Assembly Objective:

• What does it feel like to be on the receiving end of pride? This assembly uses Bible passages from Proverbs to encourage children to think about the reasons behind pride.

Film:    

• Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Universal, 2010) certificate U. Click here to buy the DVD online.

Bible:                                                  

• Proverbs 11:2 (The Message); Proverbs 13:10 (NCV).

Supporting Values Education: 

• Mutual respect and tolerance. The assembly teaches how we should respect and love other people rather than think we are better than others.

---

OPENING ACTIVITY:                          

Bullying Scene (role play)

• Stage a bullying scene. Before the assembly, arrange for a staff member to do or wear something unusual. Whilst the children enter the room, begin mocking the staff member about this unusual behaviour or item of clothing. Once the assembly starts, ask the member of staff how it felt to be looked down on. Then explain that this was just a role-play.

Looking Down Your Nose (illustration)

• Ask for five volunteers to come up to the front. Give them an activity such as walking around or throwing and catching a ball. Let them practise it first. Then ask them to do it again, but this time instead of looking at each other, they look down. Explain that although not many people walk around physically looking down, a lot of people live looking down on others in their mind.

---

FILM CLIP:

• From Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Universal, 2010) certificate U.
  • Start time: 00:19:55 (Nanny McPhee enters the living room to find the children fighting with each other)
  • End time: 00:21:13 (The boy in the yellow suit, Cyril, throws himself to the floor)
  • Clip length: 1 minute and 18 seconds
• If you cannot play the clip, you could read the following description instead: ‘The children are fighting and name-calling when Nanny McPhee enters the room. She calmly asks for their attention, which they give her for a moment before returning to their wrestling. She tells them to stop fighting immediately. Finally she bangs her stick on the ground, which causes Cyril to begin fighting himself instead of Norman. Cyril ends up on the ground.’

---

Talk

Download the Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang PowerPoint to use with this talk.

Scripted Talk

• [PowerPoint slide 1]
  • Hello everyone. Welcome to our assembly. Today we’re going to think about pride.
  • Do you ever think to yourself, ‘My handwriting is much neater than hers’ or ‘I’ve scored way more goals than him’ or ‘I’ve got the nicest shoes in the whole school?’ Are you ever tempted to make fun of someone or to boast about yourself? We do these things when we’re feeling proud. The word ‘pride’ can also mean valuing what is good – for example, being proud of your school. However, today we’re going to focus on the negative version of this word.
• [PowerPoint slide 2]
  • Pride is looking down on someone else to make you feel better about yourself. You make someone feel small so that you can feel tall.
• [PowerPoint slide 3]
  • Why do we do this? The thing about looking down on something or someone is that you can ignore what’s above you. It makes us feel good to keep looking at the things people can’t do as well as us because then we can forget about the things people do better than us.
  • We will find that we’re better at some things than other people are and there will be days when we do especially well at something. There’s nothing wrong with this. The problem comes when we think that because we’ve done something well, we’re better than someone else.
  • Now we’re going to watch a clip from the film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. Norman, Megsie and Vincent Green are very happy living on their farm, until their spoilt cousins Cyril and Celia turn up. The cousins think they are better than the Greens and the Greens think they are better than the cousins! Nanny McPhee arrives, knowing that these children need her help. Let’s watch what happens . . .
  • Watch the clip from Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Universal, 2010) certificate U
    • Start time: 00:19:55 (Nanny McPhee enters the living room to find the children fighting with each other)
    • End time: 00:21:13 (The boy in the yellow suit, Cyril, throws himself to the floor)
    • Clip length: 1 minute and 18 seconds
  • If you cannot play the clip, you could read the following description instead:
  • ‘The children are fighting and name-calling when Nanny McPhee enters the room. She calmly asks for their attention, which they give her for a moment before returning to their wrestling. She tells them to stop fighting immediately. Finally she bangs her stick on the ground, which causes Cyril to begin fighting himself instead of Norman. Cyril ends up on the ground.’ There is a saying: ‘Pride comes before a fall.’
• [PowerPoint slide 4]
  • To help us figure out why, I need some volunteers to do some acting for me.  [Choose four volunteers and split them into pairs.] In your pairs, choose who will play the proud, stuck-up person and who will play the kind, down-to-earth person.
  • Read Proverbs 11:2 (The Message)
  • ‘The stuck-up fall flat on their faces, but down-to-earth people stand firm.’
  • OK, I’ll give you twenty seconds to talk about how you’re going to act out this proverb. By the way, I don’t want any broken noses, so be careful how you fall! [After twenty seconds, give each pair in turn the chance to perform.]
  • Do you think this is true? [Take answers from the whole group.] Why might people who are proud and stuck-up get themselves into trouble? [Take suggestions.] Why might people who are kind and down-to-earth not get into trouble? [Take suggestions.]
  • We’ve got another proverb that needs acting out. This time all four of you will need to work together.
• [PowerPoint slide 5]
  • Read Proverbs 13:10 (NCV)
  • ‘Pride only leads to arguing. But those who take advice are wise.’
  • OK, you’ve got another twenty seconds to plan your act. [After twenty seconds, ask them to perform the proverb.]
  • Do you think this is right? [Take answers from the whole group.] How could pride – thinking you’re better than others – lead you into arguments? [Take suggestions.] Why is taking advice a good and wise thing to do? [Take suggestions.]
  • So, being proud doesn’t get us anywhere. It also isn’t very nice for the people around us.
• [PowerPoint slide 6-9]
  • How do these pictures make you feel? [Slowly flick through slides 6-9. Then take suggestions.] Being looked down on can make you feel sad, lonely, angry and scared.

Headings and bullets

• [PowerPoint slide 1-2]
  • Welcome: Introduce theme of pride.
  • Give examples of good and bad pride.
  • Define pride.
• [PowerPoint slide 3]
  • Why do we look down on others?
  • It makes us feel good about ourselves.
  • It is true that we are better at some things than others are.
  • The problem comes when we think that our talents make us better than someone else.
  • Introduce film clip: The cousins think they are better than the Greens and the Greens think they are better than the cousins.
  • What will Nanny McPhee do?
  • Watch the film clip from Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Universal, 2010) certificate U
    • Start time: 00:19:55 (Nanny McPhee enters the living room to find the children fighting with each other)
    • End time: 00:21:13 (The boy in the yellow suit, Cyril, throws himself to the floor)
    • Clip length: 1 minute and 18 seconds
• [PowerPoint slide 4-5]
  • There is a saying: ‘Pride comes before a fall.’ Let’s find out why.
  • Read Proverbs 11:2 (The Message) and give four volunteers the chance to act it out.
  • Do you think this is true? Why might people who are proud and stuck-up get themselves into trouble? Why might people who are kind and down-to-earth not get into trouble?
  • Read Proverbs 13:10 (NCV) and ask the volunteers to perform this proverb.
  • Do you think this is right? How could pride lead you into arguments? Why is taking advice a good and wise thing to do?
• [PowerPoint slide 6-9]
  • How does it feel to be looked down on?
  • How do these pictures make you feel? [Slowly flick through slides 6-9. Then take suggestions].
  • Being looked down on can make you feel sad, lonely, angry and scared.

Photo copyright for Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang PowerPoint: Slides 1, 5-9 iStockphoto.com / Slide 2 Liam Daniel at Universal Pictures / Slide 3 Universal Pictures / Slide 4 Pixabay.com

---

RESPOND

Reflection

• Think for a moment about the things that you’re really good at; think about all the nice things that you have too.
• What are you going to do with those skills and belongings?
• You could boast about them and make people feel bad that they don’t have them. But you’ve also got the chance to be kind, down-to-earth and wise with them.
• How could you use your particular skills and belongings to be good to someone else?

Prayer

• Let’s ask God to help us with this. Thank you, God, for giving each of us skills and belongings. Thank you for the people around us and for all of their skills and belongings. Please help us to love other people instead of being proud and mean to them. Amen.

---

 YOU WILL NEED:

• Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Universal, 2010) certificate U. Click here to buy the DVD online.
• Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang PowerPoint.
• Strange item of clothing for bullying scene opening activity.
• A ball for the Looking down your nose illustration.