Leadership and Teamwork 

Reception : We can have more fun and achieve more when we work together

Core Story:

The Nowhere Box by Sam Zuppardi:  George is frustrated by his little brothers following him around all the time and decides to hide in a place called ‘nowhere’ where he knows they cannot follow him.  Although this is fun at first, soon George gets lonely and realizes that playing together is much better. When everyone can join in and work together as a team, the game is much more fun! 

Drawing out the virtue

In the story George was fed up. Talk about the difficulties and responsibilities that leaders face. Discuss the fact that George decided to come back at the end of the story because he realised he could not play all the roles himself and he needed the others to make the game work. What games can we play together? Can you play them on your own?

Activity 1: Animals working together

An amusing video showing that by working as a team you can achieve more than if you were on your own. 

Watch a video of ants collecting food and taking it back to their nest.  

First of all, discuss how small the ants are – are they strong? How can they possibly lift a piece of corn that is bigger than them? Talk about how the ants work together, especially when there are obstacles.  

Activity 2: Snowman says freeze

This game emphasises cooperating with others and can be played as a whole class activity. You will need a small beanbag for each player. The aim of this game is for the class as a whole to score five points before the snowman gets five points.

•    One student is chosen to be the Snowman and stands with his or her back to the group
•    The rest of the class balance a beanbag on their head. They must not hold it in place.
•    The teacher gives the class instructions about how to move eg. walk slowly, hop on one leg, do a starjump etc.
•    If anyone’s beanbag falls off while they are following instructions, they cannot bend down to pick it up themselves. They have to wait for another member of the class to stop, pick it up and hand it to them. Of course the helper risks losing their own beanbag!
•    At varying intervals, the snowman turns around unexpectedly and says ‘Freeze’. At this command everyone must stop. If everyone in the class has a beanbag on their head the class get a point. If not, the Snowman gets a point. 

Library Books

The Bundle of Sticks, Aesop's Fable
My Grumpy's Outing by John Burningham
Ruff and the Wonderfully Amazing Busy Day by Caroline Jayne Church
Henny Penny by Vivian French and Sophie Windham
Little Croc and the Whale by Tony Maddox