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

Themes: caring for our environment and animals in particular as winter arrives

Before the programme

• Look at the picture of the bird table. What is it for, and why might someone have one in their garden?
• Why do birds have a more difficult time in winter than in summer?
• Why might people need to ‘protect’ birds?
• How many different types of bird do you know?
  Which ones visit where you live?
• What other creatures need to be cared for when the weather gets colder?

Programme content:

1. Opening: Ben feeling a bit chilly as winter draws closer but realises that garden wildlife struggles even more with chilly temperatures…
2. Interview: Jamie, from the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) tells us about his work.
3. Song: ‘Back in school again’ (All about our school, no 2). Encourage the children to join in with as much as they can.
4. Story: The back garden bird cafe. It has snowed and Joe is feeling very excited. But much as he loves the snow he can’t help feeling a bit sorry for the birds in his garden. So he forms a plan to convert his snow- man into something that will help his garden visitors…
5. Reflection: Ensure everyone is listening carefully and thinking quietly as we reflect on what we can all do to help wildlife in winter.
6. Prayer: Children can make the prayer their own by joining in with ‘Amen’ at the end.

After the programme:

Talk about the story

• Have you ever woken up on a snowy day? What did it feel like? What did you do?
• What different things did Mum tell Joe about birds at the start of the story?
• What clues are there in the story that it’s near to Christmas time?
• What do you think Joe’s snowman looked like? What would you use to build a snowman’s features?
• What do you think about Joe’s idea to make his snowman ‘help’ the birds?
• What do you think happened when Joe woke up the next day?

Follow-up activities:

• Visit the RSPB website where you’ll find suitable recipes for making winter food for birds.
• Find some pictures of garden birds and keep a tally of which birds come most often? Which least often? Which is the most unusual bird that you see as a class?
• Watch some clips from ‘Big Schools’ Bird- watch’. Which birds visit your school? Which ones would you like to visit?! Find out what you could do to try to attract them.
• Visit the RSPB website and find out more about what the organisation does.
• Design posters to show the one thing that you want to encourage others to do to care for birds or other wildlife in Winter.