Pupil Voice Year 3 and 4: Something else by Kathryn Cave and Chris Riddel

I always begin the academic year with Pupil Voice lessons. The aim is to lay the groundwork for the year of equalities education by promoting an ethos where all children in the school are speaking up, joining in and making their voice heard.

Text: Something else- Kathryn Cave and Chris Riddle Lesson plan by Andrew Moffat / www.equalitiesprimary.com

Resources: -

LO: to speak up if someone feels like an outsider

Success criteria: I know what bullying is / I know what to do if I see someone being bullied/ I can speak up if I think something is wrong

Starter: Write “No Outsiders” on the board, children come up with a definition. How do we make sure there are no outsiders at our school?

Main : Read text. How does Something else try to make friends? What is the impact of the words, “You’re not like us, you don’t belong?” Why do you think Something Else turns away the visitor at first? Who does the visitor remind Something else of? What do you think is the message in this story? Role play: Sit the class in a tight circle facing inwards. Ask for a volunteer to play the part of Something Else; they should step outside the circle. The character should approach different children and ask to be let in to the circle, but ask everyone to respond in the way the other animals in the book respond to Something Else when he tries to make friends (recap the language they use). Reinforce to the children that the purpose of this role play is to consider how it feels to  feel like an outsider; the language we are using in this role play is language you would never normally hear at school, we are going to have to be actors to do this. After four or five children have turned the outsider away, say you want the next child who is asked to speak up for the character and let them in to the circle, making room and welcoming them in. After the role play ask the outsider how if felt to be turned away and ask ask children how they felt turning the character away.

Activity: Write an acrostic poem using either the name of your school and sentences that show everyone is welcome, or using the term No Outsiders.

Plenary: Discuss the term bystander. If you hear someone being told to go away or that they don’t belong, what is a good thing to do? What does that person need? How can we make sure there really are no outsiders at our school?

AFL questions: What have we learned about today? / If I hear someone being told, “You don’t belong here” I will say…