Lesson video

Hello, my name's Miss Willow and I'm going to be your teacher for today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called, "Feeling Like We Belong" and it fits into the unit, "Communities.

How can we show respect to people of different races and cultures?" During this lesson, we are going to be talking about discrimination.

So for this lesson, we recommend you have an adult with you.

If at any point you do feel worried or uncomfortable, it's really important that you stop the video and that you speak to a trusted adult.

Okay, let's make a start on today's lesson.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain why it's important to feel like we belong.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules.

These help to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable during today's lesson.

First of all, Laura says that we need to listen to others.

So this means that if someone else is speaking, we're not going to interrupt them.

Andeep says that we need to respect each other's privacy, and this means that we're not going to ask anyone any personal questions, as this can make some people feel uncomfortable.

Next, Jacob reminds us that we need to not have any judgment, and this means that if someone chooses to share a story, feeling or experience, we're not going to judge them for it.

And finally, Izzy says that we can choose our level of participation in this lesson, and this means that it's up to us how much we want to join in.

We're now going to take a look at the keywords for today's lesson.

These are gonna pop up quite a few times in today's lesson, so it's important that we feel confident in knowing what these words mean.

Our first keyword is belong, and in this context, this means to feel welcomed and accepted in a group or a place.

Next, we have community.

This is a group of people who live, work or spend time in the same place.

Next, we have connection and this means to feel a positive link with another person.

And finally, we have discrimination.

This means treating a person unfairly because of their characteristics.

As we go through today's lesson, keep an eye out for these keywords and when you spot them, see if you can remember what they mean.

Today's lesson is split into two learning cycles.

Our first learning cycle is called, "Why Is Belonging Important?" And our second learning cycle is called, "What Do We Need To Belong?" Let's make a start on our first learning cycle.

Why is belonging important? We can feel like we belong to different groups.

In these groups, we may feel like we fit in, that we're welcome and that these groups help to form part of our identity.

So these groups could be our school, where we live or it could be related to an interest.

Maybe you want to have a think about the different groups that you belong to.

Different people feel a sense of belonging in different places, and that's completely okay.

Izzy says, "I feel like I belong in lots of different places.

I feel like I belong in my family, at my dance classes, in my friendship group and in my neighborhood." Andeep says, "The places where I feel like I belong are a bit different to Izzy's.

I feel like I belong at my football club, in my faith community and at school." Feeling like we belong is really important.

Miss Walsh tells us that humans need to feel like we belong in order to feel happy.

It can feel really difficult if we feel like we don't belong somewhere.

There are lots of different places where we can feel like we belong, but everyone should feel welcome in their community.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Can you fill in the blanks with the missing words? There are lots of different places where we can feel like we belong, but blank should feel welcome in their blank.

Where I've said the word blank, can you decide which word is missing? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that the missing words were everyone and community.

So our completed sentence should now be, there are lots of different places where we can feel like we belong, but everyone should feel welcome in their community.

Well done if you got this right.

When we feel like we belong, we can feel more confident, have positive relationships with others, feel happy and content, know who to seek support from, feel hopeful about the future and feel inspired to make a change.

Dr.

Elsie says that feeling like we belong is also important for our mental health and our wellbeing.

When we feel connected to others and we feel like we belong somewhere, we're more likely to feel good about ourselves and to cope well with any challenges that we experience.

Josephine is a charity helpline worker and she says that if you're feeling like you don't belong somewhere, it's important to know that these feelings can change.

You can talk to a trusted adult about how you're feeling, and remember that this could be a teacher, another school staff member, our trusted adults at home, for example, a parent or carer or it could be anyone that's over the age of 18 that we know offline and that helps us to feel safe.

Remember that there are always people and places where you can belong, even if you haven't found them yet.

Let's do another check for understanding to see how you're doing.

I'd like you to complete this sentence.

When we feel like we belong, we can A, feel unsafe and regularly upset, B, feel more happy and confident, C, have positive relationships with others or finally, D, have unhealthy relationships with others? Which ends of these sentences fit with our statement? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that B and C are correct.

When we feel like we belong, we can feel more happy and more confident and we can have positive relationships with others.

Well done if you got this right.

We need connection to other people to feel like we belong.

We feel a connection with others when we identify our similarities and when we feel welcomed by others.

Aisha says, "Hi, are you in this class too? I'm Aisha." Alex says, "Hi, Aisha, I'm Alex.

Yes, I'm in this class too.

Thanks for making me feel welcome." Aisha's identified a similarity between herself and Alex.

She's noticed that they're both in the same class, so she's helped to make Alex feel welcome by talking to him and introducing herself.

Well done, Aisha.

Connection with others can look different for different people.

It can mean having positive conversations with others, spending time with others and doing things together too.

Connection with others helps us to feel like we belong.

When we feel like we belong, we can feel safe, happy and supported.

Miss Walsh tells us that communities can be made up of lots of different people with different backgrounds and different characteristics too, but everyone can have a connection to the community and to each other as well.

This helps to create a safe and happy community, which everyone deserves.

Let's do another check for understanding and this time I'd like you to decide if this statement is true or false.

People with different backgrounds and characteristics can't have a connection with each other.

What do you think, is this true or false? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is false, but why? You might have said that anyone can have a connection with each other and this can help people to feel like they belong.

Communities can be made up of lots of different people who are all connected to the community and each other too.

Well done if you said this or something similar.

It's now time to move on to our first practice task and you can put all of your learning so far into practice.

For the first part of this task, I'd like you to look at this scenario.

Izzy feels like she belongs in her communities.

How might she be feeling and what might she be experiencing? Pause the video and we'll go through a model answer in a few minutes.

Okay, let's have a look and see what you might have said.

You might have said that Izzy might feel connected to her different communities.

She might feel happy and confident.

She might feel hopeful and inspired.

She might feel like she has positive relationships with others and she might also know who to get support from.

Well done if you had any of these ideas.

For the second part of this task, I'd like you to look at this scenario.

Tom has recently moved to a new area and he doesn't feel like he belongs in his community yet.

How might he be feeling and what might he be experiencing? Pause the video and we'll go through a model answer in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

You might have said that Tom might be feeling lonely or isolated if he doesn't feel connected to his community yet.

He might feel less confident.

He might feel unsure about who to talk to or how to ask for help.

He might feel worried about fitting in and he might feel like he doesn't have positive relationships yet.

It's important to remember that if someone doesn't feel like they belong yet, this can change.

Communities should work to make everyone feel welcome and talking to a trusted adult can help.

Well done if your answers were anything like this.

We're now moving on to our second learning cycle, what do we need to belong? To feel like we belong, we need to build our connections with others.

So to do this, people have to see the real us.

Laura says, "When I meet people for the first time, I'm honest about my interests, my opinions and how I feel.

This helps me to build connections with people who like me for who I really am." Andeep says, "My religion is important to me, so I'm open about it with the people around me.

This means that the connections I make with people are genuine and I'm only friends with people that celebrate and support me for who I am." Lucas says, "I use a powered wheelchair and I'm proud of who I am.

When I'm open about my experiences and the adaptations that I need, I can build real friendships and connections with people who both include me and understand me." To feel like we belong, we need to feel safe to express ourselves and our true identity.

This means that we feel like our identity and our characteristics will be welcomed into the community and we won't be treated unfairly.

Harry says, "I feel safe to express myself when my community celebrated with a pride event." Let's do another check for understanding to see how you're doing with this learning cycle.

I'd like you to decide what two things do we need to feel like we belong? Can you remember? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that in order to feel like we belong, we need to feel safe and we need to have genuine connections with others.

Well done if you got this right.

I'd like you to have a think about what this person says.

"Only people whose family have lived in Britain for a long time belong in this country." What do you think about what this person says? Do you agree, disagree? Maybe you're somewhere in the middle or maybe you're not sure? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that you disagree with what this person says, this person is not correct.

This idea is what we call xenophobic and this means that it's prejudiced against people that we see as different to us, for example, people from a different country.

It's never okay to be xenophobic as this is a form of discrimination.

We all have the right to feel like we belong.

It's important that communities make everyone feel welcome and feel safe too and encourage connections between people as well.

If certain groups of people are excluded or they're made to feel unwelcome because of their characteristics, this is discrimination.

Discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly because of their characteristics, so for example, because of their age, their ethnicity or their gender.

It's important that we make everyone feel like they belong in our communities, regardless of their heritage.

Their heritage is their family background and culture or their nationality and someone's nationality is the country that someone is from.

David is a youth worker and he says that when everyone feels like they belong in their community, individuals and communities themselves thrive.

People feel safer, more confident and they can be their real selves.

Let's do another check for understanding to see how you're doing.

For this task, I'd like you to decide who is correct.

Lucas says that we should help people to feel like they belong once they've lived in our community for a long time, but Aisha says that communities should make everyone feel welcome and safe, regardless of how long they've lived in the community.

Who do you think is correct, Lucas or Aisha? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Aisha is correct.

It's true that communities should make everyone feel welcome and safe, regardless of how long people have lived in the community for.

Well done if you said the same thing.

We can help other people to feel like they belong.

We can be respectfully curious about each other's differences by asking questions and we can welcome diversity into our community.

Sam says, "I like getting to know different people in my class and at school.

I enjoy learning about different cultures and I think that diversity makes a community richer and more interesting." We can be respectful of each other's different needs and characteristics to help the people around us feel like they belong.

Jun says, "My friend celebrates different cultural and religious holidays to me.

I respect that there are some days where she is observing these holidays and I celebrate with her when I can." This is an example of how we can be respectful to different people's needs and their characteristics, and doing this will help the people around us to feel like they belong.

We can also challenge discrimination and prejudice when we see them if it feels safe to do so.

If we see or experience any discrimination, we should always tell a trusted adult who can help.

This is an important part of making our communities a safe place to be as unfortunately, there are some people who discriminate against others or think in a way that is prejudiced.

This means that they can make some communities feel less welcoming or less safe to different groups of people.

Laura says, "When one of my friends experienced racism at school, I supported my friend by going with them to tell a trusted adult straight away.

I also told the person who was racist that what they said was not okay." Laura felt safe to challenge the discrimination that she saw, and this is a really good thing.

She told a trusted adult straight away and she also told the person that was being racist that what they said wasn't okay.

This is a really great thing to do to help challenge discrimination, but it's really important that we only do this if it feels safe to do so, but we should always tell a trusted adult if we see or know about some discrimination that's happened.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

I'd like you to finish this sentence.

We can help people to feel that they belong by A, ignoring discrimination, B, being curious about each other's differences, C, mocking someone's characteristics or D, being respectful to others.

Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that B and D are correct.

We can help people to feel that they belong by being curious about each other's differences, for example, by asking respectful questions and we can be respectful to others.

Well done if you got this right.

If we were to ignore discrimination or mock someone's characteristics, this would not help people to feel like they belong.

They might feel upset or unsafe and unwelcome in our community, so it's really important that instead we're curious about each other's differences and that we're respectful to others too.

Well done if you said something similar.

Remember that small acts of kindness can also make a big difference in helping someone to feel like they belong.

Jacob wants to share his story.

Jacob says, "I noticed that someone in my class always sat alone at lunchtime and that they seemed sad.

I wanted to help them feel like they belong, so I invited them to sit with me and my friends.

We talked and find out that we both love drawing.

Now we sit together at lunch and sometimes we draw together at break time too.

I'm glad I connected with them, because now they seem much happier and I've made a new friend too." Let's do another check for understanding and this time I'd like you to answer the question, what did Jacob do to help someone feel like they belong? Can you remember? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

You might have said that Jacob invited them to sit with him and his friends, talked to them to find common interests and a connection and included them in activities.

This helped this person feel like they belong.

So well done, Jacob and well done if you remembered this.

It's now time to move on to our final practice task and well done for your hard work in today's lesson.

Let's take a look at this scenario.

Alex has a new person joining his class.

Can you think of two ways that he can make them feel like they belong in his class community? Pause the video and we'll go through a model answer in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

You might have said that Alex can make the new person in his class feel like they belong in both his class and community by making them feel welcome, for example, by identifying any similarities with them and building a connection with them.

He can include them in games or at lunch and break times.

He can be curious about their differences, for example, by asking respectful questions.

He can be respectful towards them and he can challenge any discrimination towards the new person if they experience it by telling a trusted adult straight away.

He may also call out the discrimination when he sees it, but only if he feels safe to do so.

It's important that with any discrimination, we always tell a trusted adult, even if we don't feel safe to challenge the discrimination ourselves.

Well done if you have some of these ideas or if you had something similar.

It's now time to summarize our key learning from today's lesson.

In today's lesson, we've learned that as humans, we need to feel like we belong in our communities to be happy.

We've learned that connection with other people helps us to feel like we belong.

We've learned that we can build connections with others by being our real selves.

We've learned that everyone has the right to feel like they belong, regardless of how long that they've been in the community for and finally, we've learned that we can help other people to feel like they belong by being respectful, being curious about each other's differences and by safely challenging discrimination.

In today's lesson, you might have found that you've got some worries or questions and if you do, it's really important that you share this with a trusted adult.

There's also a resource on the screen that's there to help you too.

Well done for your hard work today.

I hope to see you again soon.