PSHE KS2: 1. Sir Alvin and the Dragon… or What does it mean to be brave?

School Radio > PSHE / Citizenship > Just think…

Download / print the transcript for the programme (pdf)

A cowardly medieval knight is called upon to save a village from a dragon. But what exactly is the bravest course of action?

The programme is 15 minutes long and has three parts. You can listen to the whole programme at once, or stop listeningafter each part to engage with the classroom activities and discussions.

You may wish to ask some of these questions after listening to each part of the story:

Part 1:

• How would you describe Sir Alvin?
• Is he brave? Why?/ Why not? How can you tell?
• What is the opposite of bravery? Can you give an example?
• Sir Alvin is scared of squirrels because he dreamt about them. Can we be afraid of something which isn’t real or true?
• What does Scabwell think of Sir Alvin?
• Would you be scared of the dragon?
• What would you do if you were in Sir Alvin’s shoes?

Part 2:

• Is bravery something you can inherit, like a name?
• Is ‘brave’ something you are or something you do?
• The villagers say that bravery is: When you do something you’re scared of. / Standing up for what you believe in. Do you agree? Why? / Why not?
• Does the situation in the village change when Sir Alvin learns that the dragon has Susie Peabody? How? Why?
• At the end of Part 2 Sir Alvin decides to fight the dragon. Is he being brave? Why? / Why not? What is his main reason for agreeing to do it?
• Is it brave to do something even if you’re just doing it because someone tells you to? If you’re doing it just to look cool? If you’re doing it to help someone else?

Part 3:

• Is it always right to do the bravest thing? Do you think Sir Alvin would have gone to fight the dragon if he had known that Susie Peabody was a doll?
• Sir Alvin says he went to fight the dragon for several reasons - because the villagers told him to / to prove his bravery / to rescue Susie Peabody / so he could keep his name / so they villagers wouldn’t tease him any more / because he got talked into it. Which do you think is the best reason? Which do you think is the worst reason? Why?
• Roger doesn’t spend time with the other dragons because he doesn’t agree with their behaviour. Do you think that’s brave? Why? / Why not?
• Why does Sir Alvin tell the villagers that he won’t fight Roger? Do you think that’s brave?
• Have you ever done anything brave?
• Why do you think it was brave?
• Have your ideas about bravery changed since listening to the story of Sir Alvin and the Dragon? If so, how?

Suggested activities

You could try:

• Eliciting from the class some examples of things which are brave (you could suggest some yourself, eg ‘standing up to a bully,’ ‘standing on a stage and singing,’ etc). Students work individually to choose which one they would least prefer to do and to think of the reasons for their choice. They could then discuss their choices in small groups. Alternatively, you could put all the ideas / examples before the class and ask each small group to put them in order from the most to the least brave. (There are no correct answers; the aim is to encourage debate.)
• Asking pupils to write about when they did something brave or to make up a story about an act of bravery.
• Asking students to imagine they are going to interview Sir Alvin after his encounter with the dragon. What questions would they ask and why?
• Asking pupils to write the story of what happens next in the story of Sir Alvin and the Dragon.

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School Radio > PSHE / Citizenship > Just think…