in the world.Some might look a lot like ours and some may look very different.The important thing is that we all feel loved and cared for by our families.

Make a classroom display of the family portraits and invite children to add to these when theydiscover a new family in their community, or even in a book!



TITLE: GRANNY, CABOODLE & ME

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To understand that there are many types of familiesTo foster respect for different traditions

What you need: Resource Sheets 11 and 12 (Family Portraits)

In advance of this activity you will need to prepare ‘paper slips’, one for each child. On onequarter of these write or represent 1/4, on the rest write or represent 3/4. Put these into a box.

Explain to children that we are going to have a ‘pretend’ party, so we will all need to think aboutour favourite meal.

Ask children to draw these on paper before handing out the paper plates.You will need enough coloured pens and scrap material for each child to draw or ‘make’ theirfavourite meal.

If children have already participated in the ‘Where’s My Dinner Activity’ (see page 52), they willhave these ready-made!

Now ask children to prepare another plate, this time giving them only a small amount of rice tostick onto their plate.Place all of the favourite meals to one side and all of the rice dishes to another.

Prepare a table for the party. Make room and provide chairs for only one quarter of the childrenin the class.

Ask two or three children to act as waiters and invite the rest of the class to pick a slip from the box.Children with ‘1/4’ slips are seated at the table, waited upon and treated to a slap-up meal of theirchoice from the selection of favourites.Children with ‘3/4’ slips get one plate of rice each. These children are restricted to a small,squashed section of the room. They are not allowed to sit and are not treated well by the peopleserving the food.

Explain this to the waiters and have them check children’s slips and treat them accordingly.

After the ‘party’, ask children how they felt about the activity.What was it like to be in the one quarter who attended the party and had plenty to eat?What was it like to be in the three quarters who were left out of the party and had very little to eat?What was it like to be a waiter and to treat the two groups differently?

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TITLE: ONE FOR YOU, THREE FOR ME

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To understand that the w o r l d ’s food supplies are not divided equallyTo become familiar with concepts of fairness and justice

What you need: Paper plates, rice, glue, colouring pens, scrap material, paper

Explain to children that although there is more than enough food in the world to go around, it isnot fairly divided.

Over three quarters of all the people in the world live in the developing world – in Africa, Asiaand Latin America – and together they have less than a quarter of all of the money in the world.This means that many adults and children go hungry because they are poor and cannot afford to buyf o o d .

These are the people who stood in the corner at the party.In Europe we belong to the small group who sat at the table and had plenty to eat.

By extension, children could do library or internet searches to find out more.See appendices for suggested reading and resources.



Introduce the idea of decision-making with the more familiar concept of choices.

Ask children to think about ‘choices’ and brainstorm using these and other questions:What is a choice? What does it mean if I say ‘I’ve a choice’?What kinds of choices do we have?

Suggest some examples: what we wear; what we eat; what we watch on TV; what we read; whatwe do in golden time etc.

Why do we make the choices we do?E.g. wearing a warm jumper out to play in winter instead of a t-shirt.What would happen if we made different choices? What are the consequences of these choices?E.g. You may catch a cold if you decided to wear only a T-shirt in cold weather.

Introduce the idea of behaviour – what choices do we have about how we behave?

Divide the class into small groups of four or five. Give each group one of the following scenarios and ask them to decide how they think they wouldbehave and why.

Explain that each group will have a chance to ‘act out’ their decisions.

You see a new girl in the playground. She is very quiet and no one is talking to her or playing withher. What do you do?

You are out playing a running game with your friends. One smaller boy wants to join in but hecan’t keep up with you all. What do you do?

At home, your little brother wants to watch a different TV programme to you, but it’s on at the sametime. What do you do?

Another child hits you in the lunchroom. What do you do?

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TITLE: IT’S YOUR DECISION

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To think about personal choice and responsibilityTo think about behaviour as a choice To think about how we treat, and are treated by others

What you need: Blackboard/flip Chart, pencils and pens, A4 paper

Invite children from each group to act out the decisions they made and to explain why they madethem.Discuss these as a class.How did these decisions make the different people in the role-play feel?Ask peers what other decisions these children could have made?Can the class agree on which were ‘good decisions’?Have we ever been in this kind of situation?How would we have felt/behaved?

Finish by allowing children to come up with their own ‘what would you do?’ scenarios.These could be recorded in pictures and/or words and used to initiate another round of role-play,at a later stage.

Provide regular opportunities for children to review some of the decisions they make at school orat home.Younger children could record their choices in pictures, older children, in writing.

Extension work

Ask each group to perform again.Explain that at important moments, you might shout ‘freeze-frame’ and children should ‘freeze’,holding their positions.This will allow you to ask other children how the person in the ‘frame’ might be feelingat that time. As children become familiar with role-play and drama, you can also you the ‘freeze-frame’ activityto change what happens next, by asking other children for suggestions.E.g. what should Lucy do now?



Brainstorm with children on what they know about healthy eating.What kinds of food are good for us/bad for us? Do we know why?Can we make a class list?Help children by supplementing important, relevant information.

Allow each child to pick an item of food from either list and to draw, colour and cut this out.Use these cut-outs to illustrate the list and for the ‘lunchbox’ activity below.

Using an empty lunchbox as a prop, invite children, in turn, to work in pairs to choose five itemsthat would make up a healthy lunch and place these in the box.Ask peers if they agree with these choices and why they are good for us to eat.Repeat the exercise as many times as you need to.

You might also like to reverse the activity and have children make up an unhealthy lunch.Ask peers what these choices might mean for our bodies and our health.E.g. how well could we run, play ball, dance and even sleep if we didn’t have the right foods togive us energy and help us grow?

As children, we don’t always have choices about what we eat. Who makes these decisions for us? Parents? Guardians? School Cook?How can we share our learning to make sure that those who care for us give us food that keepsus healthy and strong?

Developing a whole school aspect to this work could extend learning.Pupils could help develop the school’s healthy eating plan by working with other students, parentsand school dinner staff to review available choices.

Where there are cultural differences in the foods children choose, highlight and explain these tochildren. You might also extend learning on this point with a lesson on food from aroundthe world.

See appendices for suggested reading.

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TITLE: HEALTHY EATING, HAPPY LIVING

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To understand the importance of healthy eatingTo appreciate our personal responsibility to respect our healthand bodyTo understand that we are entitled to healthy food

What you need: Pencils, paper, colouring pens, scissors, lunchbo x

Display the contents of your prepared litterbin to children and give them a few minutes to noticeas much as they can about the contents before you put them back.Now ask children what was in the bin and make a list of the things they remember.What else might we find in our bin, in class or at home? Add these to the list.

Ask children what they know about re-cycling and explain to them what this means.

Can we re-cycle any of the rubbish from our display bin?Think of all of the different types of rubbish we can re-cycle.Don’t forget about some of the food.Explain that fruit and leaves etc can be used to make compost, to help plants grow.If you have a school garden or are keen to start one, you might find a safe place to build acompost heap.Are there things in our rubbish that could go on the compost heap?

If you do not already have a re-cycling policy in class, get children to come up with a simplesystem for dividing their rubbish into different bins.Children can illustrate examples from the list to remind us what should be placed in each bin, e.g.cardboard; paper and magazines; recyclable plastics.

You will need to add the job of Recycling Monitor to the Class Jobs list.

Remind children that we are all responsible for our environment and all of us can do small thingsto keep it clean and safe and healthy.Always put your rubbish in a bin. Recycle when you can.What else can we each do to protect our school and wider environment?

Ask children to think about what our class, school and playground would look and smell like ifwe didn’t do any of these things.Would we able to work or play?How healthy or safe would it be?

Give children a large sheet of paper each and ask them to fold it in the middle and draw a line,dividing their page in two.



TITLE: WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To understand recycling and its importanceTo appreciate our role in maintaining the environmentTo know that we are entitled to a safe, clean place to li ve,work and play

What you need: Selection of packaging and materials that might be found in al i t t e r b i n : cardboard, plastic, glass, food etc.; paper, coloured pens

On one side ask children to draw a picture of what our classroom or school would be like if wedidn’t respect it and look after it.On the other side, ask children to draw a picture of how they would like their classroom or schoolto look like.

You might connect this learning with an environmental scheme in your area.

If there is a Re-cycling Plant or Eco-Centre near you, make a trip there with children to show themwhat happens to their waste.

Alternatively, you could invite someone into the school to talk to the children about re-cycling orother environmental issues.

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Remind children about the discussions we have had on choices and decisions.Can we think of choices and decisions that other people make for us? What are these?

Draw up a list.

Help children by providing examples:What we do in school. What we do at home.What we wear; what we eat; what we watch on TV; what time we go to bed etc.

Who makes these decisions for us or with us? Make a list of these people.

Introducing the word cards one at a time, ask children what decisions the adults in their lives maketo ensure that children are happy, safe, healthy, growing and learning.E.g. Wrapping us up to keep warm; putting us to bed to get rest; taking us to the dentist etc.Children can refer back to their first list to help them with this.

We should all be happy, safe, healthy, growing and learning all of the time.What decisions would we make if we could make sure that every child would feel like that all ofthe time?

Ask children to work in small groups and give each group one of the word cards.Ask children to work together or individually, as they prefer and to record their answers in wordsor pictures.Ask each group to finish the sentence,‘If I had the power to make children feel safe/happy etc all of the time, I would…’

Allow children to feedback and share their ideas with the class.Are there ideas that we put into action, with the help of the adults who care for us?These could take the form of a class, whole school or inter-school project .

Be ambitious!



TITLE: DO YOUR BEST FOR ME

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To understand that adults make some decisions for usTo know that we are entitled to ha ve a say in these decisions

What you need: Resource Sheet 3 (Do Your Best For Me)

Theme 4

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> Notes

CO N F L I C T R E S O LU T I ON – I N T RO D U C T I ON

Conflict is part of life. It should not be seen as something negative, but something which plays anatural part in all our lives and which can lead to change and positive outcomes for all involved.

The rationale behind the inclusion of this theme in a human rights education resource lies in thefact that our rights come into conflict with one another on a daily basis, for example, if two peoplewant to use something at the same time. The activities of this module aim to provide students withan opportunity to explore issues of conflict, encourage them to think about effective andappropriate responses to conflict, and develop the skills and strategies necessary to deal withconflict. This can be a very positive and empowering experience for the children, as it will aidthem to solve conflicts in their daily lives without having to constantly involve their teachers orparents.

The first thing we will need to be aware of is that we can have many different responses to conflict,e.g. crying, shouting, walking away, insulting, listening respectfully, trying to find a solution,holding a grudge, etc. Many of the activities in this section take an indirect approach to conflictresolution by exploring with the children what constitutes being a good friend.

Another important component to a conflict resolution programme is an understanding of, andknowledge of, effective strategies for dealing with and solving conflict when it arises. Have youever thought about what strategies you use to resolve conflict? A key element to successful conflictresolution is good listening. Throughout this entire resource a key skill the children are encouragedto develop is the skill of listening. Children should be encouraged to be respectful, to listen, to askquestions, and to try to come up with solutions for solving the conflict. The aim is to develop thechildren’s capacity to deal with conflict situations appropriately and effectively, and ideally createpositive outcomes for all concerned.

Skills for conflict resolution will be needed throughout our entire lives. What better place to beginteaching the programme than in the early years of primary education.

Theme 5


> Conflict Resolution>

Introduce the concept of justice to children through the more familiar notion of ‘fair and ‘unfair’.

Brainstorm with children on the words ‘fair’ and ‘unfair’. What do they mean?Can we think of any other words that mean the same?

Do a circle round with children asking them if they can think of a time recently when they said,‘That’s not fair!’What happened? Who was involved?How does it feel to be unfairly treated?

Allow children to role-play some of these scenarios safely and ask other children to observe.Ask children if they agree in each case that what happened wasn’t fair.What does it mean to be fair?

How can we be sure that we treat others fairly and are treated fairly by them?Record children’s ideas and suggest that they have the basis for a code of behaviour or a set ofrules by which we all might abide.

Ask children to think about the classroom as a starting point and to work in small groups to comeup with five rules that would help ensure ‘fairness’ in how we treat and are treated by others.

When every group has reported back, ask children to select the rules on which they all agree.Try and limit these to a memorable amount, maybe 10, or less.Groups whose rules are not immediately accepted might be given a chance to explain why theythink it is important these rules are included.

When the class rules are complete, get children to help with a display version and allow them allto sign it.

Theme 5

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> Conflict Resolution

TITLE: FAIR PLAY

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To become familiar with the concepts of fairness and justice

Begin with circle game – pass a smile, pass a frown Children stand in circle. One person startsby giving a big smile to child on his/her left and so on round circle.Then start another round of another topic, e.g. my favourite colour.Use puppets or ask another teacher or classroom assistant help you with this role-play scenario. Explain to the children that you are going to talk to them about situations that can cause conflict.You would like them to comment on how they feel and their suggestions on what the people inthe situations can do.

Scenarios:1. You and your friend are in the schoolyard and someone teases your friend.2. Another boy or girl often takes things from your backpack without asking.3. You see an older boy or girl throw sand at your little brother on the playground.4. Another boy or girl takes your soccer ball and runs off to play with their friends.5. A boy or girls in your class often stares ar you and makes faces at you.6. A boy or girl in your class often takes your worksheets and throws them in the bin.7. A boy or girl who used to be your friend is now telling lies about you to other students.8. A boy or girl makes fun of your new clothes.

Using these scenarios, discuss the following:Has this happened to you before? How do you feel? How does the other person feel?Why did the person in the scenarios do what they did? (e.g. why did they throw your worksheetsin the bin?) What should/can you do about it?If a similar situation happens again, do you think that you are going to react or do anythingdifferently?

Extension activity : Ask the children to role-play the scenarios.

Offer children a ‘making-up’ strategy: Saying sorry, accepting an apology, shaking hands, makingfriends. Ask children to practise this in pairs. Do children have any other ideas about what theycould/should do at times like these? How much difference can a smile make?

Using the strategy above and your discussions with the children, agree a class strategyfor ‘making up’. This could take the form of a wall display, illustrated or decorated and signed bychildren in your class.


Theme 5 > Conflict Resolution

TITLE: MAKING UP ISN’T HARD TO DO!

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To develop listening skillsTo respect other people’s feelings and their expression of feelingsTo begin to explore strategies for managing and resolving conflict

Read aloud the following story:

‘Seán and Amy are classmates. One Monday morning, Seán was hard at work in class,when his pencil broke. He didn’t have a spare one but noticed that Amy did, so heborrowed it, without asking. When Amy saw Seán writing with her pencil she was veryannoyed because he hadn’t asked her for it, he had just taken it. Amy grabbed thepencil from Seán, but doing so, she left a big mark on Seán’s page. Now Seán wasupset! Oh dear!’

Ask children, in pairs, to imagine that they are Seán and Amy and to think about how they arefeeling and why, as you read the story again.

Choose a number of children to pretend they are Sean and Amy and ask them to share with theclass how they felt and why.

Children could complete the sentence, ‘I felt . . . . . . . . . because . . . . . . . . .’.

Repeat the exercise asking each pair to reverse roles. Did they see things differently?

Discuss with children what should happen next.Could Seán and Amy use the making-up strategy? What could Seán and Amy do differently the next time to avoid conflict?

Finish with a ‘friendship’ activity: ■ An oral round of ‘a thing a friend does’, e.g. ‘A friend shares; a friend helps; a friend

says sorry…’■ Pictures/Cut outs of Seán and Amy and some more of our friends. These could be

accompanied by words to describe them, e.g. funny; kind etc.■ Older children could write similar ‘scenario’ type stories, with their own versions of

how friends can make up.

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TITLE: SEÁN AND AMY’S STORY

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To think about situations where conflict can ariseTo consider the consequences of our actionsTo explore different w ays of responding to conflict

Brainstorm on the qualities our friends have.Come up with as many words as possible which describe your friends.

Ask each child to write her name on a piece of paper.Put your own name in as well. Collect names in a hat/bag.

Invite each child to take a name from the bag. If space allows, ask children to find the person whose name they have and to hold hands untileveryone has found a place in the circle.

Ask younger children to find a word or words from the list to describe the person next to them. Then ask children in turn to complete the friendship circle by saying something goodabout that person. You could start by making your statement first, e.g. Carrie is kind and helpful.

Ask older children to tell us two positive things about the person next to them, qualities they have,things they are good at, things they like, etc.When the circle is complete, go around again, this time asking children to tell us two more things,this time about themselves. Again, you can help by going first!



TITLE: CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To develop positive image and self-confidenceTo develop and strengthen a wide range of friendships

Divide class into pairs. Try to pair children who do not usually work or play together for this exercise.

Ask children to remind themselves and their partner about the four things that were said aboutthem in the ‘Circle of Friends ’ activity and to write these down for their partner, e.g. ‘Jordan is...’Younger children may need assistance.

If children have not participated in the previous activity, you will need to allow time for them toshare their friendship words or statements now.

Take a minute to reflect on these things before starting the next activity.

Children will each need a piece of card for their ‘brick’ in the wall. Older children could help make these. Younger children may need assistance with this activity.

On one side, ask children to write and illustrate their name. Now ask children to swap ‘bricks’ with their partner and to write their friendship words orstatements on the back of their brick. Children can exchange these again to read what has been written about them.

The ‘Friendship Wall’ is built by adding all of the bricks to a classroom display.

The Friendship Wall can be used at intervals to remind children of their indiv i d u a land combined skills. Bricks can be turned for display and for games of ‘guess who’, and ‘find someone who...’. They can also be used for circle work or for other co-operative tasks.

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TITLE: FRIENDSHIP WALL

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To appreciate and respect our unique qualities and talentsTo be friendly and positi ve towards othersTo see ourselves and others as part of a community

What you need: Card and scissors (to make a ‘brick’ for each child)(See Resource Sheet 8 for sample)

This literacy activity for older children could be done with children’s own names, or with the nameof another child in class, taken from the friendship wall.

Poems could be read aloud and then displayed.

E.g. Seán:

Sings and laughs, Even dances, Always kind, Never nasty!



TITLE: ACROSTIC POEMS

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To develop confidence and positive imagingTo celebrate ourselves through poetr yTo develop acrostic writing skills

Read aloud the story, ‘Hay, Hay, We’re the Donkeys’, revealing each relevant section of the picturecard as you read.

Hay Hay, We’re the Donkeys!

‘Once upon a time a farmer had two donkeys. The donkeys were called Mandy andSandy. They went everywhere together. Well they had to, they were tied to one anotherby a rope! One day the farmer led them into a field in which there were two piles ofhay. Mandy made straight for one of the piles of hay but just before she reached it shewas pulled back. Sandy too rushed towards a pile of hay but before he reached it hepulled back.

Mandy and Sandy stretched and strained, but to no avail. The harder they tried thegreater the resistance. They sat down exhausted. ‘I’m hungry’, said Mandy. ‘Why don’tyou let me eat?’‘I’m hungry too’, said Sandy. ‘You won’t let me eat’.

They sat for a while and thought about it. ‘Why don’t I eat first and then you can eat’,said Sandy. ‘Yeah, right,’ said Mandy. ‘Do you think I was born yesterday? As soon asyou’ve eaten your pile you’ll go to sleep on the spot and I won’t get near my pile.’

Finally Mandy had an idea and told Sandy. Both donkeys went to the same pile of hayand ate it. Next they went together to the other pile of hay and ate it too. When theyhad both eaten their fill, they lay down and went to sleep.’

(Copyright Pending: From: Peace by Piece, A One World Week Educational Pack)

Invite two children to act out the story as you read it again.Discuss what happened in the story.

Ask children to think about times when they did/ did not work together, or when we have helpedeach other to solve problems, big and small.

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TITLE: WE CAN WORK IT OUT!

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To explore how co-operation can help resolve conflict

What you need: Resource Sheet 6 (‘ Hay, Hay, We’re the Donkeys!’)



Invite children to do their own illustrations for the story and display their work.Older children might approach this in style of a cartoon and could add speech bubbles to thepictures.

Follow up with co-operative games:

1. Sssh! Choose an item to hide and a child to find it. Child closes her eyes until objectis hidden and class help her find it by clapping loudly when she is far away, and softlywhen she is near the object. No shouting out!

2. Animal Partners. Give each child one of the animal cards from the resource pack.(Resource Sheet 5 ). Make sure each card has at least one match and that no child isleft without a partner to find. Ask the children not to show their card to anyone else,but to find their animal partner by making that animal’s sound! Make this a timedexercise. It could be repeated to see how children change their tactics over time!

3. Three-legged Race. One for outside! Explain that the game is only successful whenpeople work together. Allow children to practice before they race.

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Explain to children that while it is important to do our own work and to take responsibility forourselves, we can always ask for help, if we need it. We should try and help others when we can.Ask children if they might be happy to help solve some of these problems, for children who havewritten letters to their ‘Auntie Annie’.

Read each letter aloud and invite children to suggest solutions. If there are a lot of different ideas,discuss these and see if the class can agree on a message to ‘send back’ to the child.

Extension Activity

Star rating: ***

You could extend this activity by setting up a Post Box in class and inviting children to write theirown letters to ‘Auntie Annie’. Make time each week to read these letters and ask the class for theirhelp in solving these dilemmas.

TITLE: TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

STAR RATING:

Learning objecti ves: To develop problem-solving skills and collaborati ve thinking skillsTo understand that we can, and should, ask for help when we need it

What you need: Auntie Annie Resource Cards



The following are basic strategies for conflict resolution, which can be discussed with the class. You might introduce these strategies one at a time, practising each and getting feedback from thechildren:Have we heard of this strategy before?How and when can we use it?Does it work?What else could we do?

Allow children to discuss other ways of avoiding or managing conflict and to add to thesestrategies with some of their own.

As the list grows, you could make a classroom display, to remind the children of the ‘tools’ theyhave for dealing with conflict.

Take a deep breath and count to ten. This is something we can all do before we speak or act.It makes us feel calm and more in control. Think about what you are going to say or do next. Thisway, we are less likely to say or do something we might regret.

Listen in turn. How often have we been in an argument and not listened to anything the otherperson is saying, but instead continued to talk or shout over them? How does it make you feelwhen you are not listened to? If we give each other the chance to speak and if we listen carefullyto each other, we make things much easier to resolve.

Agree to compromise. Often, we will have different ideas or opinions from each other and wewant different things. When we can’t agree, it sometimes means that neither of us ends up gettingwhat we want! Think about ‘agreeing to disagree’. It’s ok not to like or want the same things assomebody else. Or, we can compromise. This means coming up with a little bit of something thatsuits us both!

Involve a ‘Peacemaker’. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can’t seem to find a way outof a difficult situation or conflict. Never be afraid to ask for help or advice from someone else.They might be able to help us come up with a way of resolving our disputes and can remind usthat things often aren’t as bad as they seem!

TITLE: COUNT TO TEN

STAR RATING:

Learning objectives: To develop strategies for managing and resolving conflict

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Apologise and shake hands. Haven’t we all carried on an argument when it really didn’t matterany more, or still been fallen out with a friend even when we can’t remember why? All of us makemistakes and do or say things we wish we hadn’t. The best thing to do is to say sorry. When wemake or accept apologies, shake hands and stay friends, we are giving ourselves, and others,another chance to be the best we can be.

Give it some time. Sometimes we can feel so angry or frustrated that it’s difficult to come to asolution or even to apologise. We still need to shake hands and say ‘We’re friends’. Then if we putour energies into something else or just give ourselves a bit of quiet time, we can look at thingsagain. Now can we say sorry and agree on way to mend our differences?

C U R R I C U LUM L I N K S

Republic of IrelandIn general these curriculum materials have been designed to meet the curriculum objectives of the Social Personaland Health Education Curriculum. In line with the SPHE curriculum, it is envisaged that this programme will be fullydelivered through integration with other subjects in the curriculum. Teachers at other levels in the primary school havealready pointed out that human rights education programmes provide many opportunities for language developmentin particular. This programme also contains many activities which we feel can be readily delivered as part of theEnglish Language Curriculum. To save space, this list points to the strand unit concerned rather than the learning objective .

EMPATHYStrand Units: My friends and other people

Emotions Dice English: Strand: Competence and Confidence in Using LanguageStrand Unit: Competence and Confidence in Using Oral Language

I’m Sad Too! SPHE: Strand: MyselfStrand Unit: Growing and Changing (Feelings and Emotions)

My Happy Voice English: Strand: Emotional and Imaginative development through oral languageStrand Unit: Developing emotional and imaginative life through oral language

It Makes Me Feel Like Dancing! Music; Strand Unit: Listening and responding to music

Picture This English: Strand: Competence and Confidence in Using LanguageStrand Unit: Competence and Confidence in Using Oral Language

Musical Pictures Visual ArtsStrand: DrawingStrand Units: Making Drawings, Looking and Responding

Feelings Chart English: Strand: Emotional and Imaginative development through languageStrand Unit: Developing emotional and imaginative life through oral language

Character Building English: (First and Second Class)Strand: Competence and confidence in using languageStrand Unit: Writing: Creating and fostering the impulse to write

From Where I’m Sitting Geography: Strand Human EnvironmentStrand Unit: Living in the Local Community

Not Now Bernar d English: Strand: Emotional and Imaginative development through oral languageStrand Unit: Developing emotional and imaginative life through oral language

COMMUNICATION

Name Name Clapping Game Music: Strand Unit:Listening and Responding to MusicSPHE: Personal Understanding

Appendices


> Curriculum Links>

Any Name Will Do? SPHE: Strand: MyselfStrand Unit: Self-identity (Self Awareness)

Where Are Names From? SPHE: Strand: Myself Strand Unit: Self-identity (Self Awareness)

Swap Seats If You Like English: Strand: Competence and Confidence in Using LanguageStrand Unit: Competence and Confidence in Using Oral Language

I Like, You Like English: Talking and Listening

Mushy Peas? Yes, Please! English: Strand: Emotional and Imaginative development through languageStrand Unit: Developing emotional and imaginative life through writing

Communicating Feelings Strand: Emotional and Imaginative development through languageStrand Unit: Reading: Responding to text

Listen and Colour Visual Arts (Infant classes)Strand Unit: Painting

Speech Bubbles Visual Arts (First and Second Classes)Strand Unit: Drawing

EnglishStrand: Emotional and Imaginative development through languageStrand Unit: Reading: Responding to text

Listening Friends Visual ArtsStrand Unit: Drawing

Through the Keyhole Visual ArtsStrand Unit: Drawing

Say What You See! Visual ArtsStrand Unit: Looking and Responding

Sounds Like, Looks Like English Strand: Developing Cognitive Abilities Through Language (Oral Language)

It’s Urgent! EnglishStrand: Emotional and Imaginative development through languageStrand Unit: Reading: Responding to text

One at a Time! SPHEStrand: Myself and the Wider WorldDeveloping Citizenship (My School Community)Show Me What You Mean

I See Things Differentl y SPHEStrand: Myself and OthersStrand Unit: Relating to others

Directions EnglishStrand: Competence and Confidence in using language (Oral Language)

I Need Help SPHEStrand: MyselfStrand Unit: Safety and Protection

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> Curriculum Links>

CO-OPERATION

That’s Handy! ScienceStrand: Living ThingsStrand Unit: Myself

All Different, All Equal SPHEStrand: Myself and the Wider WorldStrand Unit: Developing Citizenship

Finger Pictures Visual Art Strand PrintStrand Unit: Making PrintsPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Mutual Understanding in the local and wider community

Snakes & Ladders Mathematics (First and Second Classes)Strand: NumberStrand Unit: Counting and Numeration

Class Jobs SPHE Strand: Myself and the Wider WorldStrand Unit: Developing Citizenship

The Bigger Pictur e GeographyStrand: Human EnvironmentStrand Unit: Living in the Local Community

First Day Stories English Strand: Developing Cognitive Abilities Through Language (Oral Language)

Where’s My Dinner? Geography (First and Second Classes)Strand: Human Environment Strand Unit: People at Work

Co-operative Games Physical EducationStrand: GamesStrand Unit: Creating and Playing Games

RESPONSIBILITY & RESPECT

My Special Place English Strand: Developing Cognitive Abilities Through Language (Oral Language)Visual Arts (First and Second)Strand: ConstructionStrand Unit: Making Construction

We All Belong! SPHEStrand : MyselfStrand Unit: Self Identity (Self Awareness)

Granny, Caboodle & Me! HistoryStrand: Myself and My FamilyStrand Unit: My family or the Family of a person known to me

It’s Your Decision SPHE Strand: MyselfStrand Unit: Self Identity (Making Decisions)


The Right Start > Curriculum Links>

Healthy Eating, Happy Living SPHE Strand: MyselfStrand Unit: Taking Care of My Body (Food and Nutrition)

Waste Not, Want Not ScienceStrand: Environmental Awareness and CareStrand Unit: Caring for My Locality

Do Your Best For Me SPHE Strand: MyselfStrand Unit: Self Identity (Making Decisions)

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Fair Play SPHEStrand: Myself and the Wider WorldStrand Unit: Developing Citizenship

Making Up Isn’t Har d To Do! EnglishS t rand: Emotional and Imaginative development through language (Oral Language)

Seán and Amy’s Story EnglishS t rand: Emotional and Imaginative development through language (Oral Language)

Circle of Friends EnglishS t rand: Emotional and Imaginative development through language (Oral Language)

Friendship Wall SPHE Strand: MyselfStrand Unit: Self-identity (Self-Awareness)

Acrostic Poems English (First and Second Classes)Strand: Developing Cognitive Abilities through LanguageStrand Unit: Clarifying thought through writing

We Can Work It Out! Physical EducationStrand: GamesStrand Unit: Creating and Playing Games

Two Heads are Better than One English (First and Second Classes)Strand: Developing Cognitive Abilities through LanguageStrand Unit: Clarifying thought through writing

Count to Ten SPHEStrand: Myself and OthersStrand Unit: Relating to Others

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> Curriculum Links>

C U R R I C U LUM L I N K S

Northern Ireland

EMPATHY

Emotions Dice English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

I’m Sad Too! MusicPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

My Happy Voice English: Talking & Listening; Drama & Role PlayPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

It Makes Me Feel Like Dancing! MusicPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Picture This English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Musical Pictures Music; ArtCreative, Expressive & Physical Development

Feelings Chart Personal Development: Personal UnderstandingEnglish: Talking & Listening

Character Building English: Talking & Listening; WritingPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

From Where I’m Sitting English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Not Now Bernar d English: Drama & Role Play; ReadingPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Local & Wider Community – My Family

COMMUNICATION

Name Name Clapping Game English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Any Name Will Do? English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Where Are Names From? History & CH: Personal HistoryPersonal Development: Mutual Understanding

Swap Seats If You Like English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

I Like, You Like English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Mushy Peas? Yes, Please! English: Talking & ListeningMathematics: Handling DataPersonal Development: Personal Understanding



Communicating Feelings English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Listen and Colour Art & Design: Painting, DrawingEnglish: Talking & Listening

Speech Bubbles Art & Design: Painting, DrawingEnglish: Talking & Listening; Writing; Drama

Listening Friends English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Through the Keyhole Art & Design: Investigating & Realising

Say What You See! Art & Design: Investigating & Realising

Sounds Like, Looks Like English: Talking & ListeningArt & Design

It’s Urgent! English: Talking & Listening; ReadingEMU/HE Personal Development: Personal Understanding

One at a Time! English: Talking & ListeningEMU/Personal Development: Personal Understanding

Show Me What You Mean English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

I See Things Differentl y English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Directions English: Talking & Listening

I Need Help English: Talking & ListeningEMU/HEArt & DesignPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

CO-OPERATION

That’s Handy! Physical EducationEnglish: Talking & Listening; WritingPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

All Different, All Equal English: Talking & Listening; Reading; WritingArt & DesignPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Finger Pictures Art & Design: Experimenting with paint; print makingPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Communit y

Snakes & Ladders Art & Design: Investigating and RealisingMathematics: Number

Class Jobs English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Communit y

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> Curriculum Links>

The Bigger Pictur e Art & DesignEnglish & EMU/CH: Talking & ListeningGeography & EMU/CHPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider CommunityThe World Around Us

First Day Stories English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Community

Where’s My Dinner? Art & DesignEnglish: Talking & ListeningGeography & EMU/CH: Jobs & TransportThe World Around Us

Co-operative Games Physical EducationPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

RESPONSIBILITY & RESPECT

My Special Place Art & Design: Drawing; 3-D constructionsEnglish & EMU/CH: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Community

We all Belong! English: Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Granny, Caboodle & Me! English: Reading; Talking & ListeningHistory: Personal historyArt & DesignPersonal Deve l o p m e n t : Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Co m m u n i tyThe World Around Us: Me and My Home

One for You, Three For Me English: Talking & Listening; Role PlayMathematics: NumberGeography & EMUPersonal Deve l o p m e n t : Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Co m m u n i ty

It’s Your Decision English: Talking & Listening; Drama & Role PlayPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Community

Healthy Eating, Happy Living English & HE: Talking & Listening; WritingArt & Design: Making; Painting & DrawingScience & Tech: Living Things – OurselvesPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Health; Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Community

Waste Not, Want Not English & HE: Talking & Listening; WritingScience & Tech: Materials – EnvironmentPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Health; Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider CommunityThe World Around Us: My Environment

Do Your Best For Me English: Talking & Listening; WritingPersonal Development: Personal Understanding



CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Fair Play English & EMU: Talking & Listening; WritingPersonal Development: Personal Understanding;Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Communit y

Making up Isn’t Hard to Do! English & EMU: Talking; Listening; Drama & Role PlayPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Seán and Amy’s Story English & EMU: Talking; Listening; Drama & Role PlayPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Circle of Friends English & EMU: Talking & Listening; WritingPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Friendship Wall English & EMU: Talking & Listening; WritingArt & DesignPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Acrostic Poems English & EMU: Writing; Reading; Talking & ListeningPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

We Can Work It Out! English & EMU: Reading; Talking & Listening; Role PlayArt & DesignPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

Two Heads are Better than One English & EMU: Talking & Listening; Reading; WritingArt & DesignPersonal Development: Personal Understanding & Safety

Count to Ten English & EMU: Talking & Listening; WritingPersonal Development: Personal Understanding

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> Curriculum Links>

BOOK DETAILS(title, author, publisher and ISBN) Empathy Communication Co-operation Respect Conflict

Cleversticks, Bernard Ashley, Collins, 1992; 0-00-184935-2 *

Not Now Bernard, David Mckee, Red Fox; 0-099-24050-5 * *

I like it When, Mary Murphy, Metheuen; 0-416-19401-x *

Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak, Collins Picture Lions; 0-00-664086-9 *

Willy the Wimp, Anthony Browne, Walker Books; 0-7445-4363-0 * * *

Frog in the Middle , Susanna Gretz, Metheuen; 0-416-16092-1 * *

A Difficult Day, Eugenie Fernandez, Viking Kestrel; 0-670-82184-5 * *

Little Rabbit Foo Foo, Michael Rosen, Walker Books; 0-7445-9800-1 * *

Joe Eats Bugs , Susanna Gretz, Hutchinson; 0-09-173646-3 * * * *

Emily’s Paintbox, Riana Duncan, Andre Deutsch; 0-233-98091-1 * *

Hug, Jez Alborough, Walker Books; 0-7445-8273-3 * *

The Day of Ahmed’s Secret, F P Heide & J H Gilliland, Gollancz; 0-575-05079-9 * *

The Rainbow Fish, Marcus Pfister, North-South books New York; 0-7358-14732 * *

Oi! Get off our Train, John Burningham, Gill & Macmillan; 0-7171-1808-8 * * *

Lonely Wasp, C Fudge & V Churchill, Oxford University Press; 0-19-272379-0 * * *

Clotty Malotty and all her Friends, Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership, 2003;1-902432-19-3 * * *

For Every Child, Unicef, Red Fox; 0-09-940865-1 * * * *

Elmer, David McKee, HarperCollins; various * *

I Want My Dinner, Tony Ross, Picture Lions, 1996; 0006643566 *

You Choose, Nick Sharratt & Pippa Goodhart, Picture Corgi; 0-552-54708-5 * * *

The Selfish Giant, Oscar Wilde * * *

Something Else, Katherine Cave & Chris Riddell, Picture Puffins; 0-14-054907-2 * * *

But Martin, June Counsel, Corgi Books 1986; 0-571-13349-5 * * *

The Bad-tempered Ladybird, Eric Carle, Puffin; 0-14-050398-6 * * *

At the Crossroads, Rachel Isadora; Julia MacRae Books; 1-85681-122-0 * *

Just Right, Miriam Monnier, North-South Books; 0-7358-1521-6 *

Big Baby, Jon Ward, Walker Books; 0-7445-0528-3 * *


The Right Start > Book List>

Today is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I feel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

because . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Right Start > Resource Sheet: ‘My Feelings Diary’>

The Right Start > Resource Sheet 1: ‘Feelings Cards’>

happy frightened

angry confused

disgusted frustrated

confident sad

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The Right Start > Resource Sheet 2: ‘Emotions Dice Faces’>

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The Right Start > Resource Sheet 3: ‘Do Your Best For Me’>

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The Right Start > Resource Sheet 4: ‘Emotions Dice Template’>

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The Right Start > Resource Sheet 5: ‘We Can Work It Out’>

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The Right Start > Resource Sheet 6: ‘We Can Work It Out’>

CO-OPERATION

IS BETTER THAN CONFLICT

The Right Start > Resource Sheet 7: ‘Emily’s Paintbox’>

The Right Start > Resource Sheet 8>

The Right Start > Resource Sheet 9: ‘Snakes & Ladders’>

The Right Start > Resource Sheet 10: ‘Picture This’>

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Granny, Caboodle and Me! (from activity of same name, Unit: Respect & Responsibility )There are four different family portraits, with the relevant story on the reverse.

The Right Start > Resource Sheet 11: ‘Granny Caboodle and Me!’>

Story/Portrait 1:(Portrait with Granny, Tom and Caboodle!)

Granny, Caboodle and Me!

“My name is Tom.I live with my Granny and her cat

‘Caboodle’.I have my own room.G ra n ny helps me with myh o m e work and I help her bakecakes.Sometimes, Caboodle sneaks intomy room and wakes me up!”

Story/Portrait 3:(Portrait with Raj, 2 brothers, 2 sisters, granny, dadand mum with bump!)

The Chatha Family

“My name is Rajinder.I am the youngest of five childrenbut not for long! My mum is having a new baby.My dad’s mum lives with us too so Ishare a room with my brothers.I hope the new baby is a girl!”

Story/Portrait 4:(Portrait with Winnie, 2 sisters – 1 a toddler, grownup brother, mam and dad)

We are the Wards

“My name is Winnie.My family live in a caravan.We just got a new van and I love it.Sometimes we move around butmostly we stay in one place.My cousins live beside us now onthe site so I have loads of friends toplay with.”

Story/Portrait 2:(Portrait with Róisín and her mummy)

Siobhán and Róisín

“My name is Róisín.My mummy Siobhán and I just got aflat of our own.We used to stay at the hosteland Siobhán read me a storyevery night.Now we read them in our newbedroom!I’m going to invite my friends fromschool to come and visit soon. ”

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The Right Start > Resource Sheet 12: ‘Granny Caboodle and Me!’>

De ar Au n t ie A n ni e,

A b i g b o y in s c ho o l k e ep s p u s h in g me in th e y a r d. I t o ld h i m t os to p b u t h e j us t l a u g he d a t m e a n d s o d i d h is f ri e n d .

C an y o u h e lp m e?

F ro m,

L o u i s e .

D e a r A u nt i e A n ni e,

M y s i s te r a n d I a l wa y s w a n t t o w at c h di f f er e n t p r o gr a m m es o n

T V . O u r f a v ou r i te pr o g ra m m e s a r e o n at t he sa m e t im e o nd i ff e r en t c h a nn e l s .

C an y o u h e lp u s so r t t h i s o u t ?

F r o m ,

N i a l l .

D e a r A u nt i e A n ni e,

A gi r l in my c la s s s a id I wa s sm el ly t o l d no o n e to p l a y w i t h me

s o I h i t her . N ow t h e t e a ch er is r ea l ly c r os s w it h b o t h o f u s .

C a n y o u he lp ?

F r o m ,

S i a n .

D e a r A u nt i e A nn i e,

M y b es t f r i e n d wh o si t s b es i d e me i s mo v in g aw ay to a ne w

s ch o o l. I w i ll b e lo n e l y w h e n h e g o es a n d ha v e n o b e s t f ri e n d t opl a y wi th .

C an y o u h e lp m e?

F r o m ,

P a u l o .

The Right Start > Resource Sheet 13: ‘Dear Auntie Annie Letters’>

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The Right Start > Contents - PPDS...a poster of the rules, in collaboration with the children....

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