The School of Play Curriculum
Primary School Grade 3 & 4
Week Fifteen invites students into a powerful blend of teamwork, gratitude, creativity, and fitness. Through a mix of non-verbal communication challenges, reflective gratitude activities, and fun movement-based games, students strengthen their ability to collaborate and connect while celebrating positive personal experiences. The activities this week, such as The Coin Year, Proud Star Wall, Dice Golf, and Mastermind Gratitude, encourage students to think creatively, rely on one another, and recognise the strengths and achievements that make each person unique. Together, these games help build a supportive and uplifting classroom environment where students feel seen, valued, and encouraged to participate fully.
Alongside emotional and social development, Week Fifteen integrates physical activity and friendly competition to maintain high engagement. Dice Golf offers an energising combination of exercise and prediction skills, while The Coin Year challenges students to communicate without speaking and work together efficiently under time pressure. Proud Star Wall and Mastermind Gratitude provide meaningful moments of reflection, allowing students to express pride, gratitude, and appreciation for both themselves and their classmates. Altogether, Week Fifteen supports students in developing strong communication skills, emotional awareness, and physical fitness, reinforcing the importance of teamwork, kindness, and a positive mindset.
Weekly Lessons
The Coin Year
The Coin Year is a fast-paced, non-verbal teamwork challenge where players must organise themselves in chronological order based on the year printed on their coin, without saying a single word. Using only gestures, body language, and creative communication, participants race against the clock to assemble the correct order within one minute. The activity encourages problem-solving, visual communication, and collective focus, all while adding a fun historical twist as players compare the years on their coins.
The game strengthens teamwork and connection as players rely on each other to complete the challenge without speaking. It promotes trust, collaboration, and quick decision-making, while giving students an opportunity to reflect afterward on the strategies they used and how communication extends beyond words. The Coin Year is simple, energetic, and highly engaging, perfect as a warm-up, icebreaker, or team-building activity for any group.
Download a PDF of different coins to use HERE.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
The Coin Year supports students to:
- Practise active listening by closely observing their peers’ gestures, movement cues, and positioning since no verbal communication is allowed. Students must watch carefully to understand what others are communicating through body language.
- Express themselves respectfully through clear, calm, and purposeful non-verbal communication such as pointing, hand signals, or body positioning while following the rule of not speaking.
- Understand different viewpoints by recognising that everyone may interpret the timeline differently and adjusting their actions with patience and empathy to support group success.
Cooperation and Social Skills
The Coin Year helps students to:
- Work as a team by collaborating to arrange themselves in chronological order, solving the challenge through silent teamwork and shared problem-solving.
- Show fairness and kindness by allowing others space to move, helping peers find their correct place, and restarting without frustration if someone accidentally speaks.
- Show appreciation by acknowledging each other’s creative strategies, gestures, and efforts with smiles, thumbs up, or positive body language.
Safety and Acceptance
The Coin Year encourages students to:
- Ensure others feel safe by moving with care, respecting personal space, and maintaining controlled body movements during the fast-paced one-minute challenge.
- Accept others as they are by recognising that everyone has different comfort levels with non-verbal communication and supporting those who may feel unsure or confused.
- Promote equality as every student has an equally important role, each coin, each timeline position, and each person contributes to completing the challenge successfully.
Proud Star Wall
Proud Star Wall is a reflective, uplifting activity where students identify something they are proud of and display it on a shared wall of star-shaped notes. Whether it’s a personal achievement, a moment of kindness, a skill they’ve improved, or a quality they appreciate in themselves, each student chooses a proud moment to write or draw on their star. The process encourages self-reflection, confidence-building, and positive thinking as students recognise and celebrate their strengths. When displayed together, these stars create a powerful visual reminder of the collective achievements and growth within the group.
The activity also promotes connection, empathy, and community-building as students share their stars with one another. By listening to peers explain why they chose their proud moments, students learn to celebrate others’ successes and appreciate the diverse strengths within the group. The Proud Star Wall becomes an ongoing symbol of encouragement and belonging, offering students a space to revisit their accomplishments and continue adding new stars as they grow. It is simple, meaningful, and perfect for cultivating a positive, strengths-based environment.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Proud Star Wall supports students to:
- Practise active listening by paying close attention to classmates’ proud moments, showing interest through body language, and acknowledging what others share.
- Express themselves respectfully by clearly and confidently communicating why they are proud of their achievements in a positive and uplifting way.
- Understand different viewpoints by hearing a wide range of accomplishments and recognising that everyone values different strengths, experiences, and personal successes.
Cooperation and Social Skills
Proud Star Wall helps students to:
- Work as a team by contributing to a shared display that celebrates the whole group’s strengths, creating a positive community environment.
- Show fairness and kindness as they respond to others’ stars with encouragement, supportive comments, or non-verbal appreciation.
- Show appreciation by recognising and valuing the achievements of peers, acknowledging effort, improvement, and personal growth.
Safety and Acceptance
Proud Star Wall encourages students to:
- Ensure others feel safe by responding to shared moments respectfully, creating a safe emotional environment where everyone feels comfortable expressing pride.
- Accept others as they are by appreciating diverse achievements, from small acts of kindness to major milestones, and celebrating all contributions equally.
- Promote equality as every student has an equal opportunity to add their star, share their story, and have their achievements recognised on the wall.
Dice Golf
Dice Golf is a fun, fast-paced blend of simple maths, prediction, and physical movement. Players choose a number they think they will roll, then use two dice to determine their “stroke” score for each hole. A perfect prediction earns a zero, but if the guess is off, players calculate the difference between their prediction and the roll to get their score. This simple scoring system helps students practise subtraction, probability thinking, and number comparison while staying fully engaged in a playful challenge.
After completing each hole, players match their score with a fitness task, one exercise rep for every stroke earned, turning the game into an energetic workout as well as a mathematical one. With nine or eighteen holes to complete, the goal is to finish with the lowest total score while celebrating effort, accuracy, and resilience. Dice Golf is easy to run with individuals, pairs, or teams, and it promotes quick thinking, movement, and friendly competition, making it a fantastic warm-up, maths integration activity, or classroom energiser.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Dice Golf supports students to:
- Practise active listening by tuning in when teammates announce their guesses, share scores, and explain how they calculated the difference between their prediction and the dice roll.
- Express themselves respectfully through clear communication of their guess, score, and chosen exercises while encouraging others during their turn.
- Understand different viewpoints by recognising how others make predictions, approach strategy, and cope with mistakes or unexpected outcomes.
Cooperation and Social Skills
Dice Golf helps students to:
- Work as a team when playing in pairs or groups by supporting each other's guesses, checking calculations, and completing exercises together.
- Show fairness and kindness by celebrating correct guesses, accepting incorrect ones calmly, and respecting the rules and turn order.
- Show appreciation by acknowledging effort, cheering peers on during exercise rounds, and recognising improvement in predictions or fitness.
Safety and Acceptance
Dice Golf encourages students to:
- Ensure others feel safe by creating a supportive environment where predictions, mistakes, and exercise outcomes are handled positively and respectfully.
- Accept others as they are by recognising that everyone has different math abilities, fitness levels, and prediction strategies, and valuing effort over accuracy.
- Promote equality as every player has an equal chance to predict, roll, calculate, and participate, with the game offering accessible entry points for all abilities.
Mastermind Gratitude
Mastermind Gratitude is a playful, team-based challenge inspired by the classic game Mastermind, where players work together to crack the hidden “Gratitude Code.” One player (the Creator) secretly arranges four coloured markers under cones, and the remaining players (the Code Crackers) must work as a team to guess the correct sequence. Each guess provides feedback, right colour in the right place, right colour in the wrong place, or not part of the code at all, helping teams refine their choices through strategy, communication, and trial and error. Along the way, reflective gratitude questions and physical challenges are sprinkled in to deepen connection and keep the game energetic, fun, and engaging.
The game beautifully blends teamwork, problem-solving, movement, and gratitude reflection. Players must communicate clearly, support each other, stay mindful, and use feedback to adjust their strategy round-by-round. The goal is to crack the code as quickly and accurately as possible, turning all four cones upside down to reveal a perfect match. Mastermind Gratitude strengthens teamwork, boosts emotional awareness, and inspires positive thinking, all through a playful and fast-paced challenge that leaves everyone smiling and connected.
Download the questions, markers and Mastermind codes HERE.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Mastermind Gratitude supports students to:
- Practise active listening as Code Crackers tune in to the Creator’s feedback (cone positions) and to each other’s gratitude reflections, listening carefully before making their next move.
- Express themselves respectfully by sharing gratitude answers with clarity, kindness, and confidence while offering positive encouragement to teammates.
- Understand different viewpoints by hearing what others are grateful for, recognising diverse experiences, and responding with empathy during team discussions.
Cooperation and Social Skills
Mastermind Gratitude helps students to:
- Work as a team by collaborating to interpret clues, share ideas, and adjust strategy together to unlock the Gratitude Code.
- Show fairness and kindness by supporting peers during incorrect guesses, celebrating progress, and taking turns in a respectful, calm manner.
- Show appreciation by acknowledging thoughtful gratitude answers, praising teammates’ efforts, and recognising creative problem-solving.
Safety and Acceptance
Mastermind Gratitude encourages students to:
- Ensure others feel safe by creating a supportive environment where everyone can share gratitude reflections without judgment and move safely during the physical tasks.
- Accept others as they are by embracing different gratitude responses, recognising that everyone values different things, and respecting all contributions equally.
- Promote equality through a game structure where every player has an equal role, guessing, reflecting, contributing, and collaborating regardless of fitness level, speed, or confidence.
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