The School of Play Curriculum
Primary School Grade 3 & 4
This week blends high-energy movement, meaningful reflection, and teamwork to help students grow physically, emotionally, and socially. Through activities like Big Body Snap, students sharpen coordination, reaction time, and communication skills while enjoying fast-paced fun with their peers. Reflective tasks such as My Strengths and Challenges give students the space to explore who they are, recognise their strengths, and acknowledge areas for growth, strengthening their confidence and emotional awareness. The week encourages students to stay focused, move with purpose, and understand themselves more deeply.
Students also build empathy, collaboration, and community connection through group-based activities. Magical 21 merges physical fitness with cognitive challenge, promoting decision-making, resilience, and positive sportsmanship. The ongoing Gratitude Lock-Up practice helps students cultivate appreciation and emotional well-being by capturing weekly moments of joy and gratitude. Together, these activities foster a positive classroom culture where students feel connected, reflective, and ready to bring out the best in themselves and others.
Weekly Lessons
Big Body Snap
Big Body Snap is a fast-paced movement game that blends coordination, teamwork, and sharp reactions into one lively burst of fun. Students jump together in pairs, landing in different foot positions while trying to match their partner at just the right moment. The thrill comes from timing, focus, and the race to shout “snap!” before the other person notices the match. With every jump, students practise body control, balance, and quick decision-making, all wrapped inside a joyful rhythm of movement and laughter.
The game also strengthens communication and teamwork, as pairs must stay connected, coordinated, and fully attentive to each other’s movements. Whether students are landing in a wide stance, balancing on one foot, or hopping into clever variations, they learn how focus and cooperation can turn physical challenge into playful success. Big Body Snap is energetic, inclusive, and endlessly replayable, perfect for setting a positive tone, boosting engagement, and building physical and social confidence in any classroom or outdoor environment.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Big Body Snap supports students to:
- Practise active listening by focusing on their partner’s cues, body movements, and timing. Students must listen to the synchronised “jump” and anticipate the landing.
- Express themselves respectfully through clear verbal communication (“jump”) and positive encouragement throughout the game.
- Understand different viewpoints by recognising how their partner moves, reacts, and responds under pressure, building empathy for different coordination and communication styles.
Cooperation and Social Skills
Big Body Snap helps students to:
- Work as a team by coordinating jumps, matching timing, and communicating effectively to stay in sync.
- Show fairness and kindness by celebrating wins respectfully, handling losses positively, and switching partners without conflict.
- Show appreciation by acknowledging when their partner communicates well, reacts quickly, or helps clarify positions or rules.
Safety and Acceptance
Big Body Snap encourages students to:
- Ensure others feel safe by following rules, respecting personal space, and moving with control during high-energy jumps.
- Accept others as they are by understanding that everyone has different coordination abilities and learning speeds, celebrating effort over skill.
- Promote equality as all students participate equally, regardless of physical strength, speed, or ability, every partner pairing offers the same opportunity to succeed.
My Strengths and Challenges
My Strengths and Challenges invites students to explore who they are with honesty, courage, and pride. Through gentle reflection, students identify a personal strength they already possess, something they do well, feel proud of, or naturally bring to others. They also name a challenge they are currently working on, helping them recognise that everyone has areas they find difficult. This balanced approach strengthens self-awareness and normalises personal growth as a natural and important part of learning.
Students then consider how their strengths can help them overcome their challenges, encouraging them to see themselves as capable problem-solvers with tools already in their toolbox. This activity builds resilience, growth mindset, and emotional intelligence by showing students that their strengths are not just qualities; they are resources they can rely on. Whether shared with others or kept private, the reflection helps students understand that celebrating strengths and acknowledging challenges helps them grow into more confident, capable, and self-aware individuals.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
The activity supports students to:
- Practise active listening when sharing strengths and challenges with a partner or class, listening carefully and respectfully to others’ reflections.
- Express feelings respectfully by communicating their strengths, challenges, and reflections in calm, clear, and thoughtful ways.
- Understand different viewpoints by hearing peers describe their personal challenges or strengths, helping students recognise diverse experiences and perspectives.
Cooperation and Social Skills
The activity helps students to:
- Collaborate respectfully when sharing reflections in pairs or groups, taking turns and supporting one another.
- Show kindness and fairness by responding positively to others’ strengths and challenges without judgement.
- Show appreciation by acknowledging peers’ honesty, perseverance, or personal growth when they share.
Safety and Acceptance
The activity encourages students to:
- Feel safe by participating in a supportive environment where personal reflections are respected and handled with care.
- Accept others by recognising that everyone has strengths and everyone has challenges, this normalises mistakes and growth.
- Promote equality by ensuring all voices are valued equally, whether students feel confident sharing or prefer quieter reflection.
Magical 21
Magical 21 is a fast-paced, high-energy dice game that blends friendly competition with fitness, fun, and strategic thinking. Students take turns rolling dice, adding their totals, and making decisions about whether to roll again or “stay.” With every roll, they balance risk and reward, aiming to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. The game encourages quick mental math, sharp focus, and smart strategy while keeping the tone fun, positive, and supportive. No matter the outcome, players practise good sportsmanship, celebrate each other’s decisions, and enjoy the thrill of the chase towards the magical target number.
What makes Magical 21 truly engaging is its combination of movement and mindset. After each round, both the winner and the loser complete a short fitness challenge, planks, squats, push-ups, or star jumps, keeping the group active, energised, and laughing together. Students learn to react under pressure, make confident decisions, and manage the excitement of competition. Through repeated play, they build resilience, enthusiasm, number fluency, and teamwork. Magical 21 transforms the classroom into a dynamic space where strategic thinking, physical activity, and playful learning come together in a way that strengthens both body and mind.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Magical 21 supports students to:
- Use active listening when keeping track of others’ scores, understanding the rules, and paying attention to peers during their turns.
- Express themselves respectfully by encouraging peers, celebrating successes appropriately, and handling wins or losses calmly.
- Understand different viewpoints by recognising that peers may take different risks, strategies, or approaches when deciding whether to roll again.
Cooperation and Social Skills
Magical 21 helps students to:
- Demonstrate teamwork when playing in pairs or teams, helping each other calculate scores, strategise, and complete fitness challenges.
- Show fairness and kindness by respecting the rules, taking turns, playing honestly, and showing good sportsmanship whether they win or lose.
- Show appreciation by acknowledging others’ effort, celebrating good thinking, and supporting peers through the physical challenges after each round.
Safety and Acceptance
Magical 21 encourages students to:
- Help others feel safe during competitive play by maintaining a positive attitude and ensuring no one feels pressured, embarrassed, or excluded.
- Accept others’ differences by understanding that each student has different maths abilities, confidence levels, and comfort with risk-taking.
- Promote equality as all students participate under the same rules and expectations, with every player having equal opportunity to succeed regardless of ability.
Gratitude Lock Up
Gratitude Lock Up is a simple but powerful activity designed to help students slow down, reflect, and notice the positive moments that make their lives brighter. Each week, students write a short note about something they are grateful for, an act of kindness, a happy memory, a proud achievement, or even a small moment that brought them joy. By placing these notes into a communal jar or their own personal “lock-up,” students build an ongoing collection of positivity that quietly grows throughout the year. The process strengthens self-awareness, encourages mindfulness, and helps them develop a habit of appreciation that can support emotional well-being.
Over time, the Gratitude Lock Up becomes more than just a jar, it becomes a celebration of growth, connection, and shared experiences. Whether opened at the end of a term or the end of the year, the jar reveals dozens of joyful memories that spark discussion, pride, and reflection. Students revisit the moments they had forgotten, recognise how much they have moved through and grown, and enjoy hearing what others valued throughout the year. The activity encourages a warm, supportive classroom culture where gratitude is part of the routine, and where students learn that even small moments deserve to be celebrated.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Gratitude Lock Up supports students to:
- Practise active listening when sharing gratitude notes or hearing others’ positive moments at the end of the year or during weekly reflections.
- Express themselves respectfully by communicating gratitude clearly, kindly, and thoughtfully when writing and sharing their weekly notes.
- Understand different viewpoints as they read or hear the diverse experiences, feelings, and positive moments that matter to their classmates.
Cooperation and Social Skills
Gratitude Lock Up helps students to:
- Collaborate respectfully during weekly reflections by sharing time, space, and attention, creating a supportive group environment.
- Show kindness and fairness by celebrating one another’s positive moments without judgment and welcoming all contributions equally.
- Show appreciation by recognising and valuing peers’ achievements, acts of kindness, personal milestones, and meaningful experiences throughout the year.
Safety and Acceptance
Gratitude Lock Up encourages students to:
- Help others feel safe by contributing to a positive, caring environment where sharing personal reflections feels comfortable and supported.
- Accept others by appreciating the differences in what classmates value, enjoy, or find meaningful, normalising diverse experiences.
- Promote equality as every student contributes one weekly note and every voice is seen as equally important in building the collective gratitude “lock-up.”
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