Assembly Objective:
- Can bullies become friends? This assembly explores the Bible’s teaching about how to treat our enemies.
Film:
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013, Sony Pictures Animation) certificate U. Click here to buy the DVD online.
Bible:
- Luke 10:30-36 (The Message)
Supporting Values Education:
- The value of Individual Liberty is based on the notion that we are free and responsible for our own attitudes and actions. But the values of Democracy and Rule of Law recognise that we are part of a society whereby our attitudes and actions affect those of other people. This assembly encourages pupils to consider how the way in which we treat our enemies could transform ourselves and our community.
OPENING ACTIVITY
Proverbial fun (quiz)
- Test the children’s knowledge of famous proverbs by giving them the beginning to a proverb and seeing if they can complete it. You could give out a sweet for every correct answer; or, if you discover two proverb experts in the group, then you could give them a series of proverbs to complete, alternating between them, and award the person who answers the most correctly with a prize.
- Here are some examples:
- Actions speak louder than… words.
- A friend in need is a friend… indeed.
- The early bird catches the… worm.
- Honesty is the best… policy.
- A leopard cannot change its… spots.
- It’s no use crying over spilt… milk.
- Practice makes… perfect.
- Every cloud has a silver… lining.
- What doesn’t kill you makes you… stronger.
- A stitch in time saves… nine.
- Great minds think… alike.
- He laughs best who laughs… last.
- Let sleeping dogs… lie.
- No news is good… news.
- Like father like… son.
- Rome was not built in a… day.
- Strike while the iron is… hot.
- There’s no smoke without… fire.
- Two heads are better than… one.
Good Samaritan stories (discussion)
- Share a story of an instance when you have received help from an unlikely person – it could be a stranger or someone you didn’t get on with. Then invite the pupils to share any ‘Good Samaritan stories’ of their own. Alternatively, you could use a story from the news. For examples, see BBC News or Newsround. Ask the children why they think these people offered help.
FILM CLIP
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013, Sony Pictures Animation) certificate U.
- Start Time: 42:32 (Chester V. says, ‘You know, hanging from my underpants in this space brings back so many memories’
- End time: 45:35 (Sam Sparks says, ‘A bully turned friend will be friend to the end’)
- Clip length: 3 minutes and 3 seconds
- If you cannot play the clip, read the following instead:
- Inventor Flint Lockwood is on a mission with his hero: a super-inventor called Chester V. As they get to know each other, they discover that they have a lot in common: when they were children, both built their own laboratories, both invented ridiculously stretchy underpants and both were bullied. Chester tells Flint that, ‘A bully can never be a friend.’ When Flint returns to his friends, he treats Brent badly because Brent used to bully him. Sam reminds Flint that Brent is now his friend. She tells him a Chinese proverb: ‘A bully turned friend will be friend to the end.’
TALK
Download A Bully Turned Friend PowerPoint for use with this assembly.
Scripted Talk
- [PowerPoint slide 1]
- Hello, everyone, and welcome to our assembly. We’re going to have a think about bullies and friends today. To help us we’re going to look at some proverbs and a parable. Both proverbs and parables are fun and easy to remember, and both have a lot to teach us.
- Let’s start with some proverbs. A proverb is a wise saying that can help us live better. They tend to be short, so that people can remember them. Here are some proverbs that you might already know…
- [PowerPoint slide 2]
- ‘Practice makes perfect.’
- ‘Honesty is the best policy.’
- ‘You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.’
- In a minute, we’re going to watch a clip from the movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. The wacky inventor Flint Lockwood has finally found someone like him! Flint cannot believe it when he finds out that his hero – a super-inventor called Chester V. – was bullied, just like he was.
- Listen out for the proverbs.
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013, Sony Pictures Animation) certificate U.
- Start Time: 42:32 (Chester V. says, ‘You know, hanging from my underpants in this space brings back so many memories’
- End time: 45:35 (Sam Sparks says, ‘A bully turned friend will be friend to the end’)
- Clip length: 3 minutes and 3 seconds
- If you cannot play the clip, read the following instead:
- Inventor Flint Lockwood is on a mission with his hero: a super-inventor called Chester V. As they get to know each other, they discover that they have a lot in common: when they were children, both built their own laboratories, both invented ridiculously stretchy underpants and both were bullied. Chester tells Flint that, ‘A bully can never be a friend.’ When Flint returns to his friends, he treats Brent badly because Brent used to bully him. Sam reminds Flint that Brent is now his friend. She tells him a Chinese proverb: ‘A bully turned friend will be friend to the end.’
- How many proverbs did you hear? [Take suggestions – two.]
- [PowerPoint slide 3]
- Chester tells Flint that, ‘A bully can never be a friend.’ But, Sam says, ‘A bully turned friend will be friend to the end.’ Which is right?
- To help us decide, we’re going to have a look at a parable, which is a story that teaches us something about real life. Jesus told this parable to a group of Jewish people. These Jews already knew God’s command to ‘love your neighbour,’ but one of them asked Jesus, ‘Who is my neighbour?’
- [Invite some volunteers to act out the story as you read it. You will need people to play the parts of the man, the robbers, the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan. You could invite a confident reader to narrate as well.]
- Read Luke 10:30-36:
- Jesus answered by telling a story. ‘There was once a man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.
- A Samaritan travelling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ”Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.”’
- What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbour to the man attacked by robbers?
- [Take suggestions to Jesus’s question – the Samaritan.]
- [PowerPoint slide 4]
- This parable would have really shocked the Jewish people listening to it. The Jews would have looked up to the Jewish priests and Levites, who were the priests’ assistants. They would have expected the priest and Levite to be the heroes of the story. At the time that Jesus told this story, Jews and Samaritans hated each other. They were enemies, so the listeners would definitely have expected the Samaritan to leave the attacked man to die in the gutter.
- But, who became a friend to the man attacked by robbers? Was it the first man, the priest? Was it the second man, the priest’s assistant? Could it have been the Samaritan?! Yes, the Samaritan was kind to a man who probably hated his guts – he helped him because he was in trouble.
- [PowerPoint slide 5]
- If enemies can become neighbours, then perhaps Sam Sparks was right: a bully can become a friend.
- [PowerPoint slide 6]
- In India, there is a funny proverb: ‘When an elephant is in trouble, even a frog will kick him.’ Chester advised Flint to wait until his bullies were in trouble and then to crush them. Jesus’s message is shockingly different.
- [PowerPoint slide 7]
- He told people this: ‘Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst… Here is a simple rule of thumb for behaviour: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!’ (Luke 6:27, 31, MSG).
- Love can turn a bully into a friend. As our very own proverb goes, a friend in need is… a friend indeed!
Headings and Bullets
- Introduction [PowerPoint slide 1]
- Welcome.
- Introduce theme of bullies and friends.
- Explain proverbs and parables.
- Proverbs [PowerPoint slide 2]
- What is a parable?
- Familiar examples.
- Introduce the film clip.
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013, Sony Pictures Animation) certificate U.
- Start Time: 42:32 (Chester V. says, ‘You know, hanging from my underpants in this space brings back so many memories’
- End time: 45:35 (Sam Sparks says, ‘A bully turned friend will be friend to the end’)
- Clip length: 3 minutes and 3 seconds
- Conflicting proverbs [PowerPoint slide 3]
- How many proverbs did you hear?
- ‘A bully can never be a friend’ (Chester).
- ‘A bully turned friend will be friend to the end’ (Sam).
- Which is right?
- Introduce parable.
- [Invite some volunteers to act out the story as you read it.]
- Read Luke 10:30-36
- Shocking parable [PowerPoint slide 4]
- Which of the three became a neighbour to the man attacked by robbers?
- Shock factor of this parable: they were enemies.
- The Samaritan was kind to a man who probably hated his guts – he helped him because he was in trouble.
- [PowerPoint slide 5]
- If enemies can become neighbours, then perhaps Sam Sparks was right: a bully can become a friend.
- Love turns bully into friend [PowerPoint slide 6]
- ‘When an elephant is in trouble, even a frog will kick him’ (Indian proverb).
- Chester advised Flint to wait until his bullies were in trouble and then crush them.
- [PowerPoint slide 7]
- ‘Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst…’ (Jesus, Luke 6:27, 31)
- Love can turn a bully into a friend.
- ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed!’ (English proverb).
Photo Copyright for A bully turned friend PowerPoint: Slide 1 and 11 Sony Pictures Entertainment / Slide 3 Sony Pictures Entertainment / Slide 4 public domain / Slide 5 Sony Pictures Entertainment / Slide 6 Fruggo / Slide 7 Sony Pictures Entertainment / Slide 8 Columbia Pictures / Slide 9 Sony Pictures Entertainment / Slide 10 Sony Pictures Entertainment
RESPOND
Reflection [PowerPoint slide 8-11]
- Let’s look at some proverbs from the film and from the Bible. How can they help you to turn a bully into a friend, or to turn someone you bully into someone you befriend?
- ‘There is more happiness in giving than in receiving’ (Acts 20:35, GNT).
- ‘Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs’ (Proverbs 19:11, NLT).
- ‘Hate stirs up fights. But love erases all sins by forgiving them’ (Proverbs 10:12, NIRV).
- ‘A bully turned friend will be friend to the end’ (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2).
- [You could look at these in more detail in class follow-up.]
Prayer
- I’m going to say a prayer now. If you agree with what I pray, then you can say ‘Amen’ at the end, which means ‘I agree.’
- Dear God, if you made us, then you know what makes us happy. Thank you that you love us no matter what. Please give us more love, so that we can make friends out of our enemies. Amen.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013, Sony Pictures Animation) certificate U. Click here to buy the DVD online.
- A Bully Turned Friend PowerPoint.
- (Optional) Prizes for the Proverbial fun opening activity.
Ethos Education 