The School of Play Curriculum
Secondary School
Week Nineteen brings a mix of creativity, fitness, and meaningful reflection to help students strengthen their connections and deepen their sense of gratitude. The session begins with Moving & Shaking, a fun handshake-building challenge that boosts creativity, memory, and social confidence as students build and recall sequences with multiple partners. The energy continues with Full Deck Flip, a high-intensity fitness challenge where students push their physical limits through card-based exercises, working together, encouraging each other, and practising perseverance. These activities help students stay active, engaged, and connected while building teamwork and endurance.
The second half of the lesson supports self-reflection, emotional growth, and appreciation for oneself and others. Through Get Fanatical, students write their own PAL (Proud–Admire–Love) letter, helping them recognise their strengths and celebrate what makes them unique. The lesson finishes with Gratitude Monopoly, a playful and collaborative board-game experience where students share gratitude, complete positive challenges, and build a supportive team environment. Together, these activities help students increase their self-awareness, strengthen relationships, and walk away with a greater sense of confidence, gratitude, and connection.
Weekly Lessons
Moving and Shaking
Moving & Shaking is a fast-paced, memory-boosting icebreaker that gets everyone laughing, connecting, and thinking creatively. Participants design unique handshake sequences with multiple partners, gradually building more complex routines as they move around the room. Each new partner adds another creative step, encouraging students to collaborate, communicate, and express themselves through fun physical movements.
As the handshake sequences grow, so does the challenge, students must listen carefully, remember each partner’s unique routine, and respond quickly when different partners are called. The game fosters strong interpersonal connections, sparks creativity, and energises the group with constant movement and shared fun. Moving & Shaking is the perfect opener for any session, breaking down barriers, building relationships, and engaging participants in a joyful, memorable way.
Respectful Relationships
Understanding & Promoting Equality
- Ensures every student interacts with multiple partners, giving all participants equal opportunities to collaborate and connect.
- Removes hierarchy by making all handshake creations and ideas equally valued, regardless of age, confidence, or popularity.
- Encourages fair participation, where every student contributes to and learns from shared handshake sequences.
Building Healthy Relationships
- Strengthens peer connections through shared creativity, cooperation, and movement-based fun.
- Promotes trust and rapport as students learn handshakes from one another and work together to remember sequences.
- Encourages positive social bonding by creating a joyful, non-judgmental space where students feel comfortable interacting.
Developing Communication Skills
- Enhances verbal and non-verbal communication as partners explain, demonstrate, and practise handshake sequences together.
- Requires active listening to learn steps accurately and collaborate effectively with multiple partners.
- Supports respectful turn-taking and clear instruction as students teach their movements to others.
Enhancing Social & Emotional Intelligence
- Builds self-awareness and confidence as students share creative ideas and engage in close peer interaction.
- Develops empathy by encouraging patience and understanding when partners forget steps or need extra practice.
- Strengthens adaptability and emotional regulation as students adjust to new partners, new sequences, and quick recall challenges.
Challenging Stereotypes
- Breaks down social cliques by mixing students across groups, demonstrating that anyone can be creative, fun, and collaborative.
- Counters stereotypes about physical touch or expression, showing that safe, playful interaction is for everyone.
- Demonstrates that leadership can come from any student as ideas are shared, accepted, and celebrated equally.
Recognising Rights
- Reinforces each student’s right to feel safe, respected, and included during partner-based activities.
- Promotes the responsibility to treat partners with kindness, patience, and positive communication throughout the game.
- Highlights the importance of respecting personal space and boundaries while engaging in physical, collaborative play.
Get Fanatical
Get Fanatical is a powerful self-reflection activity where students become their own biggest fans by writing a heartfelt PAL letter, exploring what they are Proud of, what they Admire in themselves, and what they Love about who they are. This uplifting process encourages deep personal reflection, helping students recognise their unique strengths, qualities, and achievements. It’s a moment to pause, look inward, and celebrate the incredible human they already are, building confidence and fostering a strong sense of self-worth.
Once completed, the PAL letter becomes a personal keepsake, a reminder students can return to during challenging times to reconnect with their strengths, resilience, and growth. Get Fanatical is more than an activity; it’s a lifelong tool for emotional well-being, positive self-talk, and inner confidence. It helps participants develop a healthy habit of self-appreciation while nurturing a mindset that acknowledges and celebrates personal progress. A simple, meaningful, and transformative exercise to boost self-esteem and emotional resilience.
Respectful Relationships
Understanding & Promoting Equality
- Ensures every student has an equal opportunity to reflect on and value their personal strengths without comparison to others.
- Normalises self-appreciation for all students, reinforcing that everyone has unique qualities worth celebrating.
- Promotes fairness by providing a quiet, safe space where each student’s reflections are respected and valued equally.
Building Healthy Relationships
- Strengthens internal relationships by encouraging students to build a kind and compassionate relationship with themselves.
- Promotes emotional openness, helping students understand how self-worth supports healthier interactions with others.
- Encourages students to recognise their strengths, enabling them to contribute more confidently and positively to group settings.
Developing Communication Skills
- Enhances personal expression as students articulate their strengths through thoughtful writing.
- Encourages clear reflection on internal emotions, helping students better communicate their needs and feelings in real-life situations.
- Builds vocabulary around positive self-talk, making it easier for students to express appreciation and kindness toward themselves and others.
Enhancing Social & Emotional Intelligence
- Deepens self-awareness through reflection on what students are proud of, admire, and love about themselves.
- Builds emotional resilience by creating a personal tool students can revisit during challenging times.
- Supports the development of self-compassion, helping students better manage emotions and show empathy toward others.
Challenging Stereotypes
- Challenges harmful stereotypes that self-praise is boastful by reframing it as an essential, healthy practice for everyone.
- Encourages all genders to engage in vulnerability and self-affirmation, countering norms that discourage emotional expression.
- Shows that strength includes kindness, reflection, and vulnerability, not just traditional, external markers of achievement.
Recognising Rights
- Reinforces each student’s right to feel good about themselves and recognise their strengths without judgement.
- Encourages respect for personal boundaries, as students choose whether or not to share their letter.
- Promotes responsibility for personal well-being by teaching students to create and use tools (like the PAL letter) to support their mental health.
Full Deck Flip
Full Deck Flip is an energetic fitness challenge that turns an ordinary deck of cards into a fun, unpredictable workout. Each card flipped reveals a new exercise, with suits representing movements like squats, star jumps, push-ups, and sit-ups. The element of chance keeps participants fully engaged as they race through their cards, never knowing which exercise is coming next. With the added surprise of Joker cards, bringing bonus challenges such as squat jumps or a short run, the game keeps energy high and motivation strong from start to finish.
Whether played individually, in pairs, or in teams, Full Deck Flip encourages speed, stamina, and determination. Participants push themselves to complete their allocated cards as quickly as possible while maintaining positive energy and supporting others. The simplicity and adaptability of the game make it perfect for PE classes, fitness sessions, or warm-ups, transforming traditional exercise into a dynamic, enjoyable, and highly effective workout.
Respectful Relationships
Understanding & Promoting Equality
- Ensures all participants complete the same exercises based on chance rather than skill level, creating an equal and inclusive fitness challenge.
- Removes competitiveness based on athletic ability by allowing every player or team to progress at their own pace through the random card draw.
- Promotes fairness as everyone follows the same rules and exercise assignments, regardless of fitness background or physical confidence.
Building Healthy Relationships
- Encourages positive peer support as participants motivate each other to keep going through challenging exercises.
- Strengthens group connection through shared physical effort, creating collective moments of encouragement and accomplishment.
- Builds trust as students rely on one another for pacing, morale, and mutual accountability during team or paired play.
Developing Communication Skills
- Promotes clear communication when team members divide exercises, coordinate card draws, or monitor each other's progress.
- Encourages verbal encouragement and positive reinforcement, strengthening supportive communication habits.
- Requires students to negotiate roles, repetitions, and strategies respectfully when completing the deck as a group.
Enhancing Social & Emotional Intelligence
- Develops resilience and emotional regulation as students push through physical challenges and manage frustration or fatigue.
- Encourages self-awareness as students recognise their strengths, limits, and personal progress throughout the game.
- Fosters empathy as participants acknowledge the efforts of teammates and adapt to different physical capacities within the group.
Challenging Stereotypes
- Breaks down stereotypes about who is “fit” or capable by showing that everyone can participate meaningfully, regardless of athletic ability.
- Reinforces that physical activity can be playful, inclusive, and enjoyable, not just competitive or performance-based.
- Challenges gender stereotypes by promoting equal participation in all exercises, including traditionally gendered fitness movements.
Recognising Rights
- Reinforces each student’s right to feel safe and supported during physical activity, with exercises adaptable to capability levels.
- Encourages responsibility by having students manage their own pace, effort, and physical safety throughout the challenge.
- Promotes respect for others’ boundaries, fitness levels, and comfort during group or partner workouts.
Gratitude Monopoly
Gratitude Monopoly is an uplifting twist on the classic board game, designed to get students moving, thinking, and reflecting on the positive aspects of their lives. As teams travel around the life-sized board, they encounter a mix of gratitude questions, reflective challenges, and fun activities that encourage self-appreciation and emotional awareness. Every square prompts meaningful conversation or movement, helping students build a deeper understanding of what they value and why. Passing GO earns teams points, and the “Star Jump Option” ensures everyone can participate, even when a question feels tricky.
Whether used indoors or outdoors, Gratitude Monopoly brings collaboration, communication, and well-being together in one engaging experience. Students work in pairs or teams, supporting each other as they navigate the board, complete gratitude tasks, and discuss real-life moments that matter. This playful format creates a powerful mix of learning and connection, making it ideal for classrooms focused on well-being, team-building, or social-emotional learning. With flexible options for competitive or non-competitive play, it’s a dynamic and memorable way to embed gratitude into any session.
Respectful Relationships
Understanding & Promoting Equality
- Ensures all students participate in the same gratitude activities and board spaces, giving every team an equal chance to contribute and succeed.
- Removes barriers related to academic ability or confidence by focusing on gratitude, reflection, and teamwork rather than skill-based competition.
- Provides each student with an equal voice in team discussions and activity responses, promoting fairness and inclusion.
Building Healthy Relationships
- Encourages teams to share meaningful reflections, strengthening empathy and personal connection within the group.
- Promotes healthy relationship-building as students celebrate each other’s ideas, contributions, and gratitude expressions.
- Supports trust and cooperation as teams navigate challenges, answer questions, and make joint decisions throughout the game.
Developing Communication Skills
- Builds effective communication as teams discuss gratitude prompts, problem-solve, and collaboratively decide how to respond to each board activity.
- Enhances active listening as students respond thoughtfully to their teammates’ reflections and ideas.
- Encourages positive communication by prompting students to express appreciation, encouragement, and affirmation toward one another.
Enhancing Social & Emotional Intelligence
- Strengthens emotional awareness by having students reflect on what they value, appreciate, and feel grateful for in their lives.
- Develops empathy as students listen to varied personal stories and perspectives shared by teammates.
- Helps students manage emotions and maintain a positive mindset, especially when confronting challenging reflection prompts.
Challenging Stereotypes
- Breaks down assumptions about who contributes “best” to team tasks by valuing emotional insight over traditional academic strengths.
- Demonstrates that gratitude and emotional intelligence are important skills for everyone, regardless of gender, personality type, or background.
- Reinforces that leadership and contribution can take many forms, listening, reflecting, supporting teammates, not only taking charge or speaking the most.
Recognising Rights
- Reinforces every student’s right to feel respected, heard, and valued during team-based reflection and discussion.
- Encourages responsible participation by promoting respectful turn-taking, supportive dialogue, and inclusivity during group tasks.
- Promotes a safe emotional environment where students can choose to reflect honestly or opt for an alternative activity (e.g., star jumps) without judgment.
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