Working at

Harmony

The main theme of this unit is to experience listening as an important communication skill. Listening is particularly important when people are experiencing change in their lives, and change happens in all our lives at some time. The activities suggested focus on encouraging listening skills and helping to develop empathy.

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding: Key Stage 2, Year 6 Strand 2: Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Community Unit 4: Working at Harmony
Complementary Units: Speaking Up for Me Check It Out First! Decisions! Decisions!

Teaching approaches
Classroom Ethos
Mutual understanding is process based. The main focus is on developing attitudes and skills. For example, in this unit children develop self-awareness, listening, cooperation and empathy. Everyones experiences and opinions are valued and respected. Right answers are not sought. Everyone is given the opportunity to express their views and tell their stories. That is how we learn to understand each other.

Fair Grouping
Fair group the children using other learning and teaching topics. For example, if you are doing a local study in the Cushendall area, organise groups of four by making four cards for each of the following words: Lurigethan, Charlie McAuley, Tieveragh, Layde, Dall, Glenballyemon, and Glenariff. Mix up the cards and allocate randomly within the class. Alternatively, write a short description of each place or person and have the children sort themselves into the groups, naming the place or person described on their cards.

Fair Pairing
Fair pair children using other learning and teaching topics, for example have two piles of cards: one showing shapes and the other using words to describe the shapes. Ask the children to pair up by matching the words on one card to the shape on another. For example, an outline of a circle is matched with the word circumference; or, an angle of 35 is matched with the word acute (see Resource B).

Working with Others

You may decide to Fair Pair and Fair Group the children once each week or twice each month. Having the children work with others in this way helps their mutual understanding of each other and is well worth the time it takes to organise.

Key Experiences
Building on Key Stage 1

in initiating, developing and sustaining mutually satisfying relationships

Progress in learning
I can show that I am listening. I can repeat what someone says to me in my own words. Other people think I am a good listener. I can suggest how other people might be feeling. I can express how I am feeling. I can tell other people politely when someone or something is annoying me. I know that life brings changes. I know that some changes will feel good and others will feel bad. I am learning ways of coping with change.

Initiating and developing mutually satisfying relationships:

- knowing how to be a good friend; and - understanding that they can take on some responsibility in their family and friendship groups.

Working at Key Stage 2

Initiating, developing and sustaining mutually satisfying relationships:

- - - recognising the benets of friends and families; nding out about sources of help and support for individuals, families and groups; and considering the challenges and issues that can arise at home, at school between friends, and how they can be avoided, lessened, or resolved.

Moving towards Key Stage 3

Personal Development Key Concept: Relationships Personal Development Key Concept: Self-awareness Home Economics Key Concept: Home and Family Life

Key Stage 2, Year 6

Strand 2: Mutual Understanding in the Local and Wider Community

Working at Harmony

Learning intention:

Learning together

Understand the factors that contribute to mutually satisfying relationships

Key Questions for your Planning Board

These are a range of questions that you and your class can use to plan the unit. The Planning Board is a work in progress, and as questions are answered others can be asked.

What do we know already?

What do we want to nd out?

Who can help us to learn more?

How will we begin?

How will we show our learning?

Where can we nd out more?

What do we have?
What can we do?

What can we bring?

What can we make?

How are we What do going to arrange we need? our classroom?

Who can come to visit our class?

How are we going to tell people?

Who are we going to tell? What do we need?

Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities by the end of Key Stage 2

Managing information
Be able to ask deeper and wider questions to clarify a task and to plan and set goals; Begin to challenge conventions and assumptions; Be able to classify, compare and evaluate information, and to select the most appropriate methods for a task; Develop methods for collating and recording information and monitoring progress on a task; and Have a sense of audience and purpose. Understand more than one point of view; Examine options and weigh up pros and cons; Try alternative problem solving solutions and approaches; and Use different types of questions systematically and with purpose.

Working with others

Become more independent in social and interpersonal skills; Show that they can work in different roles in a group and take responsibility for appropriate tasks; Be willing to help others with their learning; Understand and learn to respond to feedback; and Work with peers to reach agreements and begin to manage disagreements.

Being creative
Pose questions that do not have straightforward answers and seek out problems to solve and challenge the routine method; Use all the senses to stimulate and contribute to ideas; Experiment with different modes of thinking (for example visualisation); See opportunities in mistakes and failures; Learn from and build on own and others ideas and experiences; Value other peoples ideas; Experiment with objects and ideas in a playful way; Make ideas real by experimenting with different ideas, actions and outcomes; and Begin to develop value judgments about the merits of their work.

Thinking, problem solving and decision-making

Show the ability to use memory strategies to deepen understanding; Identify and order patterns and relationships through a range of strategies such as grouping, classifying and reclassifying, and comparing and contrasting; Make and test predictions, examine evidence and make links between possible causes and effects; Discriminate between fact and opinion and question the reliability of evidence;

Self-management
Evaluate what has been learnt and compare approaches with others; Make links between learning in different contexts; Become more self-directed by working independently or with a group; Learn ways to manage own time; Seek help from a variety of sources; Work towards personal targets identied individually or jointly with the teachers; and Be more condent in the knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses.
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Across the Curriculum: Connecting the learning

Language and Literacy Mathematics and Numeracy Working with Others

Listening attentively and giving feedback Democratic decision making while using mathematical language Being sensitive to others feelings

Words and phrases I will hear and use

Empathy Angry
Emotions

Glad

Nervous

Respect

Rejected
Understanding

Acceptance

Frustrated

Confused
Learning activities
Activity 1 Taking time to listen
Existing listening skills are built on and further developed.

e t a i e t a i t r p o o r p Neg lnfluenced Ap

Activity 3 Rorys team

Children nd ways to express their own needs within a relationship.

Activity 2 Listening for feelings

Children begin to interpret how someone may be feeling.

Activity 4 Coping with change

Strategies to cope with change are developed.

Learning activity 1: Taking time to listen

We all need to work on our listening skills to better understand what people are saying when they are talking to us. We need to think not only about the spoken word but also about tone of voice, body language and what is not said in order to increase our depth of understanding. Listening is the basis of good relationships, mutual understanding and effective communication. Clear communication is important when others are trying to receive the correct message.
SUGGESTED SUCCESS CRITERIA CORE CONCEPT POINTS TO NOTE Year 6 listening skills build on those developed in Year 5, so you may wish to revisit Year 5 Living. Learning. Together. activities in order to familiarise yourself with and remind the children of good listening skills. As in previous years, it is important that you be sensitive to the childrens differing listening abilities and encourage their development. Some children may be shy and nd it difcult to participate in the activities. Others may have hearing difculties or come from cultures that have different values or attitudes to ours. Others may nd it difcult to interpret feelings. Also, when we try to understand what others are saying, it does not mean that we have to agree with them; it just means that we try to understand fully why they think what they do. Then we can begin to interpret the feelings associated with what is being said. Finally, the speaker is responsible for what he or she says, but the listener is responsible for what he or she hears. The listener needs to clarify what is heard by asking questions (see Year 5 Green Unit 4, Resource B). Above all, this is as much about listening to the children and developing your own skills as it is about developing the childrens skills! The activities are not intended to be followed sequentially but can be developed throughout the school year as your childrens skills develop. Listening strategies can be used across the curriculum. WHAT YOU NEED - Letter to Parent(s)/Carer(s) (Resource A) - Fair Pair Cards (Resource B) - Guidelines for Listening (Resource C) - Three simple picture outlines (alternatively, see Primary Values p251) WHAT TO DO - Review - Something that Happened to Me - Guidelines for Listening - Communicating Clearly

We will demonstrate good listening skills. We will give clear messages when we talk to others.

Guidelines for Listening

As a class, draw up a Class Listening Contract. You may decide to remind children of Learning Activity 3 in the Year 5 Green Unit. Alternatively, use Guidelines for Listening (Resource C) to initiate discussion. The children could design and represent the contract as a ow chart or poster. Ask the children to start to practise their listening skills in the everyday situations in the classroom and in the playground. These situations might include a misunderstanding, a disagreement, when someone feels something is unfair, when someone has great news, etc. The children will best learn this skill when you and the other adults in the classroom model good listening skills and seek to facilitate, rather than instruct, in the above situations. Review the contract regularly and change as necessary.

Review
Give the children a few minutes to note down individually what they know about listening skills. Then, fair pair the children (see Resource B), and ask the pairs to share their notes and to rene their lists. Ask each group to contribute a suggestion. Finally, compare and discuss each suggestion so that you and the class can evaluate their current understanding of listening skills. Use the following questions to help prompt discussion: - - - - - - What has everyone learned? Listening well is sometimes difcult to do? Why? What are some reasons why people dont listen? What can we do about these reasons? Whats wrong with not listening when someone is talking to you? How can not listening create difcult feelings between family or friends?

Communicating Clearly
Good communication is important for good listening. Collect three pictures showing a simple shape, stylised animal (for example a cat, pig, bird) or building (for example a house). See Primary Values pp250-251 for examples of stylised animals. Begin by showing the class a sample stylised image. Explain that the activity will be for them to instruct someone on how to draw an image without using expressions such as like a leg or like a handle. Instead, they must use clear communication and instructions like: Draw a circle with a diameter of 5cm. Inside this circle, 1 cm from the base of the circumference, draw another circle with a diameter of 2cm. Then, do the activity once as a class. Ask another classroom adult or two volunteers to leave the room. Then, show the rest of the class a new picture you have chosen. Invite the adult or volunteers back into the classroom, and ask the children to start giving the instructions (one instruction at a time). The adults or volunteers then draw the picture according to the instructions. The class should not see the resulting picture until they have given all their instructions. Afterwards, they may give further instructions until it is completed satisfactorily. Discuss helpful and unhelpful instructions and the need to be specic. When everyone is clear about the task, let the children work in pairs, each completing a different drawing. You can use geometrical drawings to extend the childrens mathematical language skills, but remember that the main purpose of this exercise is to extend their communication skills! Later, you can repeat this exercise using a different picture, but this time encourage the listeners to ask questions to clarify their understanding as they do the drawing.
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Something that Happened to Me

Begin by asking the children the following question: Have you ever had a bad misunderstanding because you didnt listen carefully or because somebody didnt listen carefully to you? Ask the children to share those instances with the class and to explain what their feelings were. Remind them to think carefully about the words they use so that they dont mention a persons name. Ask them to share by saying: Someone said _____ or Once when someone told me to _____ . There will be no judgement of what happened. You just need an example. Encourage them to concentrate carefully and to give the facts of what happened. Explain that sometimes when we are trying to give the facts of a situation, it helps not to use adjectives. Then, use the following questions to prompt class discussion: - How can listening carefully help friendships? - When somebody is not listening to you, what can you do to encourage them to listen?

Learning activity 2: Listening for feelings

CORE CONCEPT

Listening for feelings is an important aspect of listening and encourages the development of empathy.
SUGGESTED SUCCESS CRITERIA

n e t s i l
Circle Work

We will demonstrate listening skills and identify feelings associated with what is being said/not said. We will understand and talk about the importance of being empathetic.

POINTS TO NOTE To introduce this exercise, consider having a brief discussion about a magic market and what might be bought there. Listening to what the children buy will give you a greater insight to their thoughts and feelings. You may need to consider how to adapt the activities for those who nd the interpretation of feelings difcult. Many children will only be able to practise these skills at the simplest level, but you and the classrooms other adults can guide them by consistently modelling the skills. It is an ongoing concept and is not conned to this year, this unit or just children.

WHAT YOU NEED - Ill Be Late (Resource D) or Brendan Needs a Friend (Resource E) - Initial Feelings 1 (Resource F) - Initial Feelings 2 (Resource G) - A selection of pictures or the childrens favourite photographs WHAT TO DO - Circle Work - Story - Discussion - Circle Work - Picture Activity - Class Discussions and Debates

Sit the children in a circle. Ask a volunteer to nish the sentence: I went to the magic market and I bought _____ . The next child then repeats the sentence and adds on an extra item. Continue this for six or seven children, with each child including the items suggested by previous children. Repeat so that every child in the class gets an opportunity to participate in this activity, but adjust

the number to ensure that every child can succeed and none is embarrassed by not being able to remember the items. Elicit from the children the important aspects of listening that they used during this activity. Ask them what they do when they are really listening (being quiet, concentrating, careful listening, looking, ignoring distractions, remembering). Remind the children about the Class Listening Contract.

Story
Read one or both stories (Ill Be Late or Brendan Needs a Friend) with the children. Ask the children to listen carefully to the story and, in particular, to the feelings of the different characters in the story. Use Resources F and/or G to enable each child to note their initial thoughts about the people involved in the story, how the characters feel and what the characters might need to help with their feeling. Rather than guide the children as to the people to identify in the story, let their choice indicate their skills in empathy. List the feelings they identify in the story. discuss what they thought they needed. Ask them to give reasons and relate this to their own experiences if they wish. Brendan Needs a Friend: - Why did Brendan want to go home with Jim and Tom? - How was Brendan feeling? - In what way did he show his feelings? - How do you think Jim felt when he heard about Brendan being bullied? - Did Jim listen well? If not, what stopped him? - How might Jim help the situation now? Ask the children to identify those people they wrote about and to discuss what they thought they needed. Ask them to give reasons and relate this to their own experiences if they wish.

Picture Activity
You will need a selection of eye catching pictures, for example the work of an artist that you are studying in Art and Design. Display the pictures so that everyone can look at them and choose one which appeals to them in some way. Fair pair the children and give each pair four or ve minutes to talk about their picture with their partner (two minutes per partner). At the end, ask each child to explain to the rest of the group what his/her partner liked about the picture. Alternatively, ask the children to bring in a favourite photograph and to discuss with a partner why they chose it. You may decide to allocate a total number of minutes to each pair for discussion without offering any reminder to change over. This gives each person in the pair responsibility for the allocation of time. Each pair will need to decide for how long each should talk and to take mutual responsibility for changing over. Each person also needs to decide what to do if the other person overruns his/her time allocation. Giving such implicit responsibility further develops empathy.

Class Discussions and Debates

Using a class discussion or debate format, both formal and informal, ask the children to summarise what the previous speaker has said before they can speak themselves. Use the speaking object as used in Circle Time to contribute to a more equal distribution of speaking time and to encourage listening. The listening skills of all of us are at differing stages of development. These exercises are not designed to embarrass or denigrate those who nd listening, interpreting associated feelings or remembering difcult. For those who nd remembering difcult, encourage them to initially make brief notes. This can create condence. However, as talking is an oral activity and listening skills are being promoted, you should encourage the children to develop their memory skills along with their listening skills. When they learn to think more about what the speaker is saying and less about what they want to say in response, they will nd it easier to remember what the speaker is saying.

Discussion
Use the following questions for discussion Ill Be Late: - Why did Jane not notice that her dad was in bad form? - How did her dad show the way he was feeling? - Could she have behaved in a different way? - Did Sarah listen well? If not, what stopped her? - How might Sarah help the situation now? Ask the children to identify those people they wrote about and to

Circle Work
Pass the speaking object around and invite each child to complete the sentence: When Im listened to I feel _____ . Encourage them to talk about their own experiences of listening to a friend who had a problem or being listened to when they, themselves, had a difculty.

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Learning activity 3: Rorys team

CORE CONCEPT

We can all be inuenced by family and friends, and sometimes this can lead to problems.
SUGGESTED SUCCESS CRITERIA

We will understand and discuss how family and friends can inuence our thinking. We will demonstrate how to make our views known in a difcult situation.

POINTS TO NOTE At this stage of development, children spend an increasing amount of time in the company of diverse groups. Their growing freedom brings more responsibility and the need to make important decisions about what they do.

WHAT YOU NEED - Rorys Team (Resource H) - Compare and Contrast (Resource I) - Choices (Resource J) WHAT TO DO - Rorys Team - Feelings - How Do You Tell Someone that You Dont Want to Do Something?

Rorys Team
Tell the children that they are going to hear a story about the inuence a group of friends had on a young person. Then, read Rorys Team with the class. Afterwards, ask the children to name some of the feelings experienced by the people in the story. Use the following questions to initiate discussion: - What do you think was going through Rorys mind when the older children laughed? - Why did Rory wish that he supported a better team? As a class, use Resource I to compare and contrast two football teams. Ask those who do not support either team to comment constructively on the similarities and differences discussed by those who do support them. For example, see Class Discussions and Debates in Learning activity 2. - Is this a good way to choose a team to support? Why? Why not? - When might using a strategy like this be useful?

Feelings
Ask the children to imagine how they might feel if they were asked to leave their group of close friends because they wanted to do something different than the group. Highlight the importance of friendship. Ask the children to discuss what they would lose if they could no longer belong to their group of friends. Has anyone an example of this? How did it work out? Record their responses in a Circle of Feelings on the board. The following is an illustration of this:

How Do You Tell Someone That You Dont Want To Do Something?

Pose the following questions to the class: - How do you think Rory felt when the tickets arrived? - What options did Rory have?

sad rejected left out upset angry

If I could no longer belong to my group of friends, I would feel.....

alone lonely

Make a class list and group similar suggestions together until you have at least four or ve possible options. Using Resource J, assign one option to each group. Ask them to explore the strengths and weaknesses/pros and cons of their given option. Then, ask each group to share their option with the class as well as the pros/cons that they identied. As a class, decide a possible course of action for Rory. You can use the following questions to explore the topic further: - Will family always come rst? - Will friends always come rst?

annoyed

Writing
Give each group time to write a short role play and to enact their story. The role play should be about a real or made-up situation where an individual wanted something different than the group and felt pulled between family and friends, or between two school clubs, for example music and sport.
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Learning activity 4: Coping with change

CORE CONCEPT

Change is a normal feature of life.

SUGGESTED SUCCESS CRITERION

We will identify how life brings change.

POINTS TO NOTE If we accept that change is normal and we develop some coping strategies, then we have a better chance of coping when faced with difcult changes. Living.Learning.Together. is not a counselling resource. If after using the activities you feel that a child has been adversely affected by change, follow the schools procedures for providing additional support to that child.

WHAT YOU NEED - Circle Time: Changes (Resource K) - Circle Time: A New Child in the Class (Resource L) - Changes in Our Lives (Resource M) WHAT TO DO - Changes I Liked - Discussing Changes - Circle Time - Changes I Didnt Like

e g n a ch

Changes I Liked
Discuss changes in nature and positive changes that have happened in the local community. Discuss changes that have happened in school. Discuss the feelings that everyone may have had at the prospect of change and the advantages that are now evident. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the situations discussed. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages or vice-versa? Then, ask each child to think of one change in his/her life and why it was they liked the change.

Circle Time
Use the Circle Time activities presented in Resources K and/or L to discuss changes that the children have experienced.

Changes I Didnt Like

It is particularly important to give parents the opportunity to speak to you about this part of the Unit. It is also important to be particularly sensitive to children who are new to the class, come from another culture, have recently experienced changes in their medical condition, have suffered bereavement, etc. This may be the only opportunity for a child in the class to talk about a situation that has been difcult and to have class members listen and try to empathise with the child. Before you begin, explain what the lesson is about so that they have the opportunity to express any concerns. Then, ask the children if anyone would like to talk about a change he or she didnt like. It may help to have the children respond to the sentence stem: I didnt like it when _____ . In some cases, it may also be appropriate to ask the children to talk about someone close to me or someone I know rather than name specic people in a whole class situation. For those children who are willing to share, ask them: - - - What did it feel like? Who were you able to talk to? What if anything helped the situation?

Discussing Changes
Ask the children to talk to a parent or, with their permission, a neighbour or older relative. As a class, devise a questionnaire that explores what changes their chosen person has seen. This could be in the area of food, work, roles within the family, school, behaviour, entertainment or holidays. Prepare the children for the fact that some people may have had very sad changes in their lives. Expecting children only to relate to happy times is not realistic and does nothing to develop coping strategies for sad times in their own lives. It also suggests that it is wrong to be sad. Questions to explore via the questionnaire could include: - What was the biggest change that happened in the life of this person? - How did the person feel? - How long did it take the person to come to terms with the change? - How did the person cope? - Did anything help the person to cope? - How does that person feel about the change now?

From the discussion, develop a list of strategies and of people or organisations that can help in difcult situations. These might include a teacher, bereavement organisations, Childline, Northern Ireland Commission for Children and Young People or the Citizens Advice Bureau. You can also look in local and national newspapers for organisations that help families, young people and children. Finally, invite visitors from appropriate organisations to talk to the class.
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Resource A

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 1 : Taking time to listen

Letter to Parent(s) / Carer(s)

my schoo l

Insert school logo or letter head

my school
Date

Dear Parent(s)/Carer(s), Our theme for this unit is Working at Harmony. We will be thinking about how to further develop our listening skills and to consider the feelings of those speaking to us so that we can understand them better. Listening is the basis of good relationships, mutual understanding and effective communication, and clear communication is important when we are trying to give or receive the correct message. When we try to understand what others are saying, it does not mean that we have to agree with them; it just means that we try to understand fully why they think what they do. Then we can begin to interpret the feelings associated with what is being said. Together in class we will draw up a list of ways in which we listen well to others. Please take time to talk to your child about this list, and speak to me if you think there may be any problems for your child in following what the class has agreed. We will be reading short stories together to enable the children to discuss the feelings associated with what is said. We do this by thinking about the tone of voice and body language of the speaker as well as the words that are spoken. The topics of the stories may lead to discussion on issues such as bullying, redundancy or illness. These activities are designed to encourage the children to listen carefully and to respond thoughtfully when others are speaking. The unit goes on to recognise that for all of us life brings change some good, some bad, and none in a particular order! If we accept that change is normal and we develop some coping strategies, then we have a better chance of coping when faced with difcult changes. Children will be asked to discuss the good or bad changes that you or other relatives or friends have experienced. Expecting them only to relate to happy times is not realistic and does not help them develop coping strategies for sad times in their own lives. It also suggests that it is wrong to be sad. We hope you understand. I hope you enjoy discussing this unit with your child. If at any time you want any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours faithfully,

Class Teacher
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Resource B

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 1 : Taking time to listen

Fair Pair Cards

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Resource B

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 1 : Taking time to listen

Fair Pair Cards

Square

Parallelogram

Octagon

Right angled triangle

Cylinder

Hexagon

Pentagon

Cuboid

Isosceles triangle

Equilateral triangle

Rectangle

Acute angle (less than 90)

Obtuse angle (bigger than 90 but less than 180) A shape with four right angles

Semi-circle

A circle with a radius A solid shape with eight corners and six faces A four sided gure with only one pair of sides parallel
19

Circumference

Circle

Reex angle (bigger than 180)

In this four sided shape, only the opposite angles are equal

A solid shape with two circles and one rectangle

Cone

Trapezium

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Resource C

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 1 : Taking time to listen

Guidelines for Listening

STOP Stop whatever you are doing in order to give the person who is speaking your full attention. LOOK Look at the person do not stare. Let the person see that you are paying attention to him/her. LISTEN Try to hear not only the words of the other person, but also what the speakers body is saying.
Suggestions in Year 5
Look at the person who is talking. Listen without interrupting. Ask questions about feelings and facts to make sure you understand. Nod your head or speak quietly to show you understand. Check with the speaker to make sure you have understood what was said by repeating what you heard in your own words.

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Resource D

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 2: Listening for feelings

12 9

Ill Be Late
Sarah was late for her friend Janes party and was rushing around the house getting ready. She heard her father drive up outside and thought, Great, I will be able to get a lift over to Janes house. Dad came through the door slowly. His head was bent and he was looking at the ground. His briefcase seemed heavy.

k c o t k tic

Sarah rushed over to him and said, Dad, can I have a lift to Janes house? Im late already for the party. Her Dad looked up and said, Where is your mother? Jane didnt know. She burst in, Dad, you have to give me a lift to Janes house or Ill miss the party. Her Dad said, Could you get me a cup of tea rst? Later when Jane was home she heard her parents talking in the kitchen. Her Dad was sitting with his head in his hands. She wondered why he was looking so dejected. Her mother had her hand on his shoulder and was saying, Maybe it will not be as bad as you think.

e v a h u o y Dad, a e m e v i to g s e n a J lift to l l l r o house y t r a p e miss th

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Resource E

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 2: Listening for feelings

Brendan Needs a Friend

It was rst break time and Jim was playing in the playground with his friend Tom. They were having a great game when Jims cousin, Brendan, who was looking a bit worried, interrupted them. Brendan was in Year 5 and Jim was his hero. They got on well and played a lot together when the families visited each other at the weekend. Brendan asked Jim could he go home from school with him that evening. Jim felt a bit annoyed at the interruption but said yes. Later at lunch time, Brendan came over again and reminded Jim to wait for him that evening. It was a lovely September day and the sun was shining. The teacher was doing a topic about autumn. She told the boys to collect as many samples of the fruits of autumn as they could nd that evening

and let them out of school on the dot of three so that they had plenty of time to look. Jim and Tom loved wandering in the woods, and they were impatient to be off. Tom said he knew where they could nd loads of conkers, beech nuts, acorns and haws. So off they ran home to tell their parents that they were going searching. While they were in the woods, Jim remembered Brendan. Later that evening after supper, Brendans dad arrived at the door. He was looking cross and worried. He sat down and told Jims parents that some bigger boys were bullying Brendan on the way home from school each day. They would wait until he was on his own and then pick on him. Today they had hit him, knocked him down and thrown all his books around.

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Resource F

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 2: Listening for feelings

Initial Feelings 1
Ill be late

12 9

3 6

Person

Feels

Needs

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Resource G

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 2: Listening for feelings

Initial Feelings 2
Brendan Needs a Friend

Person

Feels

Needs

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Resource H

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 3: Rorys team

Rorys Team
Rory supported Bolton Wanderers. He had done so since he was ve years old. His dad came from Bolton and his grandmother still lived there. Hed never been to see his team playing and he rarely saw them on television. That was the problem. They werent a very successful team and they werent very popular either. In fact, apart from his dad and himself, Rory didnt know anyone else who supported Bolton! But every Saturday evening Rory sat with his dad and listened to the football results.

Sometimes if Bolton was playing one of the bigger teams, he would see highlights from the game - it was usually United or City putting ve goals past the Bolton keeper! But once in the rst round of the cup, Bolton beat Liverpool 3-0. Rory and his dad cheered and cheered when they heard the result. Then they were beaten in the next round. Rory and his dad kept a scrapbook every season. They cut out articles from football magazines and match reports from the paper. Rorys Uncle Simon, who was a Bolton fan too, sent him programmes from the matches that he attended. At school, Rorys classmates supported Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. They were the most popular teams. Two of the girls supported Chelsea and the twins, Martin and Liam, supported Newcastle. When Rory was in Year 5 he wore his navy and white scarf to school. The other children asked him whose colours they were. They all laughed when Rory said he supported Bolton Wanderers. After that, Rory rarely joined in when they talked about football. In Year 6, Rory wished he supported a better team. He really liked Liverpool. Two of the Republic of Ireland team played for them. Eoin and Conor, his best friends, supported them. Rory wondered what Dad would say if he told him that he didnt want to be a Bolton Wanderers fan anymore. He thought about asking his parents to buy him the Liverpool strip for his birthday. Just before his tenth birthday, Uncle Simon wrote to say he had tickets for a match in two weeks time. He sent plane tickets for Dad and Rory, too. Dad was really excited.
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Resource l

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 3: Rorys team

Compare and Contrast

A.

B.

Similarities

How are they the same?

How are they different? Differences

What do you notice?

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Resource J

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 3: Rorys team

Choices
What can we do?
How many options can we think of ?

The choice we are considering is: Pros Cons

Is this a good choice? Give a reason for your answer

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Resource K

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 4: Coping with change

Circle Time: Changes

Suggested Success Criteria Children will reect on change in their lives.

Mixing-Up Activity Using Silent Statements

Ask the children to change places if they: - have ever gone to another school; - moved to a different home; - lived in a different town; - have a younger brother or sister; or - have had a change in their life in the past year.

Information Sharing
Changes in Our Lives (Resource M) uses change situations to enable children to: - nd out who in the class has also experienced a situation; - have the opportunity to discover that they are not alone in their situation; and - realise that if they are alone in a situation, they are not odd; they are just different and thats okay. Give out Resource M and ask everyone in the room to complete their sheet. Explain that they must approach other children and ask them questions to identify one situation that that child has experienced. They should have each person they nd sign the relevant quadrant. You can follow this with a discussion of the variety of changes that have been experienced; and changes that are not on the sheet. Explain to the children that everyone experiences change(s) to varying degrees at some time in their lives. Some changes we like. Some changes we dont like. Some changes we can avoid, and some changes we cannot avoid.

Closure
Close Circle Time by having the children complete the following statement: When change happened in my life, something that helped me was when ____.

Evaluation
Always evaluate the Circle Time session so that what you heard or observed can inform your next session. Think of ways in which you can understand each child better. Children can evaluate circle time by completing the sentence stem: Something I enjoyed/did not enjoy about this session ____.

Sentence Completion
Ask the children to complete this sentence stem: When something changed in my life I felt _____ . (When a Feelings vocabulary list is kept in the class and added and referred to regularly, children will be more condent in trying to clarify a feeling and in nding the best word to express their feeling. Otherwise, they will nd it difcult to think of feelings other than sad or angry when they could have used: anxious, nervous, worried, furious, etc.)

You could discuss other changes using the Think, Pair, Share approach. What would be the advantages/disadvantages of any of the following: - a family member winning the lottery; - a parent getting a job in When each person has every another country; square on their sheet signed by - getting a new brother or sister; a different person, sit everyone - moving to a new school; down in a circle and discuss the - having a new teacher; following questions: - changing school terms from - Was it difcult to ask other three to four; people a question? - starting the school day at - Were any questions particularly 8.00am; or difcult to ask? - working with another school - Was it difcult to answer any where most of the children are of the questions? of a different religion. - What did you learn from this activity?

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Resource L

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 4: Coping with change

Circle Time: A New Child in the Class

As this session focuses attention on the new child, talk to the child rst and seek his or her permission.

Suggested Success Criteria Children will reect on the effect of change. Children will understand each other better. Welcome and Introduction
Introduce the new child and welcome him or her to the class. Make a positive statement about something you have discovered about the child.

Sentence Completion
Ask the children to complete the following statements: - Something I would/do really miss about my (old) school is _____ . - Something that would make me feel better (if I had to go to a new school/in this new school) is ______ . Adjust these sentences so that each class member, including the new child, can answer.

Information Sharing
Encourage other class members to offer suggestions for helping the new child to integrate. Ask them to start their suggestion with the phrase: Would it help if _____ ?* Encourage the new child to respond with: Yes, I would like that. Thank you for suggesting it or No, I dont think I would like that, but thank you for suggesting it. Encourage them to create an Action Plan for the next week. Monitor and review it regularly.

Closing Activity
Allow the children to choose a game chosen from those previously played in Circle Time.

Evaluation
Something I learned from this session was _____

Mixing-Up Activity
Ask the children to change places if they have ever: - moved house; - gone to a different school (for example playgroup); or - had a friend move away.
*

Would it help if ? ideas are adapted from the Jenny Mosley Quality Circle Time model which is referenced in the Suggested Further Reading section in this Unit.

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Resource M

Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Green Unit

Learning activity 4: Coping with change

Changes in Our Lives

Find someone who:

Has moved house

Has a younger brother

Wears glasses

Has stayed in hospital

Has ever lost a favourite toy

Has parents who are separated or divorced

Has joined an organisation or club

Has been to a different school

Has no brothers or sisters

Has had a family member die

You choose! Someone who ....

Lives with one parent

Has a parent who isnt at home every night because of their job

Has stayed away from home for at least three nights

Has a younger sister

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notes

Suggested stories
Fleischman, P. Weslandia (Walker Books: 2000) 978-0744577358 Wisniewski, D. The Secret Knowledge of Grown Ups (Harper Trophy: 2001) 0 06443753 1 Willis, J. Grandad and John (Walker Books: 2007) 978-1844288984 Browne, A. The Tunnel (Walker Books: 1997) 978-0744552393 Lears, L. Ians Walk: A Story About Autism (Albert Whitman and Co.: 2003) 0 80753481 1 Ahlberg, A. Its a Puzzle from Please Mrs Butler (Pufn Books: 1984) 0 14031494 6 Parry Heide, F. and Van Clief, S. Thats What Friends Are For (Walker Books: 2003) 978-0744580600 McNaughton, C. Theres an Awful Lot of Weirdos in Our Neighbourhood (Walker Books: 2000) 978-0744577785 Patten, B. Impossible Parents (Walker Books: 2006) 978-1406306132 McCombie, K. Indie Kidd: My Big (Strange) Happy Family (Walker Books: 2007) 978-1406300789 McCombie, K. Indie Kidd: Oops, I Lost My Best(est) Friends (Walker Books: 2007) 978-1406307184 Fine, A. Nag Club (Walker Books: 2005) 978-1844289400 Goldthorpe, M. Eczema in Poems for Circle Time and Literacy Hour (LDA: 1998) 1 85503269 4 Burningham, J. Granpa (Red Fox: 2003) 0 09943408 3 Benjamin, F. Coming to England (Pufn Books: 1997) 0 14038081 7 * James, S. Leon and Bob (Candlewick: 1997) 1 56402991 3 * Simmonds, P. Fred (Red Fox: 1987)0 09926412 9
* see CCEAs Primary Values

Suggested further reading

Donoghue, P.J. and Siegel, M. Are You Really Listening? Keys to Successful Communication (Sorin Books: 2005) 1 89373288 6 McDermott, D. R. Developing Caring Relationships Among Parents, Children, Schools and Communities (Sage Publications: 2007) 1 41292786 2 Mosley, J. and Sonnet, H. Making Waves (LDA: 2002) 1 85503357 7 Mosley, J. Quality Circle Time in the Primary Classroom (LDA: 1997) 1 85503229 5 CCEA. Primary Values (CCEA: 2005) 1 85885337 0

Useful websites
Circle Time resources www.circle-time.co.uk Bereavement www.childbereavement.org.uk www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk Active Learning and Teaching Methods www.nicurriculum.org.uk Northern Ireland Commission for Children and Young People www.niccy.org Childline 0800 1111 www.childline.org.uk