Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mrs. Afshan and welcome to our lesson.

Today we're going to hear a story with a hidden meaning and we're going to learn about how humanists make good choices using empathy, which means understanding how someone else feels and caring about their feelings.

The lesson is called "Humanist Choices: "The Fox and the Stork" from the Unit "Choices: "Do we need rules to live by?" The outcome of today's lesson is I can explain how humanists make good choices based on empathy.

Let's look at some important words before we start our lesson.

The words are humanist, empathy, consequences.

We can try reading them one more time using my turn and your turn technique.

The first word is humanist.

Humanist.

The next word is empathy.

Empathy.

Excellent.

You've done that really well.

And finally, consequences.

Consequences.

Excellent, brilliant work.

Now let's look at what they mean.

The word humanist refers to someone who believes we should be kind, fair, and help each other without belief in God.

The word empathy is understanding how someone else feels and caring about their feelings.

And finally, consequences is the results of the choices you make.

Our lesson today has two cycles.

First, let's look at what is the story" of "The Fox and the Stork.

Let's dive in.

Here we have Sofia who's going to help us understand how philosophy in religious education is helpful.

She says, "Philosophers ask big important questions and try to answer them by thinking carefully.

You can use philosophy to share your ideas and understand other people's thoughts too." In this lesson, we will talk about what it means to be a humanist and how their worldview helps guide their decisions.

Let's join Alex and Sofia who are thinking about good choices.

Alex says, "What makes a good choice? Can someone be good for one person but not for another?" That's a very interesting question.

Sofia replies and says, "A good choice is when you do something kind or helpful.

However, what's good for one person might not be good for another.

That is a really good philosophical question, Alex!" Here are some examples of something that can be good for one person and not for another.

Let's look at what are those examples shared by Sofia.

"Sometimes I want to play a game but my friend wants to do something else," she says.

Did you come across such a situation as well? She also shares, "If I eat all the biscuits, it's nice for me, but not fair to my sister." Good example, Sofia.

Can you think of any more examples? Great thinking, well done.

Sofia and Alex are talking to Elijah.

They ask, "What is your worldview, Elijah?" Elijah replies, "My family are humanists.

It is a non-religious worldview.

We try to be happy and make others happy.

Humanists don't believe in God." Time for a check.

Humanism is.

Is it a religious worldview or a non-religious worldview or is it not a worldview? What do you think? That's correct.

Humanism is a non-religious worldview.

You got that right.

Sofia and Alex are continuing to talk to Elijah.

They question this time, "Can people make good choices without following a religion?" Let's look at what Elijah says.

He explains that it is possible to make good choices without following a religion.

They have done that for thousands of years and he says he wants you to hear a story that his parents read to him to help him understand how to make good choices.

It is one of his favourites.

Let's join Elijah and listen to the story.

The story is called "The Fox and the Stork." It is a fable.

It is a story with a hidden meaning.

It is not something that actually happened.

Let's hear the story.

Once upon a time in the forest there lived a selfish and sneaky fox.

As he was selfish, nobody trusted him and nobody made friends with him.

After a while, the fox moved to a mountain next to the forest.

One day he met a stork and invited her over for dinner.

"I'm making something delicious," said the fox with a sly smile.

When the stork arrived, the fox served soup, but he poured it into a very shallow dish.

The soup spread out thinly and the stork with her long beak couldn't get any of it.

She pecked and poked but all she got was a wet beak.

The fox, on the other hand, slurped up his soup quickly and laughed.

(instructor chuckling) "What's wrong?" he teased.

"Do you not like my cooking?" Time for a check.

How did the fox treat the stork? Is it that he played a trick on her or he shared nicely or is it that he gave her a present? What do you think? He played a trick on her.

That's the correct answer.

Let's find out what happens next in our story.

The stork didn't say anything.

She just smiled politely and went home.

That night the stork couldn't sleep because she was hungry.

She was upset at her friend because he had not thought about her.

A few days later, the stork invited the fox to her house for dinner.

When the fox arrived, the stork served delicious stew.

"I made something special," she said kindly.

But the stork served the dinner in a tall narrow jar.

She easily put her beak inside and ate it all up happily.

However, for the Fox, the tall narrow jar was a problem.

He couldn't reach a single bite.

His snout was too short.

Now it was the storks turn to smile.

"Oh, dear," he said, sweetly, don't you like my cooking?" At that moment, the fox realised he had been tricked the same way he had tricked the stork.

As he thought about how it felt to be invited for a meal that he could not eat, he was really sorry for his behaviour.

He apologised to the stork and thanked her for teaching him to have empathy with others and be more thoughtful.

Before he left, he asked her to give him a jar so he could serve her food in the jar the next time she came for dinner.

Time for another check.

The fox made a better choice at the end of the story.

True or false? What do you think? True.

That's correct.

The fox learned from his mistake and chose to show more empathy and thoughtfulness.

That's the correct answer.

Well done.

Time for our task.

Retell the story of "The Fox and the Stork" in your own words by writing captions for the pictures.

Here are the three pictures from the story.

You can pause the video now and come back when you're ready with your captions.

Let's check your answers.

The first picture shows the fox invited the stork for dinner but the soup was in a flat dish.

The stork couldn't eat it and felt sad.

The next picture shows the stork invited the fox for dinner and served stew in a tall jar.

She could eat it but the fox couldn't.

And now the last picture from the story.

The fox learned about empathy.

He asked for a jar so he could be fair and kind to the stork next time.

Well done if you wrote your captions for the pictures.

Great work.

We now know the story of the fox and the stork.

Now let's go and find out how do humanists make good choices.

Let's join Sofia and Alex again who are thinking about the story.

"I liked listening to that story, Sofia.

I wonder what humanists think the deeper meaning is?" Alex asks.

so Sofia replies and says, "Let's talk to some humanists to find out.

I want to know how humanists decide how to make good choices.

What do they think about?" What is the deeper meaning of 'The Fox and the Stork' for you?" they ask Elijah.

Elijah replies and says that "the fox invited the stork to dinner, but he didn't think that the stork was a different sort of animal than him.

He should not have served the food in the shallow plate." I agree with Elijah.

Do you? What do you think the fox should have done? You can talk to the person sitting next to you and share your ideas now.

Well done.

Let's find out from Elijah.

He says, "The fox did not show empathy to the stork.

Empathy is imagining how other people feel.

He did not care about the stork's feeling or he would have served the food so that the stork could eat it as well." "How do you use empathy to make good choices, Elijah?" is what Alex and Sofia are asking.

Elijah replies and says, "When my mom and I get the bus into town, I give up my seat if there's another passenger who needs a seat more than me.

They might be pregnant or elderly.

I use empathy to imagine they might be tired and need a rest." Well done, Elijah.

Let's see if you got that.

Empathy is imagining how others feel or imagining how you feel or is it making choices without thinking about anyone? What do you think? That's correct.

Empathy is imagining how others feel.

That's the correct answer.

Great work.

Sofia and Alex now interview Diane.

Diane is a humanist.

Let's find out what they asked Diane.

"What is the deeper meaning of the fable for you, Diane?" they ask.

For Diane, this story tells her that she needs to think about consequences of her actions.

Have you heard the word consequences before? Let's find out.

Let's find out what Diane says.

She says, "The fox was selfish and did not show empathy to the stork.

The consequences were that when he went to dinner with the stork, he went hungry as well!" She continues and explains.

"Many humanists use something called the golden rule to make choices.

The golden rule is treat others the way you want to be treated.

Humanists follow this rule by using empathy; how will this choice make other people feel? Thinking about the consequences of our actions; how will the choice affect others?" Time for another check.

The golden rule says treat others as you would like to be helped or treated or ruled.

What do you think? That's correct.

Treat others as you would like to be treated is the right answer.

Great.

"How does the golden rule help you make choices?" they ask Diane.

Diane says that she thinks about the consequences of what she should do.

So when she goes for shopping, she makes sure that she brings her plastic waste to the supermarket.

The consequence of plastic getting into the sea is bad for wildlife, so she makes the effort to recycle them.

Great effort, Diane.

Sofia and Alex are discussing "The Fox and the Stork" story and what different humanists said about making good choices.

Alex says, "Has it made you think about your choices at all?" Sofia replies and says that it made her think about how things that works for her might not be good for someone else.

It is really easy to consider only ourselves in what we play or do at lunchtimes," she says.

She continues and says, "I think I need to consider others more and show empathy." What do you think about this? Why do you think that? It's our task time.

You have brought your favourite colouring pens to school.

Two children ask you to borrow them.

One is a friend of yours and one you do not know so well.

Think carefully.

You're worried they might lose or break one.

Can you explain what you might do? Can you use the words empathy and consequences to explain why you made that choice? You can pause the video now and come back when you're ready with your answer.

Let's check your answer.

You might have said, "I will let my friend borrow my pens because I trust them.

I will also let the other person borrow them because I don't want them to feel left out.

I would use empathy by imagining how I would feel if someone did not let me borrow their pens.

But I would ask them to be careful and give them back after.

I would think about the consequences of the pens being lost if I only let my friends use my pens.

Well done for using empathy and consequences in your answers.

Great work.

Here's our learning from today's lesson.

We've learned that humanists don't believe in God, but they believe everyone should be treated with respect and care.

Stories like "The Fox and the Stork" show that it's important to treat others the way you want to be treated.

Humanists call this idea the golden rule.

Humanists use empathy to understand people's feelings before making a decision.

Humanists try to think about the consequences of their actions.

Stories like "The Fox and the Stork" help us understand how important it is to care about others' feelings.

Whether you are a humanist or not, you can still use empathy and the golden rule every day to be best version of yourself.

Thank you for being such a kind and clever thinker today.

You've done a really good job and I'm really proud of you.

Give me a thumbs up if you've learned something new today and give your brain a wiggle because you used it so well.

We've come to the end of today's lesson and I'll see you in our next lesson.

Goodbye.