The School of Play Curriculum
Primary School Foundation - Grade Two
Week Six is designed to strengthen teamwork, emotional awareness, fitness, and gratitude through a combination of energetic games and creative reflection. Students begin with Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad, an activity that blends movement, competition, and cooperation as students form cheer trains and support one another. This social, high-energy start is balanced with Happy Thoughts Journal, where students pause to reflect on positive moments in their day, express their feelings through writing or drawing, and set intentions for future happiness. Together, these activities help students stay active while building emotional awareness and developing the skills to recognise and amplify positive experiences.
The week continues with Sports Adventure Story, a storytelling fitness activity that engages students’ imaginations as they act out movements connected to different sports scenarios, supporting coordination, fitness, and creativity. Week Six concludes with Gratitude Pictionary, where students express gratitude through drawings, connect through guessing each other’s pictures, and build empathy by reflecting on what others appreciate. Across all four activities, students strengthen their physical coordination, emotional reflection, and social connection, deepening their understanding of gratitude, teamwork, and the power of positive thinking.
Weekly Lessons
Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad
Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad turns the classic game into a lively, high-energy team activity where students move, cheer, and collaborate their way through a playful competition. Each quick Paper, Scissors, Rock battle creates a winner and a new cheer follower, slowly building fun “trains” that celebrate teamwork and encourage students to cheer loudly and proudly for one another. As trains grow, so does the excitement, helping students practise fair play, cooperation, and good sportsmanship in a vibrant, movement-based setting.
The game builds toward a joyful grand final, where the last two players face off with their full cheer squads behind them, creating an electric, community-building moment. Whether indoors or outdoors, the activity promotes connection, confidence, and physical engagement, making it a perfect warm-up, energiser, or team-building game. The emphasis is on laughter, encouragement, and shared celebration, leaving students feeling connected, included, and part of something fun.
Respectful Relationships
Cooperation, Teamwork & Social Connection
Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad supports students to:
- Work together in groups, forming cheer trains that grow with each round.
- Encourage and support peers, cheering loudly and proudly for their team leader.
- Build a sense of belonging, as every player becomes part of a group, no matter whether they win or lose.
Fair Play, Turn-Taking & Respectful Competition
Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad helps students to:
- Practise fair turn-taking, challenging and responding to others respectfully.
- Show good sportsmanship, celebrating wins kindly and accepting losses with positivity.
- Respect others’ choices and outcomes, understanding that games involve both winning and joining in.
Communication, Confidence & Positive Expression
Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad encourages students to:
- Communicate clearly, using simple verbal cues during challenges.
- Express enthusiasm and joy, cheering confidently for their teammates.
- Build confidence by participating in fast-paced interactions and group celebrations.
Emotional Literacy, Belonging & Encouragement
Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad helps students to:
- Understand positive emotions, recognising how cheering, being cheered for, and joining a group can boost happiness.
- Show empathy, supporting their leader and classmates during challenges.
- Feel valued, as every student becomes part of a cheer squad regardless of the round outcome.
Safety, Awareness & Inclusive Movement
Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad supports students to:
- Move safely, being aware of space and others while forming trains.
- Include everyone, ensuring each player has a role in the game and feels part of the group.
- Respect personal space and bodies, holding shoulders gently and navigating the room with care.
Resilience, Persistence & Positive Mindset
Paper Scissors Rock Cheer Squad encourages students to:
- Bounce back quickly, understanding that losing simply means joining a fun team, not missing out.
- Celebrate effort, recognising that cheering and participating matters more than winning.
- Persist playfully, continuing to engage with energy and enthusiasm until the grand final.
Happy Thoughts Journal
Happy Thoughts Journal invites students to pause, notice, and celebrate the positive moments in their day. By writing or drawing about something that made them feel good, they practise recognising joy in simple experiences and develop the habit of tuning into what lifts their mood. The activity encourages creative expression and emotional reflection, helping students understand why certain moments felt meaningful and how positive experiences influence their overall well-being.
Students also look ahead by setting an intention for a happy moment they’d like to experience tomorrow, building optimism and a forward-focused mindset. Whether completed individually, in small groups, or as a whole class, the journal creates a gentle space for sharing, connection, and gratitude. The emphasis is not on competition but on cultivating awareness, positivity, and the ability to find happiness in everyday life.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy, Positive Thinking & Self-Awareness
Happy Thoughts Journal supports students to:
- Identify and name positive emotions, recognising what happiness feels like and where it comes from.
- Reflect on daily experiences, noticing moments that made them smile, laugh, or feel good.
- Build emotional awareness, understanding how thinking about happy moments can improve their mood and well-being.
Communication, Expression & Sharing Feelings
Happy Thoughts Journal helps students to:
- Express their feelings clearly, using drawing, writing, or simple words to communicate happy experiences.
- Share positive stories with others, strengthening confidence and practising respectful listening when classmates share theirs.
- Use creative expression to communicate emotions in ways that feel meaningful and accessible.
Empathy, Appreciation & Social Connection
Happy Thoughts Journal encourages students to:
- Recognise that others have happy moments too, learning to celebrate their peers’ positive experiences.
- Develop empathy by understanding what brings joy to their classmates.
- Build a supportive classroom atmosphere, where focusing on positive experiences strengthens social bonds and belonging.
Self-Regulation, Optimism & Well-Being
Happy Thoughts Journal supports students to:
- Shift attention to positive events, helping them regulate emotions and build resilience after challenging moments.
- Practise mindfulness, pausing to notice what brings joy into their lives.
- Develop optimism, learning to plan or hope for positive experiences in the future.
Respect, Inclusion & Safe Expression
Happy Thoughts Journal helps students to:
- Express feelings in a safe, calm environment, knowing their happy moments are valued.
- Respect others’ experiences, listening without judgment as peers share their journals.
- Feel included, as every child’s happy moment, big or small, is equally meaningful and celebrated.
Confidence, Reflection & Growth
Happy Thoughts Journal encourages students to:
- Feel proud of their positive choices and experiences, strengthening self-esteem.
- Reflect on how actions can shape feelings, understanding that they can choose behaviours that make their days happier.
- Grow their emotional toolkit, learning simple habits that support lifelong well-being.
Sports Adventure Story
Sports Adventure Story takes students on an exciting, fast-paced journey through famous sporting moments, inviting them to jump into the shoes of world-class athletes as they move their bodies through each challenge. From planking in a Jamaican bobsled to bounding like a speed skater with Steven Bradbury, every moment blends storytelling with purposeful physical activity. Students follow the narrative closely, using their imagination to become part of each scene while practising strength, balance, coordination, and endurance through fun, accessible exercises.
The adventure continues across mountains, oceans, racetracks, and arenas as students climb Everest, ride in the Tour de France, surf giant waves, box like Muhammad Ali, and sprint with Usain Bolt, all through playful movement. The focus isn’t on winning but on joyful participation, creativity, and staying active while immersing themselves in a global sports experience. Whether used in a classroom, gym, or outdoor setting, this movement story is an engaging way to build fitness, ignite imagination, and bring the magic of sport to life.
Respectful Relationships
Communication, Listening & Following Instructions
Sports Adventure Story supports students to:
- Listen carefully to a narrated sequence, responding to movement cues as the adventure unfolds.
- Follow multi-step instructions, improving attention, comprehension, and ability to act on verbal directions.
- Stay engaged within a shared story, strengthening their ability to participate in whole-group activities.
Cooperation, Social Connection & Team Spirit
Sports Adventure Story helps students to:
- Participate alongside their classmates, moving together through each scene of the adventure.
- Encourage one another, especially during more challenging exercises like squats, jabs, or plank holds.
- Build a sense of belonging, as every child takes part in the same journey, regardless of fitness level or ability.
Respect, Safety & Inclusion
Sports Adventure Story supports students to:
- Move safely in shared spaces, being aware of themselves and others during jumps, lunges, runs, and stretches.
- Include all learners, as movements can be simplified or adapted to suit different needs.
- Respect personal limits, learning that it’s okay to rest or adjust movements when needed.
Emotional Literacy, Imagination & Creativity
Sports Adventure Story encourages students to:
- Connect feelings with movement, noticing when they feel excited, proud, determined, or imaginative.
- Pretend to be sporting heroes, using creativity to visualise themselves in iconic sporting moments.
- Build confidence, engaging in playful, expressive physical storytelling.
Self-Regulation, Focus & Well-Being
Sports Adventure Story helps students to:
- Switch between high-energy and controlled movements, developing emotional and physical regulation.
- Stay focused across the full story, practising sustained attention and following along as scenes change quickly.
- Experience joy through movement, supporting overall mental well-being and daily physical activity habits.
Resilience, Effort & Growth Mindset
Sports Adventure Story encourages students to:
- Keep trying, even when movements get challenging (e.g., planks, squat jumps, or high knees).
- Celebrate effort, recognising that participation matters more than being “the best.”
- Experience success through perseverance, learning that fitness activities become easier with practice and patience.
Gratitude Pictionary
Gratitude Pictionary invites students to express what they’re thankful for through simple, creative drawings, turning gratitude into a playful, visual activity. Each child sketches something meaningful, like a favourite pet, place, or special moment, using only images, which helps them communicate their feelings in a non-verbal, accessible way. The guessing element adds excitement and curiosity, as peers try to interpret each drawing and uncover the gratitude behind it, building empathy and strengthening social connections.
Once the drawings are revealed, shared, and explained, the group creates a collective Gratitude Wall, a colourful display of the positive moments, people, and experiences that matter to them. This shared visual anchors the activity in community and appreciation, helping students recognise that gratitude comes in many forms. The game encourages thoughtful reflection, joyful expression, and warm connection, making gratitude feel both fun and deeply meaningful.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy, Gratitude & Positive Awareness
Gratitude Pictionary supports students to:
- Recognise and reflect on positive elements in their lives, identifying people, places, and things they feel thankful for.
- Build emotional vocabulary, connecting their drawings to feelings of happiness, love, comfort, and appreciation.
- Develop gratitude habits, learning to notice and celebrate the small joys that support their well-being.
Communication, Expression & Sharing Feelings Safely
Gratitude Pictionary helps students to:
- Express emotions through drawing, providing a non-verbal, low-pressure way for young learners to communicate feelings.
- Share personal gratitude stories, building confidence in speaking about things that matter to them.
- Listen respectfully to others, practising patience, curiosity, and kindness as classmates explain their drawings.
Empathy, Understanding Others & Building Connection
Gratitude Pictionary encourages students to:
- Interpret peers’ drawings, thinking carefully about what others value and why.
- Build empathy by appreciating the diverse experiences, relationships, and joys that are important to others.
- Strengthen classroom belonging, as the shared “Gratitude Wall” highlights what connects them as a group.
Cooperation, Turn-Taking & Respectful Participation
Gratitude Pictionary supports students to:
- Take turns fairly, allowing every player the chance to draw, guess, and share.
- Engage cooperatively, celebrating guesses and appreciating each person’s artwork.
- Create a positive team atmosphere, where students support one another and enjoy the activity together.
Respect, Inclusion & Emotional Safety
Gratitude Pictionary helps students to:
- Share gratitude in a safe, inclusive environment, knowing that all drawings are valued equally.
- Respect the feelings behind each drawing, understanding that everyone is grateful for different things.
- Feel seen and accepted, as their drawings become part of a public display that honours their experiences.
Well-Being, Optimism & Self-Reflection
Gratitude Pictionary encourages students to:
- Focus on the good, supporting calmness, positivity, and emotional well-being.
- Reflect on how gratitude makes them feel, strengthening their understanding of how positive thinking impacts mood.
- Develop a hopeful mindset, noticing things to appreciate today and into the future.
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