Teaching Sequence

Description of the worksheet

15 minutes

Explore: Differing Perspectives

20 minutes

Discover: Working Together

25 minutes

Thrive: Appreciating Everyone

References Notes:

Additional information accompanying evidence-informed teacher tips

Explore: Differing Perspectives

Step 1. Project the story Six Children and a Zoo Animal (slides) on the board and read it aloud to the class.

As you reveal each slide/illustration, prompt students to consider what the animal could be and invite some students to share their ideas.

Step 2. Facilitate a class discussion to unpack key concepts and learnings.

Use the following questions to prompt discussion:

Why did the children respond differently even though they were touching the same animal?
Were any of their responses wrong? Why/why not?
What did they learn from this experience?

Key concepts and learnings:

People can experience and think about the same situation differently
Having a different opinion from someone else is okay
By sharing different ideas and experiences, we can learn from each other and consider new ways of thinking about a situation or challenge.

Discover: Working Together

Project the Unlikely Animal Friends images on the board and ask students to comment on why these friends are ‘unlikely’.

Step 2. Invite students to find a partner and select their favourite animal pair. Ask them to verbally list how the pair differs in appearance and personal qualities (skills and attributes). Encourage them to aim for between 5-10 answers.

Rooster and cat example:

Rooster - has feathers, crows, omnivore, catches earthworms, can fly short distances
Cat - has fur, meows and purrs, carnivore, catches mice, fast and cunning, can jump high

If working with Year 1 students, you could brainstorm a range of physical and personal qualities on the board as a group, then ask pairs to discuss which ones are most applicable to the animals they selected.

Step 3. Next, ask students to verbally list how their animal pair are similar.

Rooster and cat example:

Both have sharp claws, are good at landing on their feet and provide great care to their newborns.

Step 4. Provide pairs with the Unlikely Animal Friends worksheet (1 per student) and encourage them to fill in their own sheet whilst working together. They can use the boxes to plan and/or draw their ideas. Display the Rooster and Cat example (page 2 of the worksheet) as a model.

Rooster and cat example:

A rooster and a cat lived on a farm. At the crack of dawn, the rooster would crow to wake the cat so it could go hunting for sleepy field mice. In the afternoons, the cat would rub up against the rooster and purr as a way of saying thank you. This made the rooster feel valued.

Step 5 (optional). If time permits, have students role play their story to the class.

Step 6. To wrap up the activity, facilitate a class discussion to unpack key concepts and learnings. Use the following questions to prompt discussion:

Why do animals have different qualities (skills and attributes)?
Why do humans have different qualities?
Why is it important to recognise our own personal qualities? What about those of others?

Key concepts and learnings:

We all have unique skills and attributes because we come from different families, and have different lifestyles and experiences.
By identifying our unique skills and attributes, we become better at recognising how we can apply them to help others, as well as build new skills and work on weaknesses. Doing so can also help build self-esteem and self-confidence.
Recognising the skills and attributes of others can improve teamwork and strengthen relationships. It can also help someone become aware of strengths they didn’t know they had, and contribute to their self-esteem.

Thrive: Appreciating Everyone

DIFFERENTIATION: To support students with low writing ability, use the Skills, Hobbies and Celebrations printable instead of asking students to write their answers on sticky notes*. Prepare these beforehand by trimming each sheet and creating three separate stacks. *Whenever the lesson refers to sticky notes, substitute these for the printables and adjust your instructions accordingly.

Step 1. Create three stations around the room, each containing a pack of sticky notes (a different colour per station) and the templates for Skills, Hobbies and Celebrations printables (one question per station):

What is something you are good at? E.g. skill or attribute
What do you like to do in your spare time? E.g. hobby or sport
What’s one special thing your family likes to do together? E.g. celebration, activity or meal.

Step 2. Divide the class into three and appoint each group to a station. Explain they will have 3-5 minutes to answer the question prompt. They must write their answer on the sticky note without adding their name, then leave it face down on the table so the answer is hidden. Make sure they don’t discuss their answer or tell anyone which note is theirs. When time is up, they must leave the sticky note where it is and rotate to the next station. Once they’ve answered all three prompts, ask them to return to their seats.

Step 3. Provide each student with a copy of the Appreciating Everyone worksheet. Then invite them to go and collect one sticky note from each station (3 total). Make sure they select the notes at random and do not read them until they return to their desk. Once they have read each note, they can either write them onto the worksheet or stick them down.

Step 4. Explain that for the rest of the session, students are going to imagine they have just met someone new - the person they will create on their worksheet. Encourage students to give the person a name and draw some of their physical features (if time permits). Explain that the notes they gathered represent a skill, hobby and activity this person likes to do with their family.

Step 5. Invite students to form pairs and use the following questions to guide conversation between students about the new person they have met.

How are you similar to this new person? How are you different?
What are some things you could do with this new person?
What could you learn from this new person?

Step 6. Invite students to share their answers with the class and set a goal either as a group or individually, to encourage them to get to know someone better or learn something from someone new.

Examples:

Individual goal - I will ask to join in on a game of chess during recess even though I don’t know how to play.
Class goal - This week we will select a new partner each time we do group work.

To wrap up the activity, facilitate a class discussion to unpack key concepts and learnings.

Use the following questions to prompt discussion:

Should we be friends with people who have different hobbies and skills to us? Why?
How can working with people who have different views lead to better ideas and results?
What’s one thing you will start doing, stop doing, or change because of this lesson?

Key concepts and learnings:

Spending time with people who have different hobbies and skills to our own can help us grow in a variety of ways. It can help us gain new skills, enjoy new experiences, and challenge our perspectives. It can also help during group work, as different skills and perspectives can encourage increased creativity and critical thinking.

Unlikely Animal Friends – Working Together with Different Perspectives

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