Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes

Tune In: Who belongs?

15 minutes

Find Out: The dangers of exclusion and bystander behaviour

20 minutes

Take Action: The benefits of inclusion, belonging and upstander behaviour

15 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

practise empathising with others who feel excluded
learn how to respond with kindness and empathy by identifying ways to be an upstander.

Success criteria

Students can:

create and share their own ideas, stories, or actions that show how to be inclusive and make others feel they belong
make a personal commitment to being more inclusive or standing up for others.

Tune In: Who belongs?

Step 1

Start by introducing these key vocabulary items to your class: inclusion, exclusion, upstander, bystander, resilience and belonging. Facilitate a class discussion to tap into students' prior knowledge about these words.

Next, divide the class into six groups. Give each group an A3 printout of the Anchor Chart. Let students know they'll be working together to complete their anchor chart for the vocabulary and will later share their ideas with the class. Each group should attempt to complete as much of each section as they can.

When the groups are finished, bring the class back together. Ask each group to nominate one speaker to share their chart. As groups present, guide the discussion to build a shared class understanding of each word. These anchor charts will stay on display and be added to as the lesson progresses.

Step 2

As a class, engage with ‘Bat Story’.

Option 1. Watch the video of Bat Story, told by Donna Jacobs Sife (02:12 mins)

Option 2. Read the story of ‘Why Bat Hangs Upside D own’.

Use the following prompts to invite students to share their thinking:

Why do you think Bat wasn’t welcome at either party?
Who might Bat represent? (Answer: Anyone who is being excluded and made to feel that they don’t belong.)

Next, provide students with a copy of the Student Worksheet to complete independently.

Find Out: The dangers of exclusion and bystander behaviour

Step 1

Display the group Anchor Charts around the classroom. Introduce a new character, ‘Owl’. Explain that we didn’t meet Owl in the story. Owl was an invisible character who watched the story unfold.

As a class, ask students which character represents exclusion and which character represents a bystander. Answers:

Zebra and Eagle/Vulture - Exclusion
Owl - Bystander

Add these characters to the anchor charts where appropriate.

Step 2

Next, as a class, discuss the following:

Inclusion: What might it feel like if someone isn’t included? What about when they are included?
Bystander: Why might someone act this way? What might it feel like if you acted this way?

Upstander: Why might someone act this way? What might it feel like if you acted this way?
Belonging: What are the benefits to a group if everyone feels like they belong to it?
Resilience: What are some ways we can show resilience?

Now ask students, which characters could have demonstrated inclusion/belonging and upstander behaviour? Students may have different interpretations. Encourage discussion. (Answers: Zebra and Eagle/Vulture: inclusion and belonging | Owl: upstander)

Ask students to consider what Bat could have done differently instead of running away and crying.

On each anchor chart, build on the initial responses students created during ‘Tune In’. Depending on time, student understanding and class level, this can be an optional part of the lesson, but it is strongly suggested to consolidate student understanding.

Take Action: The benefits of inclusion, belonging and upstander behaviour

Step 1

In pairs, have students rewrite a new ending to ‘Bat Story’ that includes examples of inclusion, belonging, upstander behaviour and resilience.

Provide these choices

complete the ‘Different Endings’ worksheet
write a new final paragraph
draw a storyboard
create a role play in groups of four.

Literacy extension: Identify the narrative structure of the original ‘Bat Story’.

Step 2

Bring the students back together and discuss the following questions:

Why do you think Bat still hangs upside down today?
What does it remind us about belonging?

Suggested answer: To ensure everyone feels like they belong, we must practise inclusive behaviours and speak up when someone is being left out.

Reflection

Hand out a Reflection Cloud to each student. Ask them to write their name on it and choose two sentence starters to complete on their cloud:

When I saw someone being left out, I…
A small action I took that made a big difference was…
One thing I can do this week to include others is…
I learned that being an upstander means…
This week I choose to be an upstander by…
Being kind and inclusive makes our school community…

Why Bat Hangs Upside Down

Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables

Why Bat Hangs Upside Down

Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables