I've used this video as an Assembly starter... and have then developed the stories of several of the featured people over subsequent Assemblies.
The quote above - a quote from the video - is one of the quotes on the wall in the Assembly Hall.
Some Assembly themes:
Many that have featured people included in the video have been clustered around the loose idea of 'People Who've Changed The World'... or, at least, people who have had an influence upon the world (eg:)
Scientists
- Mary Anning
- Stephen Hawking
- Albert Einstein
Heroes
- Mother Teresa
- Florence Nightingale
- Grace Darling
Explorers
- James Cook
- Captain Scott
Political Figures
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Nelson Mandela
- Mohammed Ali
- Barack Obama
Exploration/Science/Heroism are actually intertwined in many of the stories... and many of the stories involve self-sacrifice, hanging in there when the going gets tough, being determined.
Assemblies should be as powerful, as meaningful, as exciting, as stimulating, as engaging as the lessons in the school... and thus should be rich multimedia experiences.
I'm currently thinking about how Assemblies could possibly be followed up... perhaps by creating interactive e-books for any child who is interested in one of the stories to take further... into research, or creating their own book resource. I'm thinking about having a wall outside the Assembly Hall for children to write questions on or to add information on an Assembly theme or an Assembly blog that encourages collaboration. Pupils could post the things that they've found out about that week's Assembly theme...
My current Assembly theme is 'A Hero To Me'... looking at what heroism is, people who are modern day heroes, what they're doing to have an impact upon the world. The children enter and exit the Assembly Hall to David Bowie's 'Heroes'... We can be heroes, if just for one day.
