Y5H discussed the emotional and physical impact of spreading rumours and calling people names in our Jigsaw lesson today.

We began the lesson by playing the game ‘WHISPERS’ around the class to show how a simple statement can be altered, changed or become misconstrued.  This activity helped the children identify that rumours are often stories which are circulated that are not always the true as they can be altered in the way they interpretated by the receiver.

We then discussed and debated a scenario based upon a girl called ‘Carol’ who had started a new school but felt isolated by a group of girls as they would not accept her as part of the group and they began to give her nasty looks. Carol then began receiving anonymous text messages calling her nasty names which resulted in Carol feeling sad, lonely and worried about attending school.  From this, the Y5 children identified what Carol both should and should not do to help her situation:

• Speak to a trusted adult (Parent/Carer, Teacher, Friend or a trusted relative) – Never keep it to yourself or ignore when someone is being unkind to you
• Call Childline (0800 1111) or the NSPCC helpline (0808 800 5000)
• Show the text messages to a trusted adult  – Never delete them as the situation may not just go away – the messages need to be reported
• Never retaliate as the situation could become worse
• Be an Upstander not a Bystander – if you see or hear that someone is being unkind to another person – SPEAK UP and TELL A TRUSTED ADULT
• If the situation escalates, call the non-emergency number 101 for help and support

The children then created a ‘Snakes and Ladders’ board game related to Carol’s scenario highlighting 4 things that we should do to help a situation like Carol’s as well as 4 things that we should not do as they could make the situation worse.

We are looking forward to playing each other’s games next week!