It’s Your Move - Scripture Union Resource...Section 1: Assemblies Assembly plan 1: Fears and phobias Assembly plan 2: Moses Assembly plan 3: Daniel Section 2: Lessons Lesson plan

Section 1: Assemblies Assembly plan 1: Fears and phobias

Assembly plan 2: Moses

Assembly plan 3: Daniel

Section 2: Lessons Lesson plan 1: Dealing with Fear Lesson plan 2: David and Goliath Lesson plan 3: Changes, challenges, choices

Section 3: Part days Session plan 1: Identity and Choices Session plan 2: Changes, challenges, choices

Section 4: Whole days Day plan 1: Dilemas and Creativity Day plan 2: A day of discovery

Section 5: Extra worksheets Worksheet 1: Handy hints Worksheet 2: The good, the sad and the scary

Resource Booklet (To navigate this document,

just click on the items below)

© Scripture Union 2015 www.scriptureunion.org.uk

Section 1: Assemblies

Assembly plan 1: Fears and phobias Aim: To remember that Jesus is with us all the time

Time needed: 10–15 minutes

People needed: One leader

Equipment: A flip chart with front page divided into two columns headed ‘Team A’ and ‘Team B’ for score keeping; A prize for the winning team. (If you are going to offer sweets or chocolate as a prize, make sure that school are OK with you doing so. And don’t forget to check about allergies.)

1. Introduction

Introduce yourself. If you visit any of the local secondary schools, mention that the children going to those schools will see you in September. Explain that in this assembly we are going to be thinking about moving on to secondary school. If follow-up assemblies or lessons are planned, tell the children when to expect more details about moving on.

2. Phobias quiz

Ask the children, what is a phobia?

Comment that a phobia is something that grips a person and affects their whole life. It may seem silly to some of us that people are afraid of different things, like the dark or water, but that is what a phobia is.

Announce a competition and ask for six volunteers to play the quiz and one volunteer to keep score (or ask a teacher to do this). Ask the volunteers to come to the front and divide them into two teams.

Say to the teams that the names of different phobias will be read out and that they have to come up with the correct meanings for each one. They should put hands up to indicate that they want to answer.

To include the rest of the children, ask them to help judge who has the correct answer. You may want to ask:

Arachnophobia – fear of spiders Aerophobia – fear of flying Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces Claustrophobia – fear of enclosed spaces Sociophobia - fear of people Kakorrhapiophobia - fear of failure Monophobia - fear of loneliness Vertigo – heights (use this as a tie breaker if need be)

Congratulate the teams, give out the prize and ask the volunteers to return to their places.


3. Bible story

Comment that as the children move on to their new school you hope they won’t feel gripped by fear or panic! They may feel nervous or a bit scared but hopefully not terrified. Explain that you are going to tell the story about someone in the Bible who started off very brave but then got scared. It’s about a chap called Peter and he was one of Jesus’ disciples, which means he was Jesus’ friend and follower.

Read Matthew 14:22–33 (Please ensure you use a modern, easy to understand translation such as the New Living Translation, The Message or the Street Bible.) Now ask the following questions:

Who was the bravest disciple in the boat? Why was that?

How do you think Peter felt when he was walking on the water?

What do you think the other disciples thought as they watched?

What did Peter do when he was afraid and started sinking?

What did Jesus do when Peter was afraid and started sinking?

Peter was the only disciple who walked on the water even though he found it scary. After all, he’d never done it before!

Jesus doesn’t expect us to walk on water (so don’t try it at home on your garden pond!) but there will be things we have never done before. Jesus is there all the time, however we are feeling and whatever we are doing and we can always talk to him. There will be some new and exciting things at your new school but you may feel a bit nervous about some of them at the moment.

4. Prayer

Introduce this by saying that you are going to close with a short prayer. Explain that prayer is simply talking to God. At the end you will say Amen, and invite the children to say Amen if they would like to. Explain that if they’d rather just sit quietly and listen, then that is absolutely fine.

Thank you Jesus that you are always with us. Thank you that you have good things ahead for us. Help us to remember that you are there. Please be with those of us who are particularly nervous about moving on to their new school. Thank you Jesus that you are with us today and always. Amen.


Assembly plan 2: Moses Aim: To show that God is always with us whatever our situation


People needed: One leader, at least two other helpers

Equipment: Sheet of pictures showing episodes from the life of Moses Team sheet 1, Moses’ story (one copy for narrator) Backdrop for Moses drama (to hide the actors and props behind) Sheep – a battery operated ‘Shaun the Sheep’ is ideal Burning bush Moses basket and baby doll Costumes for princess, young prince Moses, Moses the shepherd, old man Moses Two staffs One black/brown beard and one white beard

1. Introduction (3 minutes)

Introduce the theme: we are going to talk about changes in our lives, particularly thinking about the Year 6 children who will be moving up to secondary school next year. Each of you will be moving up to a new class. There may be other changes at home, such as a new baby arriving or moving house. Each person on the team introduces themselves: their name, age and school if they are still at one.

2. Challenge (3 minutes)

Prepare in advance a sheet showing six or seven pictures of episodes from the life of Moses (if you can’t draw, there is a good selection in How to Cheat at Visual Aids: The Collection, by Pauline Adams and Judith Merrell, Scripture Union, ISBN 1-85999-500-4). Project the pictures on to a screen. Say to the pupils: this is a challenge! At school there are many things you have to remember, and it’s true that the more you practice using your memory, the better it gets. Here are several pictures. At the end of the assembly I will show you these pictures again, but one picture will be missing. You have to remember which picture the missing one was. When you go into your new classes in September there will be lots of things to remember. Some of you may be nervous about going to a new school as you don’t know what it is going to be like. Everyone gets nervous – even grown-ups are nervous when they start a new job. Today’s story is from the Bible and it is about a man who had lots of changes in his life, and he was nervous too.

3. Bible story (9 minutes) Act out the story of Moses as given on Team Sheet 1.


4. Conclusion (1 minute) Moses had lots of big changes in his life. He grew up in the royal court but had to leave hurriedly and in disgrace and live a quiet life as a shepherd. He had to learn lots of new things – how to look after sheep, find food and water for them, protect them. God then called him to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. It was a difficult job and Moses didn’t think that he could do it – but with God’s help he did.

5. Challenge follow-up (2 minutes) Show the sheet of pictures from the life of Moses again, but with one picture erased or covered up. Ask who can remember what was shown in the missing picture. Show the missing picture to see who got it right.

6. Prayer (1 minute) One of the helpers reads an appropriate prayer, prepared in advance. Introduce this by saying that you are going to close with a short prayer. Explain that prayer is simply talking to God. At the end you will say Amen, and invite the children to say Amen if they would like to. Explain that if they’d rather just sit quietly and listen, then that is absolutely fine.

Song (4 minutes)

If the school usually sings in assembly, an appropriate song is ‘Our God is a great big God’.


Moses’ story Old man Moses is telling the story of his life. He is dressed in a long robe with a staff in his hand and he has a white beard. He is sitting on the stage slightly off centre. As he is telling his story, different parts of his life are acted out next to him. The other characters are:

The princess, dressed in a long shiny robe and a fancy headdress

Young man Moses – needs a nice shiny robe for when he is the prince in Egypt and a dull robe to put over the top when he leaves Egypt. He also needs a staff.

At the start Moses walks on and sits down and the baby in the basket is in place on the stage amongst the bulrushes if you have some. My name is Moses and I am going to tell you the story of my life. It has been a very long eventful life and there have been many changes. I was born in Egypt, as an Israelite, which meant that my family were slaves under the rule of Pharaoh. We had to do all the building and farming and life was very hard. One day Pharaoh decided to kill all the baby boys who were Israelites, as there were too many of us. So as my mother didn’t want me to die, she put me in a basket and hid me in the bulrushes. I was safe there and Pharaoh’s guards didn’t kill me. So I shouldn’t have been alive at all! One day a princess from Pharaoh’s court found me and she took me to the palace and decided to keep me. (Princess enters, picks up baby Moses from the basket, cuddles him and walks off holding him.) She was only a girl and asked if a woman could come and breastfeed me. My mother was found so even though I was living in the palace my mother saw me. This was how I came to learn about God, because my mother told me. The day I was found by the princess was an amazing day because now I was living in the lap of luxury and I always got what I wanted. After all I was the prince of Egypt. (Enter young Moses, very proud and spoiled. Young Moses mimes through the next part.) The day the new PlayStation came out, I had it. I didn’t even have to ask; it was there. I had slaves who would do anything I told them. I could eat, sleep, or do anything I wanted whenever I wanted. My bedroom was always full of the latest gadgets and my personal favourite was the Sony Digital 42 inch Triniton Plasma wide screen TV which hung on my wall. But as well as having all this, I had to learn the Egyptian language, their religion and lifestyle. One day though a terrible thing happened. I was walking along in Egypt and I saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave. This made me really angry because my mother was an Israelite and it was very unfair. So I went up to the Egyptian and hit him hard. Then he fell over and died. (Young Moses is shocked and asks old Moses what happened.) It was an accident, I didn’t mean it, but it was done. And someone had seen me, so I decided to run away to leave my rich lifestyle and go somewhere else where I would be safe. So I ran and ran and eventually found myself in the desert. (Young Moses runs off stage and puts on dull robe and brown beard, returns carrying staff and sheep.)

Team Sheet 1


Here I met a lovely family and they gave me a job looking after their sheep. This was a huge change in my life as I had been used to getting anything I wanted without having to lift a finger, but now I had to earn my own money to buy food. I adapted to these changes, though, and I began to really like my new surroundings and job. I had to learn how to feed the sheep, look after them, shear their wool and protect them from animals that would try to attack them. (Waves staff around.) I even got married and was now as happy as I had been in Egypt. (Burning bush is slipped on to stage.) But one day something very strange happened. As I was walking along with my sheep, I saw in the corner of my eye a bush that was flickering. I approached it and as I got closer I saw that it was on fire. But the funny thing about it was that it wasn’t burning up, and then as if I wasn’t puzzled enough a voice came out of the bush. It was God and he said, ‘Moses, I have chosen you to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, where they are slaves, and take them to the promised land.’ (Young Moses looks very unsure, stutters, etc.) I said to God, ‘I can’t do that; I don’t want to go back to Egypt, I’m happy here and I have unhappy memories. No one will listen to me and anyway I am too old; I’m eighty years old, can’t you get someone younger? My pension alone wouldn’t pay for the travelling costs. I like my job as a shepherd, and I like my sheep. I can’t leave them.’ As you can see I was very uncertain and it took a long time to convince me. But because God is God, I finally came round to the idea and I decided to go back to Egypt. This was another huge change in my life and I had to leave my familiar surroundings, I had to leave my friends and make the long trip back to Egypt. So as God said, I found Pharaoh and told him what God had said. But he didn’t want to let all his slaves go. They did so much work for him; most of his buildings were standing because of their work. So God sent down many plagues on to Egypt, like the plague of frogs and the plague of locusts to try to persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Eventually after ten plagues Pharaoh agreed and the Israelites and I set off to the promised land. But Pharaoh changed his mind and gave chase; we tried to flee but eventually came to the Red Sea and we couldn’t get round it. But God parted the water and we walked through on dry ground and escaped from the Egyptians. God had rescued us. So now having escaped from Egypt, you would have thought that my job was over, but how wrong would you be. I still had another 40 years of walking in that desert with the people. They were really quite naughty a lot of the time and this was very hard for me. But God helped me through it and here I am now, looking at the Promised Land over there. It looks like a wonderful place. I’m an old man now so I won’t be going in, but the people will. I have had a very eventful life with lots of changes and lots of difficulties but I can see now that God has helped me through them all.


Assembly plan 3: Daniel Aim: To show that God can help us face changes and difficulties


People needed: One leader, at least three other helpers

Equipment: Laminated sheet of answers to quiz or use the downloadable PowerPoint version Team Sheet 2 - Daniel’s story (one copy for narrator) Backdrop for Daniel drama (to hide the actors and props behind) A crown and sword Something representing meat and wine (eg tin of corned beef and wine bottle) Something representing vegetables and water (eg bag of carrots and water bottle) Costumes for King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel (two), Random Israelite (two) Over-sized school uniform

1. Family Fortunes (5 minutes) Ask: Has anybody ever seen the game show ‘Family Fortunes’? It’s a TV quiz show where a survey has been carried out and the contestants have to guess what the top five answers are. Well today, you are going to be our ‘family’. Our survey today asked 750 school children what is the scariest thing about moving to secondary school. If you want to guess an answer, you’ll need to put your hand up. The top five answers are displayed on a laminated sheet (or PowerPoint slides), covered up and revealed when a correct answer is given. If you are using the PowerPoint, click on the blue shapes to reveal the answers and click to the left or right of the slide to reveal an X if a wrong answer is suggested. The correct answers are:

Older children, being bullied Older kids will be taller and look harder.

Getting lost Your new school will be bigger and there is the possibility of getting lost. You just need to ask for help though.

Fear of not making friends / knowing anyone You’ll need friends to help you settle in.

Amount of work / homework As you get older you’ll have more important exams and will need to do homework to prepare.

Size of school It can seem huge when you’re new. If you are doing this with Year 6 pupils, encourage them to participate whenever an answer is suggested. If they think it’s correct they give a thumbs up and a sound effect : Bing! If they think it’s wrong, give a thumbs down and sound effect UUUh, UUUh. If you are doing this with Year 7 or 8 pupils, just get them to clap if they think the answer is right. If four wrong answers are given in a row, stop the quiz and reveal the other answers, from the bottom upwards.

2. Bible story (5 minutes) Introduce the story by saying that there was someone called Daniel in the Bible who had to cope with some very big changes in his life. When he was a young man, his country was attacked and defeated by a king called Nebuchadnezzar and his army. Daniel was taken prisoner and carried off to King Nebuchadnezzar’s country. Act out the story of Daniel in Babylon as given on Team Sheet 2. Dan had lots of changes in his life, moving to a different country, wearing different clothes, being away from his family, meeting new people and learning lots of new things that he hadn’t known anything about, but God was with Dan and his friends all the time.


3. Link (5 minutes) Dress up a pupil volunteer in an oversized school uniform and talk about how moving on can be difficult, but exciting at the same time, and God can help us face all the changes. (Talk about some of the changes the children will face. Also talk about some of the new things that they can look forward to).

4. Interview (3 minutes) This obviously depends on the team. Decide in advance who will be the interviewer and the interviewee, and what they are going to say. The questions will be different for each person but the interview should focus on God being there for the person and that being a comfort to them. Some possible questions are:

How did you feel when you started at secondary school? What worried you most? How was it when you actually started? What or who helped you?

Adapt the questions to the individual stories. Perhaps there is a young person on the team about to go to university. They could talk about how they are feeling about these changes. This may be a good point to recommend the It’s Your Move! book.

5. Prayer (1 minute) Introduce this by saying that you are going to close with a short prayer. Explain that prayer is simply talking to God. At the end you will say Amen, and invite the children to say Amen if they would like to. Explain that if they’d rather just sit quietly and listen, then that is absolutely fine. Use the words below or something else appropriate. Lord God I thank you so much that you love all of the people here and that you are always with them. Thank you that we can trust in you and that you will be there as they move up to secondary school. Please help all of us to remember you can help us when we face new people and situations. Amen.


Daniel’s story The characters are:

King Nebuchadnezzar (known as Neb)

Daniel (known as Dan)

Another random Israelite

Narrator All the story is told by the Narrator, with the other characters miming along. OK, right, so once there was this EVIL king called Nebuchadnezzar… (Enter Neb wearing a crown and looking evil, posing etc.) And this Neb guy, right, well he took over the city of Jerusalem one day… (Dan and Random Israelite are sitting around looking homely. Neb sneaks up behind them and hits them over the heads with his sword.) So Neb, right, orders lots of young Israelite lads to be brought in to be slaves for him… (Neb grabs people and drags them into a corner, laughing.) There was this one guy, called Daniel (but you can call him Dan) whom we’re going to focus on… (Dan poses, flashes a smile.) So Dan and his mates were taken in by the evil king, and made like his people… (Dan and Random Israelite are dressed in new clothes, perhaps similar to Neb.) And they had to learn the language and read the great books of Neb’s country for three years… (Dan and Random Israelite mime reading and training, perhaps with little weights.) After training, they were fed from the king’s table, fed only the best food… (Dan and Random Israelite, looking tired, go to Neb on their knees, who gives them some meat and wine.) But Dan and his mates refused to eat the new food the King was temping them with. (Dan looks at the food, shakes his head and refuses to eat it.) Dan and his friends knew it was against their beliefs to eat the food, because of the way the king’s cooks had made it… (Dan offers the food up towards heaven with prayer, check his Bible then shake his head.) They asked instead if they could eat food they were used to, that was not against their religion – if they could eat only vegetables and water. (Dan goes to Neb, offers up some carrots and water. Dan looks hopeful, Neb nods warily.) Ten days later… Dan and his mates were all healthy, strong men, whilst all those who had eaten from the king’s table were ill and less strong. (Dan looks healthy, smiles, trains with power and ease. Random Israelite looks ill, overweight (put a jumper under his shirt), tired.) So the king allowed them to eat the vegetables that were acceptable to Dan’s religion. (Dan goes to Neb with vegetables, Neb nods and gives thumbs up, Dan smiles.)

Team Sheet 2


And because of this, God helped Dan and his mates to remember and understand what they were learning. He also gave Dan the ability to understand dreams. (Dan is asleep and dreaming.) One day God helped Dan to explain one of Neb’s dreams to him. The king was so impressed with Dan’s God that he made Dan the Prime Minister of his country because he knew that Dan’s God would help him to rule well. (Dan is talking to Neb (seated), Neb nodding.)


Section 2: Lessons

Lesson Plan 1. Dealing with fear by looking at the life of Daniel Aims: 1. To help the children think about what their new schools might be like and to identify some

worries or fears they may have. 2. To consider ways to handle difficult situations 3. To look at the life of Daniel and see how, with God’s help, he faced fear and difficulties

Time needed: 90 minutes including questions with Y7 pupil/s.

People needed: One leader, ideally at least one helper and a Year 7 pupil or two.

Equipment: Post It notes Pupil Sheet 1 - Discussion scenarios printed off in strips Team Sheet 1 - Script and questions It’s Your Move! books (one per pupil)

1. Opening quiz

Write the names of the phobias on the board and ask the pupils to guess what each one is a fear of.


2. Either / Or

Give 2 statements. Children stand or sit (or move to appropriate side of the room if a big room) depending on their preference.

Football Rugby Coca Cola Pepsi Snow Sun X Factor The Voice What will you miss most at primary school? Teachers Friends School dinners School trips

Now ask: What other things will you miss about primary school?

3. Worries

Give each child one post it note. Ask them to individually write down their biggest fear, worry or concern they have about secondary school. Stick them on the wall (as a graph) Comment on them. Mention the surveys and pie chart (p19 IYM books) and comment that many other children have the same feelings as they do.

4. Tell the story of Daniel.

Use the script on Team Sheet 1 below

(This story took place in about 605BC) Ask these questions to the groups afterwards.

Who was the main character in the diary?

Who was the chief steward?

What advice did Daniel’s teacher give him?

What new experiences did Daniel have in the story?

What can we learn from the story?


5. Opportunities

There are fears with moving schools but also opportunities. In groups of about 5 children per group,

ask them to write down on a Post It note the 5 things they are most looking forward to. Then ask them to stick their five Post Its onto 1 sheet of A4 paper. One person from each group to come to the front with sheet. Comment on sheets and draw out interesting points. Explain that like Daniel, we can know that God is with us as we move to a new place.

6. Question for Year 7

Introduce the Year 7 pupils and ask the children to write down 1 question they would like to ask them onto a post it. Collect these in and quickly review the questions and decide which ones the Yr 7’s will attempt to answer. (If there is a break time, now is a good time, while you review questions)

7. Discussion

In groups of five discuss the solutions to the agony aunt questions / scenarios on Pupil Sheet 1

8. Ask the questions to the Y7 pupils.

Elaborate where needed. Encourage the year 7s to be honest but also to reassure (eg – bullying does occasionally happen but it is rare and if it does then it is dealt with quickly etc).

9. Close / thanks


Pupil Sheet 1 A). Tom has been off school for a day with a stomach upset. He comes back to school and finds that he can’t follow the maths lesson. He is too shy to ask the teacher so he tries to write down everything the teacher says and writes down the homework. When he gets home he can’t do the homework and no one at home can help him. What do you think happens next? What could he have done to avoid this happening?

B). Sarah finds that she has a lot of homework one evening and one of the pieces of work involves some research from the internet. She spends a long time on her work and she is happy with what she has done. The next morning when she arrives at school she finds that she has forgotten to do one of her other pieces of homework which needs to be handed in that morning. What do you think happens next? What could she have done to avoid this happening?

C). It is the third day of term and the school is running normal lessons. Simon finds that he needs to go to the toilet between the French and history lessons. He has to ask someone in his class where the nearest toilet is and when he comes out his class has gone to history. He has left his timetable at home with the room numbers for the classes and he has no idea where to go. What do you think happens next? What could he have done to avoid this happening?

D). Emma always finds it difficult to get up in the morning. One day it is raining heavily, she oversleeps and misses the bus. There is no one at home to take her to school so she just has to wait for the next bus. It is twenty minutes before the next bus comes so she arrives at school ten minutes late and her form has already gone into assembly. What do you think happens next? What could she have done to avoid this happening?

E) Ben is sure that he took his dinner money from the top of the fridge this morning and put it in his jacket pocket. When it comes to lunchtime he puts his hand in his pocket and there is nothing there. How can that have happened? Perhaps it fell out or perhaps it was taken out of his pocket some time during the morning. He decides it would be too embarrassing to make a fuss so he doesn’t go into lunch but goes to sit in the library. What do you think happens next? What could he have done to avoid this happening?


Team Sheet 1 Daniel Script (3 pages)

(Person 1) In the first chapter of Daniel we learn that he was a young man, a little older than you and much younger than me. Daniel was a Jewish young man and lived in Jerusalem. He lived around 600 years before Jesus was born. The Babylonians were the most powerful empire at the time and they had just attacked Jerusalem and defeated them. They were taking prisoners back to the great city of Babylon – to get there they would have to walk across the desert. Daniel was taken away from all of his friends and family. If he had kept a diary it may have sounded like this:

(Person 2) DAY 1: I am sitting in the food hall, staring at the disgusting, stewed eyeballs I am supposed to eat. Up

to this point I have been thinking that this was ok and I might even enjoy life at the king’s school. But now I realised that there are somethings that I am just not going to get used to, I want to be sick. The chief steward is called Ashpenaz and he is a hard man. He waves a long wooden cane and he commands me to eat. He says that if I don’t I will insult the king. He says, ‘your food comes from the king’s own table and whoever rejects the king’s food, rejects the king and who ever rejects the king….’ As he says this he brings the cane down very hard next to me and I am left in no doubt that I do not want to do that. Out of the corner of my eye I spot a young slave girl and she is delivering fruit. The prospect of eating fruit has never been so appealing. But I am stuck with the sheep’s eyeballs and I am told by the steward that they are one of Babylonia’s greatest delicacies. He says that he has never been given the honour of eating them. I want to say ‘well you can eat mine”; But I don’t, I am frightened. What am I going to do? It is not just that the eye balls look disgusting but as a Jew I know that I can not eat it. We Jewish people have clear rules about what we can and can not eat and these come directly from God. I know the right thing that I need to do. I am caught between the orders of the king and those of God. Suddenly the slave girl is next to me and she has slipped some fruit into my hand. She has a kind face and a kind voice. I watch her as she walks away and I start daydreaming, remembering home, my old school, my old teacher. I remember my favourite teacher saying ‘God is always there. You cannot see him Daniel but he’s always there and he listens. Talk to him Daniel and he will listen. I do talk to him and ask God whether I should follow his ways of become a Babylonian.


(Person 1) DAY 4: Over the last few days I have found 3 other Jews and we have become friends. They have been

bought over, removed from their family and friends, just like me to attend this school. I’ve convinced them that we need to speak to Ashpenaz about the food and so even though we are scared we go running through the maze of dark corridors together looking for him. We don’t know where we are going but we know that we have to find Ashpenaz.

(Person 2) DAY 15: The last ten days have passed quite quickly and I am busy learning the customs and corridors

of the royal palace. Ten days earlier it had seemed that there was no alternative to eating the King’s food which I knew would be wrong for me to do. Then I had an idea. Did it come from God? I didn’t know. I was very frightened but politely I am asked Ashpenaz, ‘please give us ten days. Let us only eat fruit and vegetables and drink water. Then compare us with the students who eat the royal food. Then make your decision, depending on what you see.’ Today is the 10th day. Today the four of us Jews have an appointment with the king’s doctor to decide if we are more or less healthy that the other students. The four of us are led by Ashpenaz and we are very worried and frightened. When we get to the doctor’s place there are already 4 students there, those who have been eating the king’s food. The Doctor starts examining one of my friends first. One at a time, muttering to himself and taking notes all the time. It feels like ages but finally he has examined all of us. When the examinations are complete the doctor says,’ 4 have been eating the royal diet and 4 only vegetables. It is very easy to tell which is which. I will be sending my findings directly to the king’ He is so smug. My heart sinks ‘You 4 are the healthiest men I have seen in many years so keep it up.’ He is pointing and I can hardly bring myself to look but…… he is pointing at us. This is fantastic news for us, we can keep eating what we are allowed as Jews. Thank you God

In fact if we continue to read the story of Daniel we find that he became one of the most important people in the whole of the Babylonian Empire as a chief advisor to the king. Now ask the pupils to discuss these questions. (Answers included here in italics)

Who was the main character writing the diary? Daniel

Who was the chief steward? Ashpenaz

What advice did Daniel’s teacher give him? God’s always there pray to him.

What new experiences did Daniel have in the story? New city, new friends, new culture.

What can we learn from the story? Be true to yourself, know yourself. God is always there.


Lesson Plan 2: David and Goliath

Aims: 1. To help the children think about what their new schools might be like and to identify some worries or fears they may have.

2. To consider ways to handle difficult situations 3. To look at the life of King David and see how, with God’s help, he faced difficulties


People needed: One leader, at least three helpers

Equipment: Pupil sheet 1 (Moving on to secondary school). One per pupil. Pupil sheet 2a, b, c & d. (Difficult situations you might face). One situation per group. Team sheet 1 David’s story (one copy for narrator). Pupil sheet 3 (David: choices and challenges). One per group of pupils. It’s Your Move! books (one per pupil)

1. Introductions (5 minutes) Begin by introducing yourselves. All the team in turn speak very briefly about their own experiences of moving up to secondary school, perhaps also including the fact that they are now Christians and following Jesus helps with the changes they now face.

2. Pupil Sheet 1 – Moving on to secondary school (10 minutes)

Give out the sheet and ask the pupils to fill it in on their own for about five minutes.

When they have had enough time, ask for answers for the ‘things you are looking forward to’ and ‘things you are worried about’ questions.

Turn together to the surveys on pages 18–20 and talk about the similarities between the survey results and the answers that they have just given.

3. Pupil Sheet 2 – Difficult situations you might face (25 minutes)

Divide the pupils into 4 groups. Give out Pupil Sheet 1 (Difficult situations you might face) sheet to each group. The pupils work in groups for ten minutes planning a short sketch or role play. The team members join different groups and work with them, helping them with their sketch. The groups should also think about possible approaches to help someone in this situation.

Each group then performs their sketch and explains what the person involved could do to avoid it happening again.

4. Team Sheet 1 – David’s story (5 minutes)

Two team members act out the drama. One person reads the script and the other mimes what is said in a dramatic, well-emphasised way.


5. Pupil Sheet 3 – David: choices and challenges (10 minutes)

Pupils work in groups and answer the questions on the sheet. The team members lead the discussions, help the groups to remain focused and help when they get stuck.

6. Close (2 minutes)

Sum up

Thank the teacher and pupils

Encourage them to use the books.


Pupil Sheet 1

Name: Where I live: Class

What things are you worried about?

Name of Secondary school: How will you travel to school? If by bus what number?

What things do you want to know about your new school?

What things are you looking forward to?


Difficult Situations You Might Face

Situation 1: Travelling to school.

Every day Jake dreads the school bus journey. It is noisy, smelly and crowded. He feels completely out of place and the older kids seem threatening. He

doesn’t have anyone to sit with and feels very uncomfortable. Jake doesn’t know what to do.

Task 1:

In your group plan a sketch acting out Jake’s situation. You will act this out to the rest of the class. You should also discuss ideas you have to make the situation any better and prevent it happening again.

Pupil Sheet 2a



Situation 2: Lunchtime

Louise always feels excluded and uncomfortable in the school canteen. The older children throw food at each other and it gets to the point where Louise

won’t go to the canteen. She thinks that no one wants to sit with her or include her.

Task 2:

In your group plan a sketch acting out Louise’s situation. You will act this out to the rest of the class. You should also discuss ideas you have to make the situation any better and prevent it happening again.

Pupil Sheet 2b



Pupil Sheet 2c

Situation 3: Finding your way around

Barney and his mates find it impossible to get to lessons. Every corridor looks the same and they find themselves going round in circles. Everyone seems to

know where to go, and when Barney asks for help they point him in the wrong direction! Barney doesn’t think he’ll ever get to class on time.

Task 3:

In your group plan a sketch acting out Barney’s situation. You will act this out to the rest of the class. You should also discuss ideas you have to make the situation any better and prevent it happening again.



Pupil Sheet 2d

Situation 4: Changing friends

Kelly used to have a really good group of friends at her old school. Now that they’ve changed schools though, Kelly’s friends have met other people and

don’t seem as interested in her anymore. Kelly is shy and feels too intimidated to try and make new friends.

Task 4:

In your group plan a sketch acting out Kelly’s situation. You will act this out to the rest of the class. You should also discuss ideas you have to make the situation any better and prevent it happening again.


David’s story Person A reads the script, Person B mimes what person A is reading.

Dear Diary, You’ll never guess what happened today! There I was sitting in my field, minding my sheep (mimes stroking sheep). My dad, Jesse, came to fetch me. A guy called Samuel was looking for me! He wanted to make me king! He didn’t want any of my brothers, even though they’re bigger and stronger than me (mime big, strong brothers). Imagine me, a poor little shepherd boy going to be king?! Ahead of all my brothers as well! They said God doesn’t judge like humans do.

Next diary entry

Dear Diary, Now these Philistines, they’re our enemies, they’re really nasty and horrible and they’ve been picking a fight with us for aaaaaaaaages! Now their latest ploy is to send out their best fighter and for him to challenge our best man. Their biggest man is called Goliath, he’s huuuuuuuuuuuge! (mime big Goliath). Everyone on our side is too scared to even think about fighting him, so in the end, I thought, why not me? I went to Saul, our king, and told him that I would fight Goliath, at first he wouldn’t believe me, I mean I’m not exactly built like him am I? (mime small and puny). He then dressed me in his best armour, I had a shield, a helmet and a chain mail (mime putting on these), and he gave me a huge sword (mime struggling walking and holding the sword). They were much too heavy, I couldn’t fight with all of that on. So off I went, without the armour, to meet Goliath. I went up to him, and he started to take the mick! He went on about how I was so small and how he was going to crush (mime small, crush). I went up to him, took a smooth stone, put it in my sling, and swung it around, and around, and around, and… let go! (mime). It struck him right between the eyes, he stumbled, staggered and fell. When the Philistines saw that their champion Goliath was dead, they all fled, we had won!!!

Next diary entry

Dear Diary, Because I’ve beaten Goliath, everyone now thinks that I’m the best thing around! That may sound good, but they even think I’m better than the king, Saul, and trust me, that isn’t good. He’s got a bit annoyed about it! He’s started to send me off into battles so that I get killed! Thanks to God, I’m still alive and well! I’m now best friends with the king’s son, Jonathan, he’s great, and really funny and wise and stuff. I’d do anything for him, and he’d do anything for me, it’s really good! He helped me hide when his dad, Saul was out looking to kill me, he’s the reason that I’m still alive. What an exciting couple of weeks I’ve had!

What things can we learn from this?

What problems did David face?

How did he deal with them?

What problems might we face in secondary school?

How might we deal with them?

Team Sheet 1


David: Choices and Challenges

In groups, discuss the following questions.

Choices: What choices did David have? Did he make the right choices? What choices might you have to make at secondary school? How will you make the right choices?

Challenges – When things go wrong: What went wrong for David? What did he do about it? What might go wrong for you? What could you do if things go wrong?

Be yourself: How did this help David? How can you ‘be yourself’?

Remember: David’s best was good enough because God was with him. The same is true for you – your best is good enough.

Pupil Sheet 3


Lesson plan 3: Changes, Challenges, Choices

Aim: To consider the changes, challenges and choices which the children will face as they move to a new school, and to help them to prepare for that transition


People needed: One leader; other helpers may be useful too

Equipment: Pupil Sheet 1 (Word search and ‘CH’ words). One per pupil. Pupil Sheet 2 (Changes, Challenges and Choices). One per pupil. A short ‘challenge’ for a few pupils to attempt It’s Your Move! books (one per pupil) Notes of the lesson to hand out afterwards (one per pupil)

Note: Ideally this lesson would follow an assembly telling the story of the life of Joseph. A suitable sketch and outline are given in Interactive Assemblies, Diane Walker and John Webster (Scripture Union, ISBN 1-85999-253-6).

1. Introduction (5 minutes) In a few weeks you’ll be at your new school. It’s a new time in your life, and one of the most important. The way you approach the next few years will affect the rest of your life. At the moment you’re at the top school, you’re the biggest, the oldest, the most established. In a few weeks you’re going to be the smallest, youngest, newest, least established. Which schools are you going to? (If appropriate, ask one of the questions from pages 17–20 of It’s Your Move!) It’s a big occasion – even as I’m talking now you may be feeling excited, scared, nervous, confident, or a mixture of all of these. It’s OK to feel nervous – adults do when they’re about to start new jobs.

2. Pupil Sheet 1 (5 minutes) We’re going to talk about three things to do with moving up to your new school. But before that, there is a worksheet and a word search for you to do all about school, where everything begins with the letters CH. (Hand out Pupil Sheet 1 and allow pupils to complete the word search, but not the rest of the sheet.) The three things we’re going to focus on are also words that begin with CH.

3. CHanges (12 minutes) Get pupils into groups of four or five (maximum). In the groups, mindmap: what changes might you face at your new school? Write these in the bubble on the bottom of Pupil Sheet 1. Get one person in each group to say some of their suggestions and write them on the board. (Tell the class they don’t need to write down everyone else’s answers.)


There’ll be a lot of changes! They may include:

Uniform – new uniform to wear, or perhaps no school uniform.

Location – a new place to go each day

Transport – do you walk, cycle, roller blade, or go by bus, car… or aeroplane?!

Staff – new teachers and school staff to get to know

Students – many new classmates and friends, and other students already there

Timetable – new subjects, new routines, increase in amount of homework

School life – new rules to follow, different ways of doing things. So many changes! Perhaps the most significant when you start could be:

You’ll be the youngest, not the oldest

The size of the school premises, compared to your present school

There’s so much to take in all at once! Handy tips:

Don’t be too cocky or big-headed in front of your teachers, other new students, or existing students.

Give yourself time to settle in – don’t panic!

Ask for help, especially if you feel confused or overwhelmed, or you get lost!

Listen to advice, but don’t believe all the rumours you hear – especially the exaggerated ones!

4. CHallenges (8 minutes) Run a short activity, game or ‘challenge’ for three or four pupils to do at the front of the class. The story of Joseph shows he had to face some very difficult challenges. Look at Pupil Sheet 2. As the story is told, circle all those challenges Joseph had to face. Joseph was only seventeen when he was thrown out by his brothers and sold as a slave. He was taken to another country where he had no friends or family near him. He had to learn a new language, and try to understand a completely new culture. He proved to be a trustworthy slave, and was appointed to an important position in the household of a man called Potiphar. He was then falsely accused of sexually assaulting Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into jail without a fair trial. He spent several years in prison before eventually being released, and was given responsibilities as second in command to the king. He had to deal with some very difficult situations, but he rose to all the challenges he had to face. What are the challenges you may have to face in your new school? (Not group work; ask individual pupils.) Eg New names of students to learn New buildings to find your way around Difficult subjects to learn, grasp and understand Completing projects Getting homework in on time Sporting challenges Relationship challenges – teachers and fellow students. You will not always get on with everyone,

so what could you do to give the relationships a good chance of success?


Handy tips:

Face challenges with as much courage and determination as you can BUT run away from danger, trouble or temptation!

Plan your week carefully so that you can get your homework done, and not get behind with your work.

Don’t struggle alone; be prepared to get help, and speak to a teacher, a friend, or someone at home.

5. CHoices (5 minutes)

What’s your favourite? (Do a quick class survey of favourite cereal, TV soap or something else.) So many choices every day! You can choose so much at a new school:

Packed lunch, school lunch, no lunch… or chips or sweets from the local shop!

The friends you hang around with

What you do in your lunchtime and break

The clubs you join or extra-curricular activities you do at lunchtime or after school

Some of the sports you want to play.

Later you can choose the subjects you do for GCSE, etc. You can also choose:

The kind of language you use… crude and rude or pleasant and positive

The character you will be… honest and obedient or dishonest and disobedient

The attitude you’ll have… helpful, considerate and polite or difficult, thoughtless and rude. Remember! The teachers write reports all the way through so why not make an effort to start well, and not have to try to catch up with good behaviour later! You’ll have to make choices about right and wrong:

Whether to get in with a crowd who may be a bad influence

Whether to take up activities or habits that are a bit dodgy, such as smoking, stealing or bunking off! (Give personal example, if you can.)

Joseph was tempted to sleep with his boss’s wife, but he stood by his principles… and ran away! Think of some of the good choices you might make in your first week at secondary school, such as:

Planning to get to lessons on times

Getting to know the pupils in your tutor group before making judgements about them. At the bottom of page 2 of Pupil Sheet 2, fill in three good choices and three bad choices you might make. Thinking through these in advance will make it easier to choose the best thing when you’re actually there.


Handy tips:

Always ask for help if you feel under pressure; admitting you need help is not a sign of weakness.

Get the support you need from the best place you can: teacher, friend, family member, youth leader, God?

If you want a friend – be a friend!

Face challenges! Flee temptations!

6. Conclusion (5 minutes)

We all need help: to cope with the changes to face the many challenges to make the right choices. Joseph trusted God to help him through all the changes, challenges and choices he had to deal with. (He even acknowledged God’s part in the ups and downs of his life when he revealed who he was to his brothers: see Genesis 45:4–8a, and 50:20.) Moving on up – most of all, look forward to it! There are thousands of children across the country experiencing the same thing as you. It can be one of the most exciting times of your life, so enjoy it and make the best of it that you can! Hand out (if appropriate): notes from lesson, It’s Your Move! books and other relevant information.

This lesson used by kind permission of Tim Cutting (Milton Keynes Bridgebuilder Trust – [email protected]) Based on work done by the M.O.U.S.E. Team Project


W Q W E R R O O M W K D L K C E R

Y C H I P S T U I O L P A S H Q W A S D F G H J K L I A Q A C E A S

Z X C V B M Q W E C H A R T S B Q

A C H X C V U B N M C I Q W S E A Q H H Z X V B H N M U Y T Q Y T Q

A S W O E R E R C Y U I O P U A L Y Y T E C Q A S D F W G H J H K G

Q W R R T O U I P P L K J H H G J T Y R E W Q L M N B V X A S D F C

E R T T Y U W A E C D M G J K H H

V C H J C H E A T H W A Z X A V E A S H F G H J K K E Q E Q T Y U E

C V L I K J S H D W F Y T L O I K V C K Q L F D D D I B I T H J K I

R H J W S D H J H N N D F C U I O

I E H W D F R M N G A S E W Y T R A E G S J L K E V B N C X A H G S

H R F D O O J H N V B V K H K G D C R T O P I U Y T R E W R I A H C

Name ............................ School ............................

Search for these words:

Chair Chalk Chart Chatting Cheat Cheek Cheer Chess Chewing Children Chips Chocolate Chum

Pupil Sheet 1

1. CH anges


Pupil Sheet 2

2. CH allenges

Joseph: Took GCSE Exams Had very Learned a new Coped with little money language bullying Took SATs Thrown in jail Had lies told about him tests Thrown out Found way in Climbed of family a new place Mount Everest Made an Swum the Channel omelette Lived in Gave up smoking another country Took driving test

Circle the right answers.

3. CH oices

List below three good choices and three not-so-good choices you might make in your first week at secondary school.

Good choices Bad choices


Section 3: Part days

Session plan 1: Identity and choices Aims: 1. To understand that we are all unique and as individuals have our own opinions.

2. To understand moving to secondary school will involve opportunity to make choices and some of them will be important.

3. To appreciate that people are important to God.

4. To discover what scripture says about identity and choices

Time needed: Around 2 hours

People: One leader; small group leaders if possible

Equipment: It’s Your Move! books (one per pupil). Paper and pencils, modelling clay, large sheets of paper and marker pens, strips of coloured paper.

1. Introduction and welcome (5 minutes)

2. Ice breaker game (5 minutes)

It may be appropriate to include an ‘icebreaker’ game here. Icebreaker: Who am I? Use an adjective to describe yourself. It must begin with the same letter of your name e.g. Bouncy Ben. As you continue around the circle each person must repeat all the other names and descriptions.

3. Activity: Drawing or modelling clay (10 minutes) Need either paper and pencils or modelling clay.

Invite them to draw something freehand (of their own choice) to do with moving school. Then ask them to draw either a picture of their new school or new uniform or new sports kit. Alternatively use modelling clay and ask them to create something of their own choice. Then repeat with an instruction to make a model of their new school or new sports kit. Give the students an opportunity to share and tell the group about their creations. Discuss

Was it easier to design something from scratch or with instruction?

Point out that some will find it easier to design from scratch and others will not.

4. Talk (5 minutes)

Starting from scratch can be hard especially when you have no idea what the finished product will be like. Having guidance or a plan can help a lot. It’s always useful to think and spend some time planning how you want things to be. That’s what we hope to do today in thinking about moving to secondary school.


Introduce the plan of creation which we read all about in Genesis, which is the first book of the bible. Talk about how God knew exactly what he wanted when he created the world. His plan was clear and he knew what the end product was going to be like. As human beings we are created in the image of God, we are unique and individual because of this. We differ from the rest of creation because like God we are able to

Create and invent new things

Love and be loved

Make choices

When we are faced with lots of new experiences and choices it can be exciting and daunting. This is what happens when you move to secondary school.

Activity 5. Human scale (5 minutes) One end of the room is ‘Can’t wait’ or ‘no worries’, the other ‘dreading it’. Pupils move around to approximately the place in the room that represents their feelings on the question the leader is asking: Making new friends Starting new subjects The journey to school Leaving primary school Moving classes for different lessons Some of your friends going to a different school More homework School dinners and using the canteen Being more grown-up Learning new sports Having more freedom Detentions Bigger children giving you grief New teachers

The size of the school If you don’t have enough room then you can give each student two cards: one with a smiley face and one with a worried face (or sad face). When you call out e.g. making new friends they then hold up a card. Count up the number of cards for each one and feedback to class.

Ask pupils what are their worst fears about secondary school? Refer to the It’s Your Move book pages 17 to 20 for the survey of 781 children who were asked what is the scariest thing about your new school?, what will you miss most about your old school?, what is the best thing about your new school?. Why not compare your school’s responses with this survey.

6. Discuss in small groups (10 minutes) Give each group a large sheet of paper and a marker. Ask them to draw a line down the middle of the page and ask the following questions. Depending on time and group size allow for some feedback.


1) Make a list of the kind of choices they think they will have to make at secondary school e.g. how they will travel to school. After they have shared their opinions you may want to suggest further choices that they may not have mentioned.

2) Discuss and consider who and what may influence the choices they make: e.g. likes and dislikes,

friends etc.

3) Explore the consequences of choices, some more serious than others and why it is important to

think wisely and carefully about these choices.

7. Explore scripture Psalm 139 (15 minutes) Discuss with the students how each of them is unique and we all have different preferences and like different things. Have the students find Psalm 139 and invite a few students to read the verses. If possible sit in a circle while doing this. Psalm 139 was written by David who was one of the kings of Israel and reigned for forty years. He describes how intimately God knows us, his children. From this psalm we can learn that God not only wants us to be unique but created us that way. Being ourselves is not just about being good at sport or making friends but about realising that God loves us and accepts us just as we are. God has a plan for us and even when we face big changes in our lives such as secondary school, we can feel safe knowing that God is with us every step of the way and will help us to make choices when we ask him.

8. Activity: Quizzical Quandaries or Dilemmas (10 minutes)

See pages 24 and 25 of It’s Your Move book.

For this activity students will need space to move around the room. Write A, B, C and D on separate sheets of paper and place them where students can see them. If space is restricted then get students to write down their answers. When you explain each dilemma say ‘It’s your move’ so that the students can move to their chosen letter or write down their letter. After each dilemma give a few students the opportunity to tell you why they chose that letter and ask them what might be the possible outcomes of their choice. After the final dilemma talk to the students about making good choices. Highlight the need to:

Check the facts

Think ahead

Listen to advice from people more experienced who you trust

Choose what you think is best for you.

9. Practicalities (5 minutes) Talk through the following: How are you going to get to school? What do you need to take with you (books, equipment, PE kit etc.)? What if you don’t do your homework? What if you do homework all the time? Aim for a balanced life!


10. Planning your week (25 minutes)

Give out Pupil Sheet 1 (Planning your week). Talk them through the task. The aim is to plan a week’s worth of evenings for the fictional person, taking into account travelling home from school and meal times. The pupils work on the tasks in their small groups. Ask for feedback on this activity – who found it easy or hard? How did it help them think about the issues involved?

11. Pupil sheet 2 (Lunchbox)(5 minutes)

Hand out Pupil Sheet 2 with a picture of a school lunch box. The pupils draw or write something in the lunch box to illustrate what they have learnt today.

12. Prayer activity (5 minutes) Hand out to each student a strip of coloured paper. Ask them to write down a word that they would use to describe how they are feeling about moving to secondary school. Make a paper chain with these strips of coloured paper using glue sticks. Then say a prayer asking God to help relieve any of the students fears about moving to secondary school and thank God for being with us in all areas of our lives.

13. Conclusion (5 minutes) Give out It’s Your Move! Books to everyone. Highlight the key pages from the book and encourage them to read and use them. Pray for the pupils. Some of these activities were taken from Scripture Union Irish resource – A faith based transition resource for students moving to secondary school.


Pupil Sheet 2

Pupil sheet 1

Task Working in groups of five, plan a

typical school week for either John or Melissa.

School ends at 3:30 pm.

It takes them 45 minutes to travel home.

They go to bed at 10 pm.

After-school activities based at school Trampolining club, Monday 3:30-

4:30 pm

IT suite open every evening to 5 pm

Football, Tuesday 3:30–5:00 pm

Art club, Wednesday 3:30–4:30 pm

Choir, Thursday 3:30–4:30 pm

Drama, Friday 3:30–4:30

Homework, 90 minutes each night

Outside activities Football training, Wednesday 7-

9:30 pm

Karate, Friday 7:30–9:00 pm

Guides, Tuesday 7:30–8:00 pm

Swimming club, Monday and Thursday 6:30–7:30 pm

Favourite TV programmes Write in here what programmes John or Melissa might watch.

JOHN loves all sport and music. He is good with computers.

MELISSA loves swimming and singing and wants to be an actress.


Draw or write something in the lunch box to illustrate what you have learnt today.


Session plan 2: Changes, challenges, choices Aim: 1. To consider the changes, challenges and choices which the children will face as they move to a new

school, and to help them to prepare for that transition 2. To look at the life of Joseph to see how he coped with the changes in his life

Time needed: Around 2 hours

People: One leader; other helpers may be useful too

Equipment: Video or DVD player (also, check in advance whether the school has an appropriate copyright licence for you to show video clips) Toy Story 2 video or DVD (Walt Disney Home Video) The Ballad of Little Joe video or DVD (Veggie Tales / Warner Home Video) Pupil sheet 1 (one per pupil) A short ‘challenge’ for a few pupils to attempt Team sheet 1 Challenges: scenarios (either as a hand-out or to display at the front) It’s Your Move! books (one per pupil)

1. Welcome and introduction (5 minutes)

2. Icebreakers (5 minutes)

Clap, clap: In a circle begin clapping really slowly, as everyone joins in increase the speed of the clapping. You can alternate this with foot stamping and switch the person leading the clap each time. Choose when it starts, ends and changes pace.

3. Meet your group (3 minutes)

Get together pupils who are all going to the same school. Ask them to get to know each other by talking about their favourite school subjects, favourite music, etc.

4. Video clip – Toy Story 2 (3 minutes)

Play a clip from Toy Story 2 showing the toys trying to cross the road as they venture into the big wide world in order to save Woody. This clip demonstrates feelings of being little in a big place. The clip is located 34 minutes 45 seconds from the Disney logo at the start of the film. Stop it at 37 minutes 0 seconds, after the toys have successfully crossed the road.

5. Guess who (5 minutes)

Display photos of famous people as children and ask pupils to guess who they are. You can also include photos of staff members or yourself and the team. This provides an opportunity for you to discuss how you have coped with changes in your life especially moving to a new school or new job.

6. Life is scary (3 minutes)

Explain that life is scary sometimes, especially when things are changing. Now you are the biggest in your school, and soon you will be the smallest; now you are the oldest and well established, and soon you will be the youngest and newest. It’s OK to be scared!


7. Survey (12 minutes)

Divide the pupils into groups and ask them to discuss:

What will you miss most about this school?

What is the best thing about your new school?

What is the scariest thing about your new school? Someone in each group needs to be nominated to make notes and feedback the group’s suggestions to the class afterwards. Link the class’s responses to the survey results on pages 18–20 of It’s Your Move!

8. Little Joe – part 1 (10 minutes)

Play parts of The Ballad of Little Joe telling the story of Joseph (as a western). Ideally, splice together key episodes from the early part of the story, stopping just before things start to work out well.

9. Word search (5 minutes)

Give out Pupil Sheet 1. Ask the pupils, working in their groups or individually, to complete the word search on page 1.

10. Changes (11 minutes)

Get pupils into groups of four or five (maximum). In the groups, brainstorm: what changes might you face at your new school? Write these in the bubble on page 1 of Pupil Sheet 1. Ask one person in each group to say some of their suggestions and write them on the flipchart board or project onto a whiteboard. (Tell the class they don’t need to write down everyone else’s answers.) There’ll be a lot of changes! They may include:

Uniform – new uniform to wear, or perhaps no school uniform (the first ‘nude’ school!)

Location – a new place to go each day

Transport – do you walk, cycle, roller blade, or go by bus, car… or aeroplane?!

Staff – new teachers and school staff to get to know

Students – many new classmates and friends, and other students already there

Timetable – new subjects, new routines, increase in amount of homework

School life – new rules to follow, different ways of doing things. So many changes! Perhaps the most significant when you start could be:

You’ll be the youngest, not the oldest

The size of the school premises, compared to your present school

There’s so much to take in all at once! Handy tips:

Don’t be too big-headed in front of your teachers, other new students, or existing students.

Give yourself time to settle in – don’t panic!

Ask for help, especially if you feel confused or overwhelmed, or you get lost!

Listen to advice, but don’t believe all the rumours you hear – especially the exaggerated ones!


11. A Game or challenge (5 minutes)

Run a short activity, game or ‘challenge’ for three or four pupils to do at the front of the class. E.g. After eight game: Choose three pupils and give each one an after eight mint. They must place it on their forehead. The aim is to get the after eight into their mouths without using their hands. Play a few rounds with different students each time.

12. Bible story and challenges (10 minutes)

Bible story – Joseph – It is also found on pages 41 to 45 in Its Your Move book called ‘Jealous brothers’. The story of Joseph shows he had to face some very difficult challenges. Look at page 2 of Pupil Sheet 1. As the story is told, circle all those challenges Joseph had to face. Joseph was only seventeen when he was thrown out by his brothers and sold as a slave. He was taken to another country where he had no friends or family near him. He had to learn a new language, and try to understand a completely new culture. He proved to be a trustworthy slave, and was appointed to an important position in the household of a man called Potiphar. He was then falsely accused of sexually assaulting Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into jail without a fair trial. He spent several years in prison before eventually being released, and was given responsibilities as second in command to the king. He had to deal with some very difficult situations, but he rose to all the challenges he had to face. What are the challenges you may have to face in your new school? (No group work; ask individual pupils or work in pairs.) E.g. New names of students to learn New buildings to find your way around Difficult subjects to learn, grasp and understand Completing projects Getting homework in on time Sporting challenges Relationship challenges – teachers and fellow students. You will not always get on with everyone,

so what could you do to give the relationships a good chance of success? Handy tips:

Face challenges with as much courage and determination as you can BUT run away from danger,

trouble or temptation!

Plan your week carefully so that you can get your homework done, and not get behind with your

work.

Don’t struggle alone; be prepared to get help, and speak to a teacher, a friend, or someone at

home.

13. Challenge scenarios (15 minutes)

Present the scenarios given on Team Sheet 1, either as hand-outs or using a projector to display the scenarios at the front. In groups of 4 or 5, the pupils discuss the questions at the end of each scenario. If appropriate, groups of pupils could put together short role plays showing the scenario, what happens next and a way of preventing it happening again.


14. Choices (12 minutes) (Pupil Sheet 1 - page 3)

Either in groups or as a whole class, brainstorm: What choices will you face at your new school?

Before school?

At break and lunchtime?

During lessons?

After school? If working in small groups, ask for feedback to the whole class. Some of those choices are not too important, but in others you’ll have to choose between right and wrong, just like Little Joe did. It may be appropriate to highlight certain choices the pupils are likely to face, such as:

Choose not to take up smoking

Choose not to hang out with the wrong crowd

Choose not to steal

Choose to do the right thing! Handy tips:

Always ask for help if you feel under pressure; admitting you need help is not a sign of weakness.

Get the support you need from the best place you can: teacher, friend, family member, youth leader, God?

If you want a friend – be a friend!

15. Little Joe – part 2 (15 minutes)

Show the later part of The Ballad of Little Joe showing how things worked out OK for Little Joe in the end. He just kept doing what was right and praying to God for help. 16. Conclusion

Give each student a post it note. Ask them to write down three emotions that they are feeling about moving on to secondary school. Give them opportunity to share. If appropriate, end by asking God to help each of them with these emotions and thank him for exciting new times in their lives. Introduce this by saying that you are going to close with a short prayer. Explain that prayer is simply talking to God. At the end you will say Amen, and invite the children to say Amen if they would like to. Explain that if they’d rather just sit quietly and listen, then that is absolutely fine. Give out copies of It’s Your Move! books and encourage the pupils to read and use it. Extras if time permits The following pages from It’s Your Move! can be used as classroom activities: ‘What’s on your mind’ on page 38 ‘I survived’ advice on page 54.


It’s Your Move!

W Q W E R R O O M W K D L K C E R

Y C H I P S T U I O L P A S H Q W

A S D F G H J K L I A Q A C E A S Z X C V B M Q W E C H A R T S B Q

A C H X C V U B N M C I Q W S E A Q H H Z X V B H N M U Y T Q Y T Q

A S W O E R E R C Y U I O P U A L

Y Y T E C Q A S D F W G H J H K G Q W R R T O U I P P L K J H H G J

T Y R E W Q L M N B V X A S D F C E R T T Y U W A E C D M G J K H H

V C H J C H E A T H W A Z X A V E A S H F G H J K K E Q E Q T Y U E

C V L I K J S H D W F Y T L O I K

V C K Q L F D D D I B I T H J K I R H J W S D H J H N N D F C U I O

I E H W D F R M N G A S E W Y T R A E G S J L K E V B N C X A H G S

H R F D O O J H N V B V K H K G D

C R T O P I U Y T R E W R I A H C

1) CH _ _ _ _ _ Brainstorm

Pupil Sheet 1 – Page 1

Search for these words:

Chair Chalk Chart Chatting Cheat Cheek Cheer Chess Chewing Children Chips Chocolate Chum

Name ............................. School .............................


2) CH _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Joseph: Took GCSE Exams Had very Learned a new Coped with little money language bullying Took SATs Thrown in jail Had lies told about him tests Thrown out Found way in Climbed of family a new place Mount Everest Made an Swum the Channel omelette Lived in Gave up smoking another country Took driving test

Circle the right answers.

Pupil Sheet 1 - page 2


3) CH _ _ _ _ _

List below three good choices and three not-so-good choices you might make in your first week at secondary school.

Good choices Bad choices

Pupil Sheet 1 – page 3


Challenges: scenarios 1. Tom has been off school for a day with a stomach upset. He comes back to school and finds that he can’t follow the maths lesson. He is too shy to ask the teacher so he tries to write down everything the teacher says and writes down the homework. When he gets home he can’t do the homework and no one at home can help him.

What do you think happens next?

What could he have done to avoid this happening?

2. Sarah finds that she has a lot of homework one evening and one of the pieces of work involves some research from the internet. She spends a long time on her work and she is happy with what she has done. The next morning when she arrives at school she finds that she has forgotten to do one of her other pieces of homework which needs to be handed in that morning.


What could she have done to avoid this happening?

3. It is the third day of term and the school is running normal lessons. Simon finds that he needs to go to the toilet between the French and history lessons. He has to ask someone in his class where the nearest toilet is and when he comes out his class has gone to history. He has left his timetable at home with the room numbers for the classes and he has no idea where to go.



4. Emma always finds it difficult to get up in the morning. One day it is raining heavily, she oversleeps and misses the bus. There is no one at home to take her to school so she just has to wait for the next bus. It is twenty minutes before the next bus comes so she arrives at school ten minutes late and her form has already gone into assembly.


What could she have done to avoid this happening?

5. Ben is sure that he took his dinner money from the top of the fridge this morning and put it in his jacket pocket. When it comes to lunchtime he puts his hand in his pocket and there is nothing there. How can that have happened? Perhaps it fell out or perhaps it was taken out of his pocket some time during the morning when he took his jacket off. He decides it would be too embarrassing to make a fuss so he doesn’t go into lunch but goes to sit in the library.



Team Sheet 1


Section 4: Whole days

Day plan 1: Dilemmas and creativity Aim: 1. To enable children to meet informally with others going to the same secondary school as themselves

2. To consider some of the dilemmas they may face 3. To take part in a celebration service

Time needed: 5–6 hours

People: One leader to ‘front’ the day Several adults to run workshops If possible, teachers and Year 7 pupils from local secondary schools to talk to the children and discuss any queries they might have

Equipment: A display consisting of a graffiti board or prayer tree

9:30 – 10:00 Arrival activity Arrange the children into teams prior to arrival, based on which secondary school they will be attending. On arrival they go straight to their team area. Invite the children to add their thoughts, feelings, worries, prayers and comments to the graffiti board or prayer tree. 10:00 – 10:45 Workshops These are on the following subjects:

Dilemmas (based on It’s Your Move book) A sport activity Banner making Communication and poetry Dance Drama ICT Percussion Singing Art – I-project

During the course of the day all children will attend the ‘Dilemmas’ workshop, and will opt in to three of the other workshops. The ‘Dilemmas’ workshop takes aspects of the It’s Your Move! book and covers items such as school timetables, making new friends, dispelling myths about secondary schools (e.g. a child’s head being put down the toilet), and creating graphs showing that many children feel the same about transferring to secondary school. Please see activities in the part day plans or lesson plans in this booklet to help plan Dilemmas workshop. Some suggestions to help pupils express themselves

My Life so far

Happy family memory


Favourite things

Hobbies

Pets

Describe who you are

People you care about

10:45 – 11:30 Workshops Repeat of the above options. 11:30 – 12:15 Field activity Team-building games, including a break for drinks and snacks. 12:15 – 1:00 Workshops 1:00 – 1:30 Lunch Pupils bring their own packed lunches. 1:30 – 2:15 Workshops 2:15 – 3:00 Celebration service A celebration of songs, drama, art etc. prepared throughout the day in the workshops. A Bible story to complete the day. Representatives from local church present each child with a copy of It’s Your Move!


Day plan 2: A day of discovery Aim: 1. To bring together a pyramid of primary schools (all feeding into the same secondary school or group of

secondary schools) at a local church 2. To give time for reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future, along with the choices that lie ahead

Time needed: 4–6 hours

People: One leader to ‘front’ the day Several adults to run workshops Musicians to form a band If possible, a number of Year 7 pupils from local secondary schools

This is an outline of a pilot day run by the Doncaster Schools Worker Trust, Doncaster church-based youth workers and volunteers. 1. Morning The morning consists of workshops on the following subjects:

Art

Dance

Personal safety – run by the local police force

Storytelling. 2. Lunch Provide a buffet lunch for staff and a resources stand; the pupils bring packed lunches. 3. Afternoon The afternoon session brings it all together and includes:

Worship (with a live band)

Sharing experiences of how being a Christian helps us in our life

Interviews with ‘real life’ Year 7s from a local secondary school.


Section 5: Extra worksheets

Worksheet 1: Handy hints

Worksheet 2: The good, the sad and the scary



Documents

It’s Your Move - Scripture Union Resource...Section 1: Assemblies Assembly plan 1: Fears and phobias Assembly plan 2: Moses Assembly plan 3: Daniel Section 2: Lessons Lesson plan