The School of Play Curriculum
Primary School Grade 5 & 6
Week Nine strengthens teamwork, strategic thinking, and gratitude through a mix of fast-paced games and meaningful reflection. Students begin with Legs 11, a hilarious non-verbal communication challenge that instantly builds connection, trust, and collaboration. They continue developing strategic decision-making and physical engagement through activities like the Area Dice Challenge, which combines maths, movement, and problem-solving. This blend of cognitive and physical tasks helps students understand how working together, thinking ahead, and staying active contribute to shared success.
The week also deepens students’ sense of gratitude and appreciation for others through the creative and heartfelt Super Buddies activity. Students identify the important people in their lives, transform one into a superhero character, and share the values they most admire, building empathy, confidence, and emotional awareness. The session ends with the Shared Goals Relay, reinforcing the power of collaboration and collective achievement. Together, these activities help students appreciate the people around them, understand the value of teamwork, and recognise how strategies, gratitude, and positive relationships shape their daily lives.
Courses
Legs 11
Legs 11 is a fast, joyful, connection-based game that challenges groups of three to silently work together to display a total of eleven fingers. With no talking allowed, players must rely on non-verbal cues, intuition, and quick decision-making as they reveal their fingers at the same moment. Every round becomes a fun test of teamwork, spontaneity, and maths in its simplest form. The rapid countdowns keep the game energetic and engaging, while the two-minute time limit adds a layer of excitement as groups race to accumulate as many “Legs 11” wins as they can.
What makes Legs 11 unforgettable is the celebration. Each time a group successfully lands exactly eleven fingers, they must erupt into a loud, joyful ten-second celebration as if they’ve just won the lottery. This turns the room into an explosion of happiness, movement, and connection, breaking down barriers, building confidence, and lifting the collective energy. The game fosters teamwork, boosts morale, and creates instant camaraderie, making it a perfect warm-up, icebreaker, or energiser for students, staff, and participants of all ages.
Respectful Relationships
1. Emotional Literacy
- Encourages awareness and expression of positive emotions such as excitement, joy, and connection through playful celebration.
- Builds empathy as students read and respond to peers’ non-verbal cues and emotional expressions.
- Promotes regulation and balance between energy, focus, and fun during fast-paced interaction.
2. Personal Strengths
- Highlights creativity, spontaneity, and adaptability as key strengths in group collaboration.
- Encourages students to recognise personal contributions such as positivity, leadership, and humour within the team.
- Builds confidence as students participate enthusiastically and celebrate shared success.
3. Positive Coping
- Reinforces the use of laughter and play as effective strategies for managing stress and boosting mood.
- Encourages resilience and a light-hearted attitude when groups miss the total or make mistakes.
- Promotes an optimistic mindset by focusing on effort, participation, and shared enjoyment rather than competition.
4. Problem Solving
- Develops non-verbal communication and critical thinking as students attempt to synchronise their decisions.
- Encourages adaptability and observation to adjust strategies across rounds without speaking.
- Promotes group problem-solving through pattern recognition and cooperative trial and error.
5. Stress Management
- Provides an energetic, laughter-filled outlet that reduces tension and fosters relaxation.
- Encourages students to stay calm, composed, and focused while engaging in fast-paced play.
- Reinforces the value of humour and joy as tools for emotional regulation and wellbeing.
6. Help-Seeking
- Normalises supportive interaction and mutual encouragement after unsuccessful rounds.
- Encourages a positive, inclusive environment where students lift each other up through shared celebration.
- Reinforces trust and belonging within the group, showing that teamwork thrives on cooperation and connection.
7. Gender and Identity
- Creates an inclusive, non-verbal game that celebrates individuality and self-expression.
- Breaks down barriers and stereotypes through mixed-group collaboration and equal participation.
- Encourages authentic engagement and shared laughter where all voices and gestures hold equal value.
8. Positive Gender Relations
- Builds respect, equality, and positive communication through shared play and celebration.
- Reinforces fairness, empathy, and encouragement as core aspects of group dynamics.
- Strengthens social cohesion by fostering an environment of mutual respect, trust, and joyful connection.
Super Buddies
Super Buddies is a heartfelt, creative reflection activity that encourages students to recognise and celebrate the important people in their lives. Students begin by listing five significant individuals, friends, family members, or role models, and identifying the values and character strengths they admire in each. This simple act of noticing kindness, courage, honesty, or resilience strengthens their gratitude and awareness of positive relationships. From that list, students select one standout person to become their “Number One Super Buddy.”
Students then bring their chosen person to life through a creative character design that transforms their admired qualities into superpowers. Whether imagined as a superhero, an animal, or a playful creature, the Super Buddy embodies the essence of the person they admire most. After designing and illustrating their character, students share their creations with the class, building connection, confidence, and appreciation for the strengths of others. The activity blends gratitude, creativity, and positive relationships into a powerful experience that helps students understand the importance of recognising and celebrating the people who lift them up.
Respectful Relationships
1. Emotional Literacy
- Encourages students to recognise and express feelings of gratitude, admiration, and love toward significant people in their lives.
- Builds empathy through reflection on the emotions and qualities that make others special.
- Promotes emotional awareness and expression as students translate these feelings into creative visual representations.
2. Personal Strengths
- Helps students identify and appreciate the strengths, values, and positive traits in others.
- Encourages self-reflection as students consider how these admired strengths also exist or can be developed within themselves.
- Builds confidence and pride through the creative process of designing and sharing their “Super Buddy.”
3. Positive Coping
- Reinforces gratitude and creative expression as strategies for managing emotions and fostering positivity.
- Encourages students to focus on uplifting connections and supportive relationships as sources of strength.
- Promotes optimism by highlighting the good in others and the ways kindness and support help navigate challenges.
4. Problem Solving
- Encourages students to think critically about how abstract qualities like kindness or courage can be represented symbolically.
- Promotes creative problem-solving as they design characters and determine how strengths translate into “superpowers.”
- Strengthens reflection skills as students discuss how positive relationships contribute to solutions and wellbeing.
5. Stress Management
- Provides a calm, creative, and reflective activity that supports mindfulness and emotional regulation.
- Encourages students to express gratitude and appreciation, reducing stress through positive emotional focus.
- Fosters a sense of belonging and connection, which enhances resilience and overall wellbeing.
6. Help-Seeking
- Reinforces that everyone benefits from support and guidance from their “buddies.”
- Encourages recognition of the importance of trusted relationships in seeking and offering help.
- Promotes open communication about feelings, care, and appreciation within friendships and families.
7. Gender and Identity
- Promotes inclusivity by celebrating diverse role models and personal connections without stereotypes.
- Encourages authentic self-expression through art, storytelling, and individuality in character creation.
- Affirms the idea that strength, care, and kindness are universal traits that transcend gender roles.
8. Positive Gender Relations
- Builds respect and empathy by recognising and celebrating the positive influence of others.
- Reinforces fairness, appreciation, and equality in how students describe and honour their chosen “buddies.”
- Strengthens classroom community through shared reflection, kindness, and celebration of supportive relationships.
Area Dice Challenge
Area Dice Challenge is a strategic maths-meets-movement game where two players compete to cover the most area on a shared grid. Each turn, players roll two dice to create the dimensions of a rectangle, calculate the area, and colour their shape on the grid using their unique marker. This process reinforces multiplication, spatial reasoning, and forward planning as players must decide where to place their rectangles to maximise their total area while potentially blocking their opponent. The game blends learning with strategy, making it an engaging way to build numeracy skills through play.
After completing each rectangle, players roll a single dice to determine a movement-based exercise and complete repetitions equal to the area they just coloured. This adds a fun physical component that boosts fitness, energy, and engagement. Area Dice Challenge encourages active learning, strategic thinking, and positive interaction, making it an excellent classroom warm-up, maths activity, or physical education crossover game suitable for a wide range of ages and settings.
Respectful Relationships
1. Emotional Literacy
- Encourages focus and emotional regulation as students balance competition with cooperation.
- Builds awareness of emotions such as excitement, pride, and persistence during gameplay.
- Fosters empathy and connection as students celebrate each other’s successes and support fair play.
2. Personal Strengths
- Highlights persistence, logical thinking, and strategic planning as key personal strengths.
- Encourages students to recognise their mathematical and physical abilities as valuable skills.
- Builds confidence and self-efficacy as students improve their accuracy and performance through practice.
3. Positive Coping
- Reinforces staying calm and composed when outcomes don’t go as planned or when mistakes occur.
- Promotes perseverance and a positive attitude through the combination of mental and physical challenge.
- Encourages viewing competition as an opportunity for growth and learning rather than stress.
4. Problem Solving
- Strengthens problem-solving skills through real-time calculation and spatial reasoning.
- Promotes strategic thinking as students plan moves to maximise space or block their opponent.
- Encourages critical reflection and adaptability when faced with limited options or changing conditions.
5. Stress Management
- Provides an active, fun outlet that supports stress release through physical movement and focused thinking.
- Reinforces concentration and mindfulness during both calculation and exercise.
- Encourages emotional balance by linking physical exertion with mental engagement.
6. Help-Seeking
- Normalises seeking clarification or assistance from peers and teachers when learning or calculating area.
- Promotes collaboration and cooperative discussion to ensure mutual understanding.
- Reinforces the importance of teamwork and respectful communication in shared learning experiences.
7. Gender and Identity
- Provides an inclusive activity that celebrates both cognitive and physical strengths equally among all students.
- Breaks down stereotypes by integrating maths and movement, showing that all students can excel in both.
- Promotes equality through paired participation and mutual encouragement regardless of background or ability.
8. Positive Gender Relations
- Builds respect and fairness through shared play and turn-taking.
- Reinforces teamwork, encouragement, and good sportsmanship between partners.
- Strengthens classroom culture through cooperation, inclusion, and shared enjoyment of learning.
Shared Goals Relay
Shared Goals Relay is a fast-paced, team-based activity that blends physical movement with meaningful connection and collective goal-setting. Working in small teams, students decide on a shared fitness goal and a shared personal-sharing goal, such as life goals, fears, challenges, or gratitudes, to complete during the relay. As they run laps, pass batons, and rotate through exercises, students also pause to share thoughts, experiences, and reflections with their teammates. This combination of movement and vulnerability creates a powerful environment for deeper connection, strengthening trust and understanding within the group.
The activity highlights the value of working toward common goals, celebrating progress, and supporting one another through both physical and personal challenges. After the relay, students participate in a guided debrief to reflect on their teamwork, communication, and what they learned about themselves and their peers. Shared Goals Relay energises the group, builds camaraderie, and provides a memorable experience centred around teamwork, empathy, and shared success, making it an ideal well-being, leadership, or community-building activity.
Respectful Relationships
1. Emotional Literacy
- Encourages students to recognise and express emotions related to teamwork, vulnerability, and achievement.
- Builds empathy and understanding as students listen to and reflect on their teammates’ life goals, challenges, and hopes.
- Promotes awareness of group dynamics and the feelings that arise when working towards a shared purpose.
2. Personal Strengths
- Helps students identify and use personal strengths such as leadership, persistence, and encouragement to support their team.
- Encourages recognition of others’ strengths and contributions within the relay and reflection components.
- Builds confidence as students realise their capacity to both set and achieve meaningful goals collaboratively.
3. Positive Coping
- Reinforces teamwork, communication, and vulnerability as healthy coping mechanisms in both success and challenge.
- Promotes reflection on how shared goals and mutual encouragement can reduce stress and foster belonging.
- Encourages students to use optimism and empathy when supporting others who may feel anxious or unsure.
4. Problem Solving
- Develops decision-making and collaborative planning skills as students set realistic shared goals.
- Encourages adaptability and teamwork when adjusting goals mid-relay or when obstacles arise.
- Strengthens reflective problem-solving as teams discuss how to support one another and balance physical and emotional tasks.
5. Stress Management
- Provides a positive physical outlet for managing energy and tension through movement and teamwork.
- Encourages mindfulness and calm through reflective sharing after the activity.
- Reinforces that connection, play, and physical activity are effective tools for reducing stress and building community.
6. Help-Seeking
- Normalises asking for and offering help during collaborative challenges.
- Builds trust and psychological safety by encouraging vulnerability and emotional honesty among teammates.
- Reinforces that seeking support and sharing experiences strengthens relationships and mutual understanding.
7. Gender and Identity
- Promotes inclusivity and equality by valuing every participant’s goals, perspectives, and experiences equally.
- Breaks down stereotypes through mixed-team collaboration and mutual encouragement.
- Supports authentic self-expression as students share personal stories and aspirations in a respectful environment.
8. Positive Gender Relations
- Builds respect, trust, and appreciation through shared effort, active listening, and celebration of group success.
- Reinforces kindness, fairness, and empathy as essential to positive teamwork.
- Strengthens class culture by demonstrating that shared vulnerability, encouragement, and achievement foster respectful relationships.
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