The Books Of Life (Assembly)
The Books Of Life by Pete O'Hare - 7 to 13 yrs - KS2, KS3 (2m 37s)
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Theme - Choosing a good way to live
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Story - by John Kenward (approx 10 mins)
Extract:
... ‘Georgina!’ Mum snapped. ‘Don’t be so selfish! Get upstairs, get dressed and tidy that room of yours - it’s like a pigsty. And don’t forget what Dad said. If your room isn’t tidy when he gets home, everything will be put in black sacks and into the bin.’‘That’s so unfair,’ protested Georgina. But Mum glared at her. ‘What you need is a book of rules, young lady. Sometimes you’re impossible to live with.’ Georgina left the sofa with a loud sigh, draping her duvet around her shoulders and stomped upstairs...
A little while later mum called up the stairs. ‘Lunch is ready.’
‘But I’m not ready for lunch!’ she yelled back. ‘Couldn’t you bring it upstairs?’
Mum thought Georgina might actually be sorting out her room, so – not wanting to stop her from tidying – she decided she would take her some lunch on a tray.
You can imagine how dismayed she was to find her daughter still in bed watching TV, and her room as messy as ever. This time Mum nearly exploded. ‘Georgina! You will get dressed and get on with it RIGHT NOW!’ She headed back out of the room, taking the lunch tray with her...
[some time later...]
'Brilliant,' Georgina thought. 'Dad has tidied my room!' But then she noticed that loads of her things were missing! She flung open the cupboard doors. All her games had gone, and her secret chocolate store! She shot into her parent’s bedroom expecting to see a stack of bin liners with everything in them… but there was nothing.
Georgina began to sense the worst. She ran downstairs and blurted out, ‘Dad, where’s all my stuff?’ ‘Gone – as I said it would be if you didn’t tidy your room. You’ve had enough warnings.’
‘But it’s not out by the bin – where is it? You can’t just throw away all my stuff!’
Her father stared at her for a moment. Eventually he said: ‘I didn’t. I gave it away to people who might appreciate it. Oh, and I found your phone and gave it to mum. She needs it while she’s at the hospital with Harry.’
‘My phone? How could you do that?’ Georgina shouted. He looked at her with raised eyebrows. Georgina stormed upstairs, flung herself on her bed, and promply burst into tears...
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Song - by Peter O'Hare
A gentle, thoughtful song about choice of direction in life. The books are metaphorical – books of love, hope, peace, and trust – and the lyrics explore the purpose of ‘reading’ those books. (Sample on the audio player above.)
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Reflection Points - samples
1. Why do you think Georgina never tidied her room?
2. What sort of person do you think Georgina is?
3. How do you think Georgina’s parents could encourage her to change?
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This assembly is from 'Assemblies Alive KS2'. There is a parallel assembly for KS1 'Think About' with the same theme in 'Assemblies Alive KS1'.
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