Episode 1:
A mysterious bag arrives!
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explainer
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Item description
The purpose of this episode is to introduce a character that will begin to support learners to positively explore identity and diversity.
Preparation
Prepare a school bag with a range of contents, and leave this somewhere prominent/unusual for children to find.
Bag contents should include:
A piece of ordinary food such as an orange or a bit of cheese,
A notebook/diary-style book - could use this to introduce character’s name and birthday (make sure this coincides with when you want to teach Episode 4)
A small wrapped up present (this will remain a mystery until Episode 3) AND your own choice of, for example: some kind of game/toy/piece of sports equipment (again, you may wish to use your imagination here and include something that will stimulate conversation); A picture of a pet etc…
You may want to think carefully about the objects that you put in the bag. Objects could be planned to stimulate in-depth conversations which go beyond the predominant cultural experiences of the children in your classroom.
Suggested activities
Look at/discuss contents of the bag (trying to work out who it belongs to). What guesses can we make about the owner?
Backpack activity: discuss what food/game/toy/important object/diary entry would learners put in their own bags and why? Using an A3 piece of paper folded in half, ask learners to draw themselves on one half and a backpack outline on the other half. This is an important opportunity to explicitly model incorporating different skin tones into your drawing of yourself, and to allow children the opportunity to do so themselves.
This guidance on how to paint different skin tones may be useful for this activity. What would they draw inside their bag and why?Can we draw what we think the character might look like?