Lesson video

Hello, I'm Ms. Rivers.

I'm glad you've chosen this lesson.

I'm looking forward to working with you today.

So I'll be helping you with your learning in this lesson.

Welcome to today's lesson.

The lesson is from the unit stories.

How do different people find deeper meanings? This lesson is called "The Story of the Starfish Thrower." By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to retell the story of the starfish thrower and explain some of its deeper meanings.

You might already know some Christian and Muslim stories with deeper meanings or hidden messages.

Today's learning is about an important story with a hidden message.

This is a story from a non-religious worldview.

Some of today's learning will be new for everyone, so we'll need to work really hard, but I'm here to help and we can all learn together.

The key words we'll be using in today's lesson are humanist, a person who follows a non-religious way of thinking based on human values.

Responsible, that means being dependable and making good choices.

And improve, making things better.

Some of these words might be new to you, so let's practise saying them together.

I'll say the word and then you say it after me.

Humanist.

Responsible.

Improve.

We'll be using these words all through the lesson, so listen carefully and see if you can spot them.

See if you can remember what they mean.

In the first part of the lesson, we'll be learning about humanists and what they believe.

What do many humanists believe? Sometimes people try to make the world a better place in all sorts of ways.

Have a look at these pictures and think about how these people are trying to make the world a better place.

Here is somebody caring for somebody else, and that's a way of making the world better, isn't it? Making people happier.

These people are worried about the future of the planet and they want to go on a protest and let people know their ideas and make people think about what's important to them.

And these people have noticed that there's lots of litter around, and so they've gone on a litter pick and they're tidying things up and making everything look better.

Can you think of any other ideas about ways that people might want to make the world a better place? Pause the video for a minute and think about your ideas.

And if there's somebody near to you, you could talk to them and share your ideas together.

Izzy and Sophia are talking about how they try to make the world a better place.

Izzy says, "I try to use kind words and actions at home and at school." Sophia says, "I make sure I put my litter in the bin so that it does not make a mess." Can you think of an example of something that you do to make the world a better place? Pause the video while you think about your ideas.

Nadia has a Muslim worldview and she's been thinking about how she tries to make the world a better place.

She says, "I follow the teachings of the prophet Mohamed that tell us to help others.

I try to make a difference by helping people in need at the food bank." So Nadia tries to make the world a better place by helping people who need food and by volunteering at the food bank.

David is a Christian and he has a Christian worldview.

He's also been thinking about things he does to make the world a better place.

He says, "I follow the teachings and example of Jesus by caring for people who need my help.

I try to make a difference by helping at the homeless shelter." So David's been thinking about how following the teaching of Jesus helps him to make the world a better place.

Diane has a humanist worldview and she's been thinking about what's important to her.

She says, "As a humanist, I do my best to treat others in the way I would like to be treated.

I do not believe in God.

I try to make a difference by helping at the community cafe and spending time with people who are lonely." So Diane doesn't follow the example of Jesus or the Prophet Mohammed.

She doesn't believe in God, but she still tries to make a difference and she still wants to help people.

So she volunteers at the community cafe.

Diane is explaining a bit more about her humanist worldview.

She says, "I do not go to a place of worship like a church or a mosque, but sometimes I meet with other humanists to talk about how we live and the choices we make." So you can see that her humanist worldview is important to her and she thinks about how she lives and her choices.

So it's time for a quick check, and this one is true or false.

So get your thumbs ready to show me true or false.

Diane goes to church.

Is that true or false? Have a think for a moment.

That's right, it's false.

Diane is a humanist and humanists do not have a place of worship like a church or a mosque.

Well done if you got that right.

That means you were listening carefully.

People like Diane with a humanist worldview think carefully about how human beings should behave and how they should treat each other.

Here are some beliefs that many humanists have.

They believe that human beings should make the most of having one life.

They should be happy and make other people happy.

They should look after the world and they should learn about the world and be interested in it.

So Diane is explaining a little bit more about what's important to her as a humanist.

She says, "Most humanists believe that humans have a responsibility to make the world a better place." She believes that everyone has a responsibility to make a difference by making good choices about how to live.

So her idea is that she has one life to live and she wants to make the most of it by being happy and making sure that the people around her are happy too.

So it's time for another quick check.

Which two of these beliefs are important to most humanists? Is it A, you should treat people as you would like to be treated? Is it B, everyone should belong to a place of worship? Or C, humans should try to make the world a better place? Pause the video while you think about your answer.

Remember to choose two.

That's right, the answers were A and C.

You should treat people as you would like to be treated and humans should try to make the world a better place.

Most humanists think these are really important values.

So well done if you chose those two.

So now it's time for you to do a writing task.

Izzy and Sophia are talking about humanist beliefs.

Sophia tells Izzy that humanists believe that they should treat others as they would like to be treated.

This is an important belief for humanists.

Can you think of two more humanist beliefs? Think about what we've learned in the lesson about what's important to humanists and see if you can write down two more things that many humanists believe.

Pause the video while you do your writing.

So how did you get on with your ideas? Here are some things that you might have thought about.

Humanists try to make the most of having one life.

They try to make the world a better place.

Humanists try to make good choices about how to live.

They try to be happy and make other people happy.

They try to look after the world by making good choices about how they behave.

I wonder if you had some ideas a bit like this or maybe you had some other ideas and some different ones.

So well done for working hard.

In the second part of the lesson, we'll be hearing the story of the starfish thrower and thinking about its deeper meaning.

What is the deeper meaning of the starfish story? Diane is talking about the story of the starfish thrower and thinking about why it's so important to her.

She says, "When I was a little girl, my mom told me the story of the starfish thrower.

It's a story with a deeper meaning.

She wanted me to understand that I could make a difference to the world even though I was only young." So I'm going to tell you the story.

So make yourself comfortable and be ready to listen carefully and look at the pictures.

"The Story of the Starfish Thrower." One day, an old man decided to take his early morning walk along the beach.

The only sounds were the gentle splash of the waves and the seagulls calling loudly to each other overhead.

He loved this peaceful time of day before the crowds arrived.

That morning, the beach looked very different.

A big storm had passed over the night before and the sandy shore was covered with starfish washed up on the beach.

There were so many of them stretching as far as the old man could see, and the warm morning sun was beginning to dry them out.

As he walked along, the old man noticed something in the distance.

It was a small girl waving her arms and dancing along the beach with her bucket.

Up and down, to and fro.

As he got nearer, he realised that the little girl was not dancing.

She was picking up starfish.

Every now and then, she bent down, picked up a starfish, carried it carefully in her bucket, and then threw it out into the sea.

Full of curiosity, the man walked up to the girl and asked, "What are you doing?" The little girl looked up and smiled, "Good morning.

I'm throwing the starfish back into the sea.

Last night, they were washed up onto the beach and they can't get back to the sea by themselves.

Now, the tide is going out.

If I don't throw them back, they might die.

The sun is going to be really hot today.

It will dry them out and the seagulls might take them for a free meal." As she spoke, she carefully placed another starfish into her bucket.

As the water closed over it, its colour seemed brighter.

She walked into the waves and threw the contents of the bucket as far as she could.

The starfish sailed through the air and landed in the sea with a splash.

The girl filled her bucket with water, turned, and walked back to the next starfish on the beach.

So here's a quick check to see if you've been listening carefully to the story.

What was the little girl doing on the beach? Was she A, paddling in the sea; was it B, collecting shells to take home; or C, throwing starfish back into the sea? Pause the video while you think about your answer.

That's right, the answer was C.

She was throwing starfish back into the sea.

Well done if you got that right.

That means you were listening carefully to the story.

So let's carry on with the end of the story.

The old man looked at all the starfish scattered across the beach.

There were so many.

"But look, there are thousands of starfish and miles and miles of beach," he said, shaking his head.

"You can't possibly save them all.

There are too many.

You won't be able to make much of a difference." The little girl thought for a moment.

Then she bent down, picked up another starfish, and put it in her bucket.

She took it and threw it as far as she could into the water.

With a bright smile, she looked up at the old man and said, "I made a difference to that one." And with that, she walked back up the beach again.

The old man watched as the girl kept working one starfish at a time forwards and backwards along the shore.

He thought about what she had said.

Soon the old man smiled, bent down and picked up a starfish too.

Diane is thinking about the story of the starfish thrower.

She's known it since she was a little girl, and she's thinking about what the deeper meaning might be for her as a humanist.

She says, "The story of the starfish thrower is still important to me.

It reminds me that even small actions can improve things.

The girl in the story was able to help some of the starfish even though she could not help all of them." The story reminds Diane that even little things matter when she's making choices about how to live her life.

Diane is giving herself some good advice.

She says, "Even if a problem seems too big, I can improve things by doing just one thing.

When I chat to someone lonely at the community cafe, I can help that one person to feel better." So we can see how the example from the story of the Starfish Thrower has helped Diane to make choices about how she lives her life.

She knows that even one tiny thing might make a difference to someone else, and she wants to make those good choices.

So here's a quick check.

Can you remember where does Diane help? Is it A, at the food bank; B, at the community cafe; or C, at the homeless shelter? Pause the video while you think about your answer.

That's right, the answer is B.

Diane helps at the community cafe and she tries to improve people's lives by chatting to people who are lonely.

Well done if you've got that answer right.

Here is a picture of Diane with her family.

Diane and Alan have a new baby called Amy, and they're thinking about how they share their humanist values with her as she grows up.

Diane says, "I'm going to read the story of the starfish thrower to Amy when she's older so she can understand more about how she can make a difference." And Alan says, "It's important for her to learn humanist values such as responsibility from stories like this." So they're going to pass on this important story with its deeper meaning to Amy as she grows up, and maybe it will be an important story for her as well.

Sophia and Lucas are talking about how they make a difference and how sometimes it's difficult.

Lucas says, "Some problems seem so big that I can't do anything about it, so I don't even try." Sophia says, "I think you should try to do just one thing to help because even a small action can make a difference." I wonder what you think about their ideas, and I wonder why you have those ideas.

Perhaps you are thinking about the story of the starfish and how just one thing can make a big difference.

Pause the video for a moment and think about whether you agree with Lucas or Sophia.

Maybe talk to someone near you and share your ideas together.

So it's time for another check to see if you've been listening carefully.

And this is a true or false question, so get your thumbs ready again.

Listening to stories like the starfish thrower can help us to understand more about humanist worldviews.

Is that true or false? Have a think for a moment.

That's right, it's true.

Stories like the starfish thrower are important to humanists like Diane and Alan.

The story helps them to think about how to take responsibility and care for the world.

Well done if you've got that answer right.

So now it's your turn to do some thinking and writing, and we're going to help Sophia and Lucas to think about how they can make a difference.

Sophia and Lucas have noticed that a lot of food gets wasted at school lunchtimes.

They've noticed that some children only eat a little bit of their food and then throw the rest away, and the food waste bin gets filled right to the top.

Sophia and Lucas want to suggest one small action that children in the school could do to cut down the waste and make a difference.

Can you think of one thing that everyone could do? Think about what we've learned about one little thing making a big difference.

I wonder if this happens in your school where people waste food.

So pause the video while you think of your ideas and write down a suggestion for Sophia and Lucas to help their school to waste less food.

I wonder what ideas you came up with.

Did you think of some little things that people could do so that they didn't waste food in Sophia and Lucas' school? Here are some of my ideas.

See what you think.

Don't put too much food on your plate.

That would stop food being wasted, wouldn't it? Appreciate your food.

Taking time to notice the smell and the taste of your food and really enjoying it while you are eating it.

Don't rush eating your lunch so you can go out to play.

That happens sometimes, doesn't it? Where people throw food away 'cause they don't want to sit down and eat it.

And choose food that you like to eat.

That's about taking care, isn't it? To make good choices so that you don't waste food.

I wonder if your ideas were a bit like mine, or did you think of some different ones? Well done for doing good thinking and good writing today.

So we've learned a lot in our lesson today about the story of the starfish thrower.

We've learned that many humanists believe that everyone has a responsibility to make a difference.

We've learned that some humanists use stories such as the story of the starfish thrower to explain their beliefs.

We've learned the story of the starfish thrower shows that the actions of just one person can improve things.

And we've learned that we can learn about people's worldviews by thinking about the deeper meanings of stories like the starfish thrower.

So well done for working hard today.

I've enjoyed working with you, and I look forward to seeing you soon.