Assembly Objective:

How do we respond to people who don’t like us? This assembly explores injustice, revenge and forgiveness from a biblical perspective, and creates space for pupils to examine their own responses and strategies for dealing with situations where they are treated unfairly.

Film:

Wonka (Warner Bros, 2023) certificate PG, click here to buy the DVD online.

Bible:

Matthew 5:38-40 New International Reader’s Version

Supporting Values Education:

The value of Individual Liberty asserts that any individual has the right to self-determination, but the values of Respect and Tolerance anticipate that any response to injustice is fair and commensurate with the severity of the act.

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OPENING ACTIVITY

The Chocolate Game

Play a version of the traditional party game with a large bar of chocolate, a knife and fork, a hat, scarf and gloves and a dice (a large dice would allow everyone to see what is rolled).

Invite a group of volunteers to come to the front of the assembly. Taking it in turns, players must roll the dice. When a player rolls a six, they can put on the hat, scarf and gloves and use the knife and fork to cut up and eat as many pieces of chocolate as they can before someone else rolls a six.

The game is over when all the chocolate has been eaten, or when you decide to finish it!

Make the point that although the game is fun, it can feel unfair for players who don’t roll a six.

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FILM CLIP

• Wonka (Warner Bros, 2023) certificate PG.
  • Start time: 01:04:43 (Wonka opens the doors to the public)
  • End time: 00:10:32 (Wonka watches sadly as the shop burns)
  • Clip length: 5 minutes, 11 seconds

If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say: Willy Wonka has built his chocolate business from nothing and has just opened his first chocolate shop. At first, people are curious as the shop looks very run down. However, Wonka presents them to ‘a store that’s like no other’. Crowds flock to experience the magic of chocolate trees and flowers, candy floss clouds, gumdrop rain and chocolate in every form. As Wonka sings, he conjures up the wonder of childhood. Sales are high until one customer begins to sprout blue hair. Wonka takes a bite of a flower and realises that it contains ‘Yeti’s sweat’ – the most powerful hair potion in the world. He announces that nobody should eat the flowers as there has been a manufacturing error. By this point many people are sprouting beards, moustaches and peculiar hair styles, and one man has turned bright green from drinking chocolate milk. Wonka apologises and says that it appears the chocolate has been poisoned. Panic breaks out and people demand their money back, compensation and revenge. As the crowd becomes agitated, objects are thrown, shop fittings are smashed and one woman cuts a rope that holds a chandelier in place. This crashes to the floor, setting fire to the shop. From across the market, Slugworth, (Paterson Joseph) a rival chocolatier, watches the building burn and declares that this is the end of Wonka’s chocolate shop.

TALK

Scripted Talk

Download the Wonka PowerPoint for use with this talk.

• [PowerPoint slide 1]
  • Welcome to our assembly. There are three words that we are all very used to hearing. Perhaps our brothers or sisters say it when they think we’ve had something that they haven’t. Perhaps you say it when you feel that you’ve been cheated out of something. Perhaps you even hear teachers saying it at times too. Have you worked out what the three words are?
• [PowerPoint slide 2]
  • “That’s not fair!”. Can anyone think of an example of a time when you’ve felt that “That’s not fair”. [Take suggestions and draw out some examples of unfair treatment. You might want to share some stories from your own life].
• [PowerPoint slide 3]
  • When someone treats us unfairly, we might feel angry or hurt. We might want to tell other people all about what has happened to us. We might want the person who has hurt us to say sorry or make things right somehow. We might want to do something to take revenge on the person by doing something unfair to them. We might choose not to take revenge by choosing to forgive the person.
• [PowerPoint slide 4]
  • In today’s assembly, we’re going to watch a clip from the film, Wonka. As you probably know, this is a film about Willie Wonka, the most famous chocolate maker in the world, but the story begins when Willie Wonka is a young man. His dream is to open a chocolate shop and, with the help of some friends, he has finally managed to rent a shop and fill it with goodies. Let’s find out what happens when he opens the shop to the public for the first time.
    • Play film clip from Wonka (Warner Bros, 2023) certificate PG.
      • Start time: 01:04:43 (Wonka opens the doors to the public)
      • End time: 00:10:32 (Wonka watches sadly as the shop burns)
      • Clip length: 5 minutes, 11 seconds
• [PowerPoint slide 5]
  • What a terrible day for Willie Wonka! He went from hero to zero in the space of one day. His chocolate shop was amazing and at first everyone was delighted with it. Did you notice how cheerful people became when they tasted his chocolate? Everyone was having a wonderful time in the shop. Unfortunately, though, someone had meddled with the recipes. When Willy Wonka announced that the chocolate had been poisoned, people became angry. I wonder if you noticed what the three customers said?
• [PowerPoint slide 6]
  • “I want my money back.” “I want compensation.”  “I want revenge.”
• [PowerPoint slide 7]
  • Soon everyone was throwing things at Willie Wonka. Nobody took the time to ask him to solve the problem, and nobody seemed interested in his explanation.
• [PowerPoint slide 8]
  • We began our assembly by thinking about three words: “That’s not fair.” Do you think that the customers were being fair to Willy Wonka?
  • Everyone decided that the problems were caused by Wonka, and they didn’t give him any chance to explain himself. In fact, they blamed him for the problem, and they began to attack him. People were not being fair to Willy Wonka.
  • Life can be very unfair. People treat each other badly all the time, and they sometimes don’t seem interested in hearing an explanation or solving the problem. Some people are only interested in getting even or in taking revenge when things go wrong.
• [PowerPoint slide 9]
  • What do you think Jesus says about unfairness? Do you think he would want people to take revenge?
• [PowerPoint slide 10]
  • In the Bible, Jesus taught his followers to live differently to people around them. In his day, people had been taught that justice or fairness meant getting even with the person who had hurt you. So, for example, if someone poked you in the eye, people believed they had the right to poke the person in their eye. If someone punched them and knocked out one of their teeth, they had the right to knock out their enemy’s tooth. Does that sound fair?
  • Here’s what Jesus said about that:
  • “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth.’ But here is what I tell you. Do not fight against an evil person. Suppose someone slaps you on your right cheek. Turn your other cheek to them also. Suppose someone takes you to court to get your shirt. Let them have your coat also.
  • Jesus told his followers not to fight back, and in fact, to be extra kind to that person. That’s a very difficult way to live, but Jesus lived that way too. When he was unfairly accused and arrested, he didn’t fight back or seek revenge, but he chose to forgive the people who did this to him.
• [PowerPoint slide 11]
  • In fact, one of the last things Jesus said before he died on the cross was:
  • Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”
  • Forgiving people when they’ve been mean to you is a very difficult thing to do, but when we choose to be kind, and to forgive, God will help us.

Headings and bullets

Download the Wonka PowerPoint for use with this talk.

• [PowerPoint slide 1]
  • Welcome.
  • Three words.
• [PowerPoint slide 2]
  • “‘That’s not fair!”
  • [Take suggestions and draw out some examples of unfair treatment. You might want to share some stories from your own life].
• [PowerPoint slide 3]
  • Responses to unfairness:
  • We might feel angry or disappointed.
  • We might want to tell other people.
  • We might want the person who has hurt us to say sorry or make things right somehow.
  • We might want to do something to take revenge.
  • We might choose not to take revenge by choosing to forgive.
• [PowerPoint slide 4]
  • Introduce the film clip.
  • Willie Wonka, the most famous chocolate maker in the world.
  • The story begins when Willie Wonka is a young man who dreams of opening a chocolate shop.
  • Let’s find out what happens when he opens the shop to the public for the first time.
  • Play film clip from Wonka (Warner Bros, 2023) certificate PG.
    • Start time: 01:04:43 (Wonka opens the doors to the public)
    • End time: 00:10:32 (Wonka watches sadly as the shop burns)
    • Clip length: 5 minutes, 11 seconds
• [PowerPoint slide 5]
  • What a terrible day for Willie Wonka!
  • His chocolate shop was amazing and at first everyone was delighted with it.
  • Unfortunately, though, someone had meddled with the recipes.
  • When Willy Wonka announced that the chocolate had been poisoned, people became angry.
• [PowerPoint slide 6]
  • Three responses.
  • “I want my money back.”
  • “I want compensation.”
  • “I want revenge.”
• [PowerPoint slide 7]
  • Nobody took time to listen.
  • Everyone was throwing things at Willie Wonka.
  • Nobody took the time to ask him to solve the problem.
  • Nobody seemed interested in his explanation.
• [PowerPoint slide 8]
  • Do you think that the customers were being fair to Willy Wonka?
  • Everyone decided that the problems were caused by Wonka.
  • They didn’t give him any chance to explain himself.
  • They blamed him for the problem.
  • They began to attack him.
  • People were not being fair.
• [PowerPoint slide 9]
  • What do you think Jesus says about unfairness?
  • Life can be very unfair.
  • People treat each other badly all the time, and they sometimes don’t seem interested in hearing an explanation or solving the problem.
  • Some people are only interested in getting even or in taking revenge.
  • Do you think he would want people to take revenge?
• [PowerPoint slide 10]
  • Jesus taught his followers to live differently.
  • In his day, people had been taught that justice or fairness meant getting even with the person who had hurt you.
  • Does that sound fair?
  • Jesus told his followers not to fight back, and in fact, to be extra kind to that person.
  • That’s a very difficult way to live, but Jesus lived that way too.
  • When he was unfairly accused and arrested, he didn’t fight back or seek revenge but he chose to forgive the people who did this to him.
• [PowerPoint slide 11]
  • One of the last things Jesus said before he died on the cross.
  • Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”
  • Forgiving people when they’ve been mean to you is a very difficult thing to do, but when we choose to be kind, and to forgive, God will help us.

Photo copyright for Wonka PowerPoint: Slide 1 Pixabay.com / Slide 2 Pixabay.com / Slide 3 Pixabay.com / Slide 4 Warner Bros / Slide 5 Warner Bros and Warner Bros / Slide 6 Warner Bros Warner Bros and Warner Bros / Slide 7 Warner Bros / Slide 8 Pixabay.com / Slide 9 Lumoproject.com image 5 / Slide 10 Pixabay.com / Slide 11 Lumoproject.com image 7 / Slide 12 Markus Spiske and Pixabay.com 

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RESPOND

Reflection

• [PowerPoint slide 12]
  • As you show the final slide, ask students to think about a time they have felt unfairly treated. You may want to play some quiet music while they are doing this. Ask them to think about how it made them feel to be treated badly.
  • Ask them to clench their fists and imagine holding their feelings of anger and hurt. As they look at their fists, remind them that they have a choice about whether to fight back, or to forgive the person. Forgiving means letting go of the anger and hurt and being kind to the person.
  • Say that as you all release your grip you can imagine letting go of all the anger and hurt and forgiving the person.

Prayer

Father God
You understand that it’s hard when people treat us unfairly.
Help us to choose to be kind and to forgive, even when we feel angry or hurt.
Help us to treat other people fairly.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.

YOU WILL NEED:

• Wonka PowerPoint.
• Wonka (Warner Bros, 2023) certificate PG, click here to buy the DVD online.
• Hat, scarf, gloves, knife, fork, a bar of chocolate and a large dice for Chocolate Game Opening Activity.