Bring Me Sunshine - Wendy Storer

1 KS2 Activity Pack Bring Me Sunshine Written by Wendy Storer 1 Index Page 2 PSHE Learning Objectives 3. Primary Literacy Framework 4. Young Carers - Background Information 5. Young Carers - Class Discussions 6. Young Carers - How does it feel? 7. Young Carers - Drama Activities 8. Who Are You? - The Sums of Your Life 9. Who Are You? - Creative Writing, Poetry and Prose 10. Who Are You? - Perfect Birthday 11. Memory - Short term Memory games 12. Memory - Long Term Memory, Boxes 13. Memory - Character Wordsearch 14. Rights and Responsibilities - Think Tank 15. Rights and Responsibilities - Do you know the difference? 16. Rights and Responsibilities - Do you know the difference? Worksheet 17. Rights and Responsibilities - What s important to you, and why 18. Rights and Responsibilities - Poster 19. Rights and Responsibilities - The Bullying Problem 20.

2 Rights and Responsibilities - The Bullying Problem. Worksheet 21. Getting Help - Who helps me? 22. Getting Help - The people I can ask for help 23. Getting Help - Useful Contacts 2 KS2 Learning Objectives This activity pack is based around the KS2 PSHE Curriculum and provides students with the opportunity to achieve the following learning objectives: Ref. Objective 1. Knowledge, skills and understanding Children are given an opportunity to talk and write about their opinions, and explain their views, on issues that affect themselves and society. To recognise their worth as individuals by identifying positive things about themselves. 2. Preparing to play an active role as citizens To realise the consequences of anti-social and aggressive behaviours, such as bullying, on individuals. That there are different kinds of responsibilities, rights and duties at home, at school and in the community, and that these can sometimes conflict with each other.

3 To reflect on moral, social, and cultural issues, using imagination to understand other people's experiences. 4. Developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people To understand that their actions affect themselves and others. To care about other people's feelings and to try to see things from their point of view. To know where individuals can get help and support. 5. Breadth of opportunities Feel positive about themselves by remembering positive events in their lives and appreciating the help and support they receive. 3 Relevance to the Primary Framework for Literacy Objective Speaking Speak competently and creatively for different purposes and audiences, reflecting on impact and response Explore, develop and sustain ideas through talk Listening and responding Understand, recall and respond to speakers implicit and explicit meanings Explain and comment on speakers use of language, including vocabulary, grammar and nonverbal features Group discussion and interaction Take different roles in groups to develop thinking and complete tasks Participate in conversations, making appropriate contributions building on others suggestions and responses Drama Use dramatic techniques, including work in role to explore ideas and texts Understanding and interpreting texts Retrieve, select and describe information, events or ideas Deduce, infer and interpret information.

4 Events or ideas Engaging with and responding to texts Read independently for purpose, pleasure and learning Respond imaginatively, using different strategies to engage with texts Evaluate writers purposes and viewpoints, and the overall effect of the text on the reader Creating and shaping texts Write independently and creatively for purpose, pleasure and learning Use and adapt a range of forms, suited to different purposes and readers Use structural and presentational features for meaning and impact 4 YOUNG CARERS Background Bring Me Sunshine gives an insight into the issue of children acting as carers for a family member. A recent survey estimated that there may be as many as 700,000 young carers in the UK, with an average age of 12. The definition of a young carer is a child or young person (up to the age of 18) whose life is affected by looking after someone with a disability or long term illness, including a mental illness, learning disability, drug or alcohol dependency, frailty, or old age.

5 The young person may be the sole carer, or he/she may assist in the care of a parent, sibling, other family member or friend. The care they give may be practical, physical, and emotional. Sometimes, as with Daisy and Sam, children don t realise they are young carers, and just carry on doing what needs to be done. Young carers often have more responsibility than other children worry about themselves and family members feel sad feel scared feel anxious about the future don t get enough sleep or rest, and are tired miss school have difficulty concentrating at school find it difficult to stay friends with other children get bullied don t know who to turn to for help 5 YOUNG CARERS Class Discussions Daisy does a lot of things to help her dad and brother. She does the shopping, cooks meals, washes clothes, reads Sam bedtime stories, and tidies up the mess.

6 These things are the most obvious aspects of caring, but there are lots of other ways that caring impacts on her life. How is Daisy s life affected by being a young carer? This is an opportunity to reflect on moral, social, and cultural issues, and for pupils to use their imagination to understand other people's experiences. Possible starting points might What does Daisy do that other children don t often have to do? What can t Daisy do that other children can? What do you think she worries about? Why is she often late for school? Why does she fall out with her friends? If Daisy didn t do the things she does, what would happen to Dad and Sam? Open up the discussion by talking about young carers in general. For example: What is the hardest thing about being a young carer? What is the worst thing about being a young carer? What is the best thing about being a young carer? 6 YOUNG CARERS How does it feel?

7 Pass the hat This is an opportunity to think about other people's feelings and to try to see things from their point of view. Ask the children to give you a list of feeling words, (happy, sad, angry and so on) and write them all on pieces of paper. Fold each piece of paper up and put it into a hat. Add your own ideas; including - special, tired, important, worried, grown up, helpful etc. Let the children pass the hat around the room, and take one piece of paper each. Take it in turns to read out the feeling/emotion. Then tell the rest of the class one reason why being a young carer might make them feel that way. 7 YOUNG CARERS Drama Activities In small groups Choose one of the following scenarios and have a go at acting out the situation to see what might happen and how it might make you feel. 1. Sick parent - Daisy s Dad isn t very well and she looks after him. In your group, choose one person to be a parent, one or more people to be their children, and others to be friends, or relatives, or neighbours.

8 Imagine the parent is ill, but that you have something important to do. Think about how you would handle the situation and act it out. 2. Strange happenings! - Dad does strange things; like putting his wallet in the fridge, forgetting where he has been, and making unusual meals. In your group, choose one person to be a parent, one or more people to be their child or children, and others to be friends, or relatives, or neighbours. Imagine that something very strange and out of the ordinary happens. Decide between you what it is, think about how it affects everyone in the group and then act out the events. 3. Scared and unhappy - When Sam is scared and unhappy, Daisy cheers him up. In your group, you are all brothers and sisters. Imagine a situation where of you feels scared. What are they scared of and how would the rest of you handle it? Act it out and see if you can find a way to cheer him or her up. Afterwards, encourage pupils to share and evaluate their ideas with the class.

9 8 WHO ARE YOU? The Sums of your life When Daisy cannot do the thing she likes doing most of all (drumming) she finds it difficult to express herself. She says, A Drummer A Drumkit = A What? She makes up lots of other sums about her life too. For example: Dusting + Dad = Unbelievable Sam + Glittery Wand + Curtis Watson = Total Annihilation Sammy + Elvis Jnr = Best Mates How many sums can you make up which tell us something about your own life? 9 WHO ARE YOU? Creative Writing Poetry Sam makes up an acrostic poem about the people in his life. His poem tells us a little bit about Daisy, Dad and him, but also a little bit about the way he feels about them. If you were describing the important people in your life, what would you say about them? Try to use words that reflect their personality; for example, Daisy says Dylan s smile is like yellow Sunshine . Later she compares Dylan to another drummer; If Dylan was a drummer he d be Will Champion playing Yellow; supportive, thoughtful and totally laid back.

10 Choose three important people in your life and write a poem about them; one verse for each person. Prose Daisy and Dylan see an otter in the river. The otter is startled by our squeals and slides back into the river. We watch it disappear up stream. But it s like, magical. Totally magical. Amazing. An injection of The only word that comes out of my mouth is WOW! Just WOW. Remember a WOW! moment in your own life and describe how it felt to you. 10 WHO ARE YOU? Birthdays Daisy and Dad make an effort to give Sam his perfect birthday. He has a special breakfast of chips, balloons, a trip out, presents and the unexpected joy of seeing a joey emerge from a pouch. Imagine your perfect birthday. Write a diary entry for everything that might happen on that day. My perfect perfect perfect perfect 11 MEMORY Short term Memory games to play with class groups Dad has problems remembering things from his recent past, but he can easily remember things from his childhood.