KS1 Assemblies and Collective Worship. Something to Think About: Remembering... why poppies?

School Radio > Assemblies and Collective Worship
KS1 audio: Something to Think About / KS2 audio: Together

Ben Faulks presents the first of two programmes exploring the theme of remembering. Today he is thinking about Remembrance Day and why people wear poppies.

Before the programme

• Look at the focus image. What is it?
• Where have you seen one of these before?
• What do you know about them?
• What are people remembering when they wear a poppy?
• Why is it important to ‘remember’?
• What other special occasions involve ‘remembering’?
• How do you remember things that are important to you?

Programme content:

1. Welcome and introduction: Ben is testing his memory by playing a game…
2. Song: ‘Kum ba Yah’ (Come and Praise: Beginning, no 24). Encourage the children to join in with as much as they can.
3. Story: Why poppies…? An original story by Rob John. Read by Naomi Radcliffe. Emily Higgins asks LOTS of questions - and her mum often finds them hard to answer! Emily starts to notice poppies everywhere she goes which prompts her to ask more questions. Fortunately, great-grandad can help her with the answer…
4. Reflection: On remembering and Remembrance Day. Ensure everyone is listening carefully and thinking quietly.
5. Opportunity for prayer: Children can turn their thoughts into their own prayer of thanks, or use the prayer included below.

After the programme:

Talk about the story

• Emily Higgins likes to ask lots of questions.
• What questions do you like to ask?
• Who in your family is the best person to ask questions and why?
• Why do you think Emily’s great-grandad often forgot things?
• Emily asked lots of questions about poppies. Would you have been able to answer her questions?
• Why did great-grandad wait until Emily’s mum had gone out of the room before he answered her questions?
• When great-grandad had finished talking about the War, why do you think Emily had suddenly run out of questions?

Follow-up activities:

• Find out where your nearest War memorial is and whether it’s near enough to visit. War memorials were developed only after the First World War and most towns will have one some- where. You can find the nearest one to your school on the War Memorial Archives website.
• Look at pictures of the poppy fields in Flanders. Use art materials to make individual poppies, then create a class poppy field, or use them to make poppy wreaths. Display with the words ‘We will remember them’.
• Create a ‘Remembering’ corner, where children can go to be quiet, think, or pray during Remembrance week.

Optional prayer:

Dear God
At this time of remembering, we want to pray
for those whose lives have been affected by war. We are grateful for those men and women who fought for our freedom.
Amen.