Ethos Education

Hoppers: Knowing Means Belonging

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Assembly Objective

This assembly uses clips from Hoppers to help pupils explore what it means to belong and why knowing people’s names matters. Through the story of Mabel entering a new community, pupils are encouraged to reflect on how they can help others feel welcome. The assembly links this to the Bible, where Christians believe that God knows each person by name and values them.

Film Clips: Hoppers (Disney Pixar) Certificate: U

Special Look (28s). Play from the start and stop at 0:28, after Dr Sam says “she found the button”.

What are the Pond Rules? (23s). Play from the start and stop at 0:23, when George says “Oh, hey there, George. And hello to you, Steve.” (It is a quick cut but try to stop it before the fish is eaten.)

Bible

Supporting Values Education

This assembly supports mutual respect and tolerance by encouraging pupils to value each other as individuals and to recognise that everyone belongs. It promotes individual liberty by affirming that each person is unique and important. It also encourages pupils to take responsibility for creating a welcoming and inclusive community.

Opening Activity

Choose one or more of the following opening activities as appropriate for your pupils.

  • Option 1: “Teacher Mix-Up” (light humour option)
    • Say:
      • “I keep getting everyone’s name wrong today.”
    • Deliberately call a few pupils by obviously wrong names, keeping the tone light and kind.
    • Ask:
      • “How would that feel if it kept happening?”
    • Explain:
      • “Getting someone’s name right shows that we care about them.”
  • Option 2: “Simon Says… Names Matter” (active and fun)
    • Invite all pupils to stand up.
    • Play a short game of “Simon Says” using simple actions.
    • Pause and explain that the name “Simon” mattered.
    • Connect this to how names help us notice and include people.
  • Option 3: “How Many Names Do You Know?” (whole-group reflection)
    • Ask pupils to stand.
    • Say:
      • “Stay standing if you do, but sit down if you don’t…”
      • “… know the names of the people you live with.”
      • “… know the names of your friends.”
      • “… know the names of everyone in your class.”
      • “… know the names of everyone in your school.”
      • “… know the names of everyone who lives in your road.”
      • “… know the names of everyone in the world.”
    • Then ask:
      • “Do you think anyone could know everyone’s name in the whole world?”
    • Explain:
      • “Christians believe that God does.”
      • “He knows each person by name, because every person matters to him.”
  • Option 4: “What’s Missing?” (nursery rhyme activity)
    • Say to the pupils:
      • “I’m going to say (or sing) some well-known rhymes, but I’m going to miss something important out. See if you can spot it.”
    • Say (or sing):
      • “The boy and girl went up the hill,
        To fetch a pail of water.
        The boy fell down and broke his crown,
        And the girl came tumbling after.”
    • Ask:
      • “What was missing?”
    • Take answers, then say:
      • “Jack and Jill!”
    • Say (or sing):
      • “Little girl has lost her sheep,
        And doesn’t know where to find them.
        Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,
        Wagging their tails behind them.”
    • Ask:
      • “What was missing?”
    • Take answers, then say:
      • “Little Bo Peep!”
    • Say (or sing):
      • “This old farmer had a farm, E-I-E-I-O,
        And on that farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O,
        With a moo moo here and a moo moo there,
        Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo,
        This old farmer had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.”
    • Ask:
      • “What was missing?”
    • Take answers, then say:
      • “Old MacDonald!”
    • Explain:
      • “It didn’t sound right without the names, did it?”
      • “Names help us know who someone is.”
      • “Names matter because people matter.”

Scripted Talk

  • Say:
    • “Today we are thinking about belonging, and about how knowing someone’s name can make a big difference. I am going to show you a couple of clips from the film Hoppers. It is about Mabel, an animal lover, who gets her mind transferred into a beaver robot so that she can save the animals who live in a glade that she used to visit with her grandma.”
  • Play the Hoppers Special Look from the start and stop at 0:28, after Dr Sam says “she found the button”.
  • If you cannot play this YouTube video, instead display the slides from the Hoppers Knowing Means Belonging PowerPoint and say:
    • [PowerPoint Slide 1]
      • “In the film Hoppers we meet Mabel”
    • [PowerPoint Slide 2]
      • “Mabel is in a science lab where a secret technology has been created, called Hoppers”.
    • [PowerPoint Slide 3]
      • “This allows a person to enter the body of an animal robot so they can understand the animal world.”
    • [PowerPoint Slide 4]
      • “Mabel’s mind is transferred into a beaver robot, and she tumbles into the woods.”
    • [PowerPoint Slide 5]
      • “Mabel is surprised that she can understand the animals talking. She meets lots of animals who think she is one of them.”
    • [PowerPoint Slide 6]
      • “The leader of the animals, King George, asks her name and then invites all the animals to welcome her by name.”
      • “All the animals greet her and include her.”
  • Say:
    • “Can you imagine being Mabel? What would it feel like to be somewhere new where nobody knows you? Would you feel excited, or a bit nervous?”
  • Play the Hoppers What are the Pond Rules? from the start, and stop at 0:23, when George replies to the fish saying “And hello to you, Steve.” (It is a quick cut but try to stop it before the fish is eaten.)
  • If you cannot play this YouTube video, instead display the slides from the Hoppers Knowing Means Belonging PowerPoint and say:
    • [PowerPoint Slide 7]
      • “After welcoming Mabel to the pond, King George tells her that she needs to understand the pond rules.”
    • [PowerPoint Slide 8]
      • “The first one is ‘Don’t be a stranger’ which King George explains means knowing the names of everyone.”
      • “He then shows that he knows all of the animals by name, even the fish and all the ants.”
  • From now on, show slides from the Hoppers Knowing Means Belonging PowerPoint.
  • [PowerPoint Slide 9]
    • Say:
      • “The animals know each other by name. They are all part of a community together. Knowing someone’s name helps them feel that they belong.”
    • Ask:
      • “How do you feel when someone calls you by name?”
      • “Does it make you feel that you belong, if they use your name?”
      • “Does it show that people care about you, when they use your name?”
  • [PowerPoint Slide 10]
    • Say:
      • “In our school, we always want to help people know that they belong, that they are part of this community.”
    • Ask:
      • “What can we do if someone is new to our school?”
      • “How can we make them feel welcome?”
  • [PowerPoint Slide 11]
    • Ask:
      • “How does it feel when someone really important knows your name?”
      • “Who is the most important person that knows your name?”
    • Say:
      • “The Bible says something very interesting about this.”
  • [PowerPoint Slide 12]
    • Say:
      • “Many people believe that God is the most important person. And Christians believe that God knows every person by name. Everyone is important, and no one is forgotten. In the Bible, Jesus says that he is like a shepherd who knows all his sheep by name. He cares about all of us, whoever we are.”
  • [PowerPoint Slide 13]
    • Say:
      • “The Bible then says that, in the same way that God knows and cares for each of us, we also should encourage each other and help each other to do well.”
    • Ask:
      • “How can we encourage each other and help them to feel that they belong in this school?”
      • As appropriate you could inspire them to learn the names of those they don’t yet know; make sure they say hello to them, using their name; include everyone; and be kind.

Headings and Bullets

  • [PowerPoint Slide 1]
    • Mabel
  • [PowerPoint Slide 2]
    • New secret technology
  • [PowerPoint Slide 3]
    • Entering animal world
  • [PowerPoint Slide 4]
    • Becoming a beaver
  • [PowerPoint Slide 5]
    • Meeting animals
  • [PowerPoint Slide 6]
    • Welcomed by name
    • Included
  • [PowerPoint Slide 7]
    • Pond rules
  • [PowerPoint Slide 8]
    • Know names
    • Everyone known
  • [PowerPoint Slide 9]
    • Names help belonging
  • [PowerPoint Slide 10]
    • Our school
    • Welcoming others
  • [PowerPoint Slide 11]
    • Being known
    • Important people
  • [PowerPoint Slide 12]
    • God knows our names
  • [PowerPoint Slide 13]
    • Encourage one another
    • Build others up
    • Help everyone belong

Reflection

“Think quietly for a moment: can you think of someone in your class or school who might feel new or left out, and what could you do today to help them feel that they belong?”

Prayer

“Dear God, thank you that you know each of us by name, please help us to be kind, to welcome others, and to help everyone feel that they belong. Amen.”

What you will need:

Hoppers Knowing Means Belonging PowerPoint

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