Primary National Strategy Guidance Curriculum and Standards Excellence and Enjoyment: social and emotional aspects of learning Good to be me Additional assembly Headteachers, teachers and practitioners in primary schools, middle schools, special schools and Foundation Stage settings Status: Recommended Date of issue: 03-2006 Ref:
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The assembly You will need: Music: the suggested music for this assembly is Strong by Desiree, Search for the hero by M People or any upbeat, feel-good music the children suggest. Try to use the same positive music for all the assemblies in this theme so the children recognise it. If you want the children to join in with the assembly, they could join in with the words, Leave me alone, and Leave her alone, which are written in bold italics in the story. Introduction Tell the children that this assembly is about feeling good about who you are. Remind them that every single person in the world is special. There is nobody else quite like them, and however many more babies are born, there will never be anyone exactly the same as they are. Tell the children that even though every one of them is special, it isn t always easy to remember that and feel good about themselves. Sometimes they might look at other people and think they are better in some way. But say that everyone has their own gifts and talents, their own personality. Feeling good about who you are, is knowing what it is that makes you, you; what makes you different from everyone else, what makes you special. Say that the story is about a boy called Sam. As they listen ask the children to see if they can spot the things that make Sam special. The story When Sam was little, he had a friend who went everywhere with him. His friend s name was Kahn and he wasn t shy, quiet or frightened of things like Sam was. He was a brave, yellow tiger, and as long as Kahn was around, Sam felt all right. He s only a stuffed toy, said Sam s Mum. You don t need him. But Sam thought he knew better. By the time Sam started school, Kahn was almost worn out. His eyes had fallen out and his fur was all gone, and when Sam s Mum put him in the washing machine he fell to pieces. All that was left was a small piece of yellow cloth. 3 Crown copyright 2006 Good to be me Additional assembly
That s still Kahn, Sam said to his Mum. Don t be silly Sam, said his Mum. It s just a bit of yellow cloth. You don t need that. But Sam thought he knew better. He put the piece of cloth in his pocket. Now it will be as though Kahn is at school with me, he thought, and as long as he s there, I ll be all right. At school Sam worked hard and made lots of friends. He was still quiet and shy and sometimes frightened, but he remembered Kahn was safe in his pocket and that helped him. When Sam was in year one, some children kept bothering him. They pinched him under the table, they moved his book so his writing went wrong, and they kept giggling at him so he couldn t concentrate. At first he tried to ignore them. Then he began to get upset. He wanted to do his work well and he didn t want to get into trouble. But the children would not leave him alone. 4 At first Sam didn t know what to do. And then he remembered Kahn. He felt deep inside his pocket. The piece of cloth was there and Sam held on tight to it. It was as though Kahn was there with him. Almost at once, Sam could feel his courage rising. He could feel Kahn helping him. He remembered how tigers could growl and he opened his mouth and said loudly Leave me alone. Of course, the children didn t know Sam had Kahn to help him speak so loudly, and they nearly jumped out of their skins. In fact the whole classroom went quiet. Good to be me Additional assembly Crown copyright 2006
Are you all right, Sam? asked the teacher. Sam looked at the children who had bothered him. He thought perhaps Kahn had helped him make sure they wouldn t bother him any more, so he said, Yes, I m all right now, thank you, and got quietly on with his work. He felt very pleased. Thank you, Kahn, he whispered. In year four, Sam was playing with his friends in the playground when he noticed a boy from another class sitting by himself. He looked as though he d been crying. Three children were standing close to him. Sam went over to the boy and asked what was wrong. He just shook his head and wouldn t tell, but Sam could hear the three children saying unkind things about the boy. Sam was a bit frightened of the three children but, even so, he could feel himself getting angry about what they were doing and he wanted to help the boy. Then he remembered Kahn. He felt deep inside his pocket and held tight on to the piece of cloth. Once he knew that Kahn was there, he felt himself get braver. He took a deep breath and said very loudly, Leave him alone. The three children looked very startled to hear Sam with such a strong voice. They didn t know he had Kahn to help him. They looked a bit ashamed of themselves and walked away. Why don t you come and play with us? Sam said to the boy. Great, he said, thanks. Sam was pleased. Thank you, Kahn, he whispered. 5 Crown copyright 2006 Good to be me Additional assembly
When Sam was in year six the teacher told the class that one of them could now be the leader of the school council. She said that if they wanted to be leader, they would need to make a speech to the whole school saying what they would do. Then all the children would vote for the one they thought was best. Sam looked around the class at the other children, thinking who would make a good leader. Dwayne was a brilliant football captain. Mariam was a really good speaker. Then some of Sam s friends said to him, Why don t you try and be leader of the school council, Sam? You d be really great. Sam laughed. Don t be silly, he said, I could never make a speech to the whole school. But when he went home, he felt the piece of cloth in his pocket and seemed to hear Kahn s voice saying, You could make a speech if you really wanted to, and if you were leader of the school council you could help the quiet children who are too afraid to speak out for themselves. Sam thought and thought. And, although he was very nervous, he decided that if he had Kahn there to help him he might be able to do it. He might be able to make a speech. He wrote down what he wanted to say and read it over and over again until he knew it by heart. Then he held on tight to the piece of cloth in his pocket and that helped him to speak in a loud, clear voice. He practised until it was time for bed. The next day each of the children who wanted to be the leader of the school council stood up to make their speech. When it was Sam s turn, he walked out to the front of the hall. He took a deep breath and reached into his pocket to find the piece of cloth that was Kahn. It wasn t there. Sam s pocket was empty. The piece of cloth had disappeared. Sam stood, wondering what on earth he was going to do. Without Kahn he would never have the courage to speak out loud. He stood in the silence, his heart pounding. He looked around at all the faces in front of him. He felt embarrassed. He felt sick. The whole school was staring at him. What was he going to do? He wished he could run away. 6 Then suddenly, to his own amazement, he heard himself say, If I was the leader of the Good to be me Additional assembly Crown copyright 2006
school council, I would make sure that everyone got a chance to say what they think, even if they are quiet, or shy or afraid. Once he d started, somehow he just carried on. He said his whole speech. When he had finished, he sat down again, hardly believing what he had done. He felt weak and a bit dizzy, but he felt something else too. He felt proud of himself. He knew that it was him, Sam, who had found the courage to speak out. He had done it all by himself without any help from Kahn. He sat there, remembering the times he thought Kahn had helped him to be brave, to stand up for himself, to stand up for others, and he wondered if perhaps, his Mum had been right, and he didn t need Kahn at all. Perhaps he was braver than he thought he was, and perhaps Kahn had just been a stuffed toy, then a piece of cloth, all along. 7 Crown copyright 2006 Good to be me Additional assembly
You might like to acknowledge that some children have their own Kahn or imaginary friend before you explore the children s thoughts and feelings about the story. The questions are increasingly complex so you can target them at appropriate age groups. Explain that most of them do not have a right or wrong answer. What do you think was special about Sam? Why do you think Sam felt proud of himself at the end of the story? What do you think helped Sam to say, leave me alone and leave him alone? Sam was afraid of things. Do you think he was brave? What brave thing/s do you think Sam did? Why do you think Sam thought Dwayne or Mariam would be a good leader? Why do you think Sam s friends thought he would be a good leader? Do you think Sam became the leader of the school council? (He did). Tell the children that Sam thought he was just a quiet, shy boy who was afraid of things, but at the end of the story he was proud of who he was. Something deep inside him helped him to be brave, and do what he thought was right. At last he realised he was special, just as Dwayne and Mariam were special, just as all of us are special. We all have something deep inside us that can help us to find the best of who we are. Say that some children have gifts that are easy to see, others are special in much quieter ways like Sam. Tell them that when they feel sometimes that others are better than they are, remember that everyone is special in their own particular ways. Conclusion Ask the children to find a still, quiet place inside themselves and think of something special about themselves. It could be something they are good at or something they have said or done which has made them feel pleased or proud of themselves. Ask them to keep the thought in their heads for a minute or two. Then ask them to always remember that there is nobody in the world quite like them. Before the music plays and they leave the room/hall, ask all the children and adults to say out loud, It s good to be me. Follow-up assembly to be held at the end of the theme Begin by reminding the children about the Good to be me theme and the story of Sam. Now children from each year group can present some of the work they have covered in class on the SEAL materials. The class teacher can decide which work the children will feed back or use the examples set out at the end of the original Good to be me assembly (see Good to be me Theme overview, DfES 1353-2005 G, pages 12 13). Finish the assembly by asking the children to think quietly for a minute or two about what they have learned about themselves and each other over the last few weeks. Ask them to remember something that makes each of them special and how important it is to carry on believing in themselves when things get difficult. Ask the children to think, It s good to be me as the music plays and they leave the assembly. 8 Good to be me Additional assembly Crown copyright 2006
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