In short
Themes: Fables; stories with a moral; encouragement; achieving our goals.
Summary: This assembly, which is suitable for an act of collective worship, focuses on a fable called The Toad and The Tower. The assembly explores the value of encouragement.
Resources:The framework to download / print (pdf) and an image to display of the word 'Encouragement'.You will also need a few images of crowds holding banners to encourage a sportsperson or team. It could be from the Olympic Games or indeed from any sport.
The video
AMY: Hello, I'm Amy and this is the amazing story of The Toad and The Tower.
There, all done.
At the bottom of a tall tower, there was a pond, home to a frog and a toad. Every day, they looked up at the tall tower and wondered what it would be like at the very top. One day, the tiny toad and frog decided they would have a race to the top of the tower.
Other animals arrived to watch the race.
'Where are you going,' asked the owl. The toad and the frog proudly told the owl that they were going to race to the top of the tower. But the owl just laughed: 'Ha ha ha. You can't fly, you can't reach the top of the tower.'
The owl wasn't being very encouraging, but it was time for the race to begin. Ready, steady, go!
The toad and the frog began crawling and hopping as fast as their little legs could carry them.
'Quack, quack, quack. A toad and a frog climbing to the top of the tower,' said the duck. 'That's a silly idea. They'll never make it.'
Everyone agreed the tower was much too tall for the tiny creatures to climb. The frog and the toad heard what everyone was saying.
They looked at the tower. It was very tall, and they didn't feel very encouraged, but the tiny toad thought to herself, 'How do they know it's a silly idea? How do they know I'll never make it to the top?' She decided to ignore the crowds and instead, she sang an encouraging song to herself.
TOAD: I'm climbing to the top and I'm not going to stop!
AMY: Unable to hear the crowd, the tiny toad started to climb.
TOAD: I'm climbing to the top and I'm not going to stop!
AMY: It was hard but she climbed higher and higher. 'Come on, you can do it,' she thought to herself.
'The tower is too tall and you are too small,' said the rabbit.
The frog heard the crowd. All he could see was how far away the top of the tower was and all he could think about was how much his legs ached. And so, the tiny frog decided to give up.
When the toad saw the frog, she was surprised to see him climbing back down.
TOAD: You can do it!
AMY: The toad told the frog not to give up.
FROG: I can't!
AMY: But the frog said that the other animals were right; he wasn't strong enough. The toad told the frog not to listen to the other animals and she started singing her song again.
TOAD: Try harder! I'm climbing to the top and I'm not going to stop.
AMY: And as frog listened to toad's words of encouragement, he began to feel stronger and they both started to sing.
TOAD & FROG: Climbing to the top and I'm not going to stop.
AMY: Frog refused to listen to the other animals' discouragement. And you know what? They both reached the top of the tower.
See, they did do it. Well done, guys! The toad not only encouraged herself, she encouraged the frog too. How brilliant is that! Thank you for helping tell this Treasure Story. It was a fantastic old fable. See you again soon. Bye!
This story is a fable which is known in a number of different versions. The fable helps us to reflect on the importance of encouragement, especially when confronted with pessimistic onlookers.
In this retelling the toad and the frog reach their goal of climbing to the top of a tower. The frog is discouraged by the other animals’ negative comments, but the encouragement of the toad enables them both to overcome the challenge of the climb to achieve their goal. The moral of the story is that there is power in the words we speak - whether to ourselves (our internal dialogue or inner voice) or to other people. Speaking words of encouragement can make all the difference.
Duration: 4’ 24”
Final words: ‘See you again soon. Bye!'
Video questions
- At the beginning of the story what do the frog and the toad want to do? (Have a race to the top of the tower)
- What do the other animals think about the frog and the toad’s plan? (They don't think it's a good idea and they don't offer any encouragement)
- How does the toad encourage herself? What happens? (She sings to herself and tries her hardest - and gradually she makes progress)
- Why does the frog begin to climb again after he has given up? (He is encouraged by the toad)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Encouragement. image
Click for the full size image.
Suggested framework
1. Entry
Play your chosen music and display a few images of crowds holding banners to encourage a sportsperson.
2. Introduction
Show the children the images of supporters' banners. How can you tell they are supporting the athlete or team?
Explain that many people support athletes or teams from their favourite sports. What words would you say to your favourite sports person to encourage them?
Today's story is about offering encouragement - so let’s find out who needs encouragement in the video…
3. Play the video
The duration is 4’ 24” and the final words are: ‘See you again soon. Bye!'
4. After the video - Time to talk
You could begin by asking some questions about the story to consolidate pupils' recall of the events:
- At the beginning of the story what do the frog and the toad want to do? (Race to the top of the tower)
- What do the other animals think about their plan? (They don't think it's a good idea and they don't offer any encouragement)
- How does the toad encourage herself? (She sings an encouraging song to herself)
- Why does the frog begin to climb again after he has given up? (He is encouraged by the toad)
- How did they feel when they reached the top?
Then lead a discussion about being encouraging by asking the following:
- What words are encouraging? How do your friends encourage you at school?
- When do people sometimes find it hard to be encouraging? (The children might talk about fear which stops people believing something is possible)
- Why is it important to offer encouragement?
5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.
6. Opportunity for reflection
Let's think about some of the times when we need encouragement…
There are times when it can seem difficult to do what we want to do…to achieve what we want to achieve…
Think about something you could say to yourself - in your head - that would help you to feel encouraged…
Do you know someone who who needs support and encouragement…?
What words could you say to that person - to encourage them and help them to grow in confidence…?
How will you encourage yourself and others today…?
7. Opportunity for prayer
Begin with your usual form of address (‘Dear God’, ‘Let us pray’, etc) and:
Thank you for stories that help us to think about encouragement.
Help us to find the right words when others need encouragement.
Help us to be grateful for those who give us strength through their encouragement.
Amen.
Suggested songs
'Build up' (All about our school, no 12)
Verse 1:
Every word you say, (wo-oh)
Every game you play, (wo-oh)
Every silly face, (wo-oh)
Every single place, (wo-oh)
You can build up,
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Or you can tear down.
Chorus:
Build up one another,
Build up your sisters and brothers,
Build up one another,
Build up!
Verse 2:
Every joke you tell, (wo-oh)
Every name you spell, (wo-oh)
Everywhere you go, (wo-oh)
Everyone you know, (wo-oh)
You can build up,
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Or you can tear down.
Chorus:
Build up one another,
Build up your sisters and brothers,
Build up one another,
Build up!
Build up!
Build up!
Song: 'Give me oil in my lamp' (Come and Praise, no 43. Vocal version)
- Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning,
Keep me burning till the break of day.
ChorusSing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings!
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King!
- Give me joy in my heart, keep me singing.
Give me joy in my heart, I pray.
Give me joy in my heart, keep me singing,
Keep me singing till the break of day.
Chorus
- Give me love in my heart, keep me serving.
Give me love in my heart, I pray.
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
Keep me serving till the break of day.
Chorus
- Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting.
Give me peace in my heart, I pray.
Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting,
Keep me resting till the break of day.
Chorus
Song: 'We will grow' (All about our school, no 10)
(Chorus)
We will grow
And share with each other,
We will show
That we care for one another,
‘Cos we know
We are sisters and brothers in the eyes of God above.
We are growing together in love.
- Some things grow very quickly,
Sometimes they’re very slow.
Sometimes you can see What they’re going to be,
Sometimes you just don’t know.
(Chorus)
We will grow
And share with each other,
We will show
That we care for one another,
‘Cos we know
We are sisters and brothers in the eyes of God above.
We are growing together in love.
- Sometimes it seems like magic
That happens every day.
But it’s all been planned,
Made by God’s own hand,
‘Cos creation it works that way.
(Chorus)
We will grow
And share with each other,
We will show
That we care for one another,
‘Cos we know
We are sisters and brothers in the eyes of God above.
We are growing together in love.
We are growing together in love.
We are growing together in love.
