Three Important Words
The importance of ‘please’, ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To emphasize the importance of ‘please’, ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’.
Preparation and materials
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Have available the following images of dogs and the means to display them during the assembly:
- a dog saying ‘please’, available at: https://tinyurl.com/ycbbsn9h
- a dog looking guilty, available at: https://tinyurl.com/ya256pp6
- dogs looking happy, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc7uyukb -
Optional: you may wish to use the retold version of the parable of the lost son found in the ‘Assembly’, Step 10, or you may prefer to use the wording in Luke 15.11-32.
Assembly
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Ask the children if they know any important words.
Listen to a range of responses. -
Point out that there are some important words that we need to learn when we are young. These words will help us in every part of our lives. Explain that today, we are going to be thinking about three of them.
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Ask the children if any of them have pets.
Listen to a range of responses.
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Explain that puppies learn to say these three words, too, but they use woofs and actions rather than words! Ask the children to look at some images and try to work out what the dogs are saying.
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Show the image of a dog saying ‘please’.
Ask the children, ‘What is the dog saying?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that you think that the dog looks like he wants something. He is looking pleadingly, as if to say ‘please’. -
Show the image of a dog looking guilty.
Ask the children, ‘What is the dog saying?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that you think that the dog looks guilty. It is as if he is saying ‘sorry’. -
Show the image of dogs looking happy.
Ask the children, ‘What are the dogs saying?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that you think that the dogs look happy. You imagine that they could be saying ‘thank you’. -
Point out that ‘please’, ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ are words that we all need to use every day. These words are very important.
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Ask the children which word they think is the most difficult to say. Point out that most people find ‘sorry’ the hardest word to say. We all like to be right, so saying sorry for something that we’ve done wrong is difficult.
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In the Bible, there is a story about a young man and his father. There are many times in this story where the words ‘please’, ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ might have been used, but some of them have been missed out! Ask the children to shout the words that have been missed out as you tell the story.
The Lost Son
Once upon a time, there was a young man who lived on a farm with his father and his older brother. They had a good life, but one day, the younger son decided that he’d had enough of farm life.
‘I want to leave and go to the city,’ he said to his father. ‘Give me my share of your money.’
Put your hand to your ear. The children should fill in the missing word and shout ‘please’.
The father was sad, but he counted out half of all his money and handed it to his son.
‘OK, I’m off,’ said the son.
Put your hand to your ear and wait for the children to fill in the missing phrase (‘thank you’).
The father was sad to wave goodbye to his son. The son went to a big city and started to spend his money. He made many friends and treated them to fine food and drink and entertainment. His friends liked being with him, and they liked his money even more. The money began to disappear quite quickly.
One day, the young man looked in his wallet and discovered that he was down to his last penny.
‘I need a job!’ he announced. He went for an interview. ‘I need a job. Do you have anything?’
Put your hand to your ear and wait for the children to fill in the missing word (‘please’).
The first employer, and the second and the third all said, ‘No, I don’t.’
Put your hand to your ear and wait for the children to fill in the missing word (‘sorry’).
The young man was becoming desperate.
‘I do need someone to look after my pigs,’ offered a farmer. ‘Would you like the job?’
‘Yes, I’ll take it,’ said the young man.
Put your hand to your ear and wait for the children to fill in the missing phrase (‘thank you’).
As you can imagine, it was not a very pleasant job, and the pigs seemed to have more food to eat than the young man.
‘At least they have plenty to eat,’ said his tummy with a big rumble!
After many days, the young man came to his senses.
‘I have been silly,’ he said. ‘Even the servants at my father’s farm have a roof over their head and good food to eat. I’ll go back to my father and ask to be a servant.’
The father saw his son coming from a long way off and ran to meet him.
‘Oh, father, I am so . . .’
Put your hand to your ear and wait for the children to fill in the missing word (‘sorry’).
‘I am not worthy to be your son any more. Would you give me a job as a servant?’
Put your hand to your ear and wait for the children to fill in the missing word (‘please’). -
Ask the children what they think the father might have said.
Listen to a range of responses, and then continue with the rest of the story.
‘No, I will not allow you to be a servant,’ said the father. ‘You are my son and I am so thankful to have you home again. We are going to have a big party. My son who was lost has come home.’
The younger son whispered something quietly . . .
Put your hand to your ear and wait for the children to fill in the missing phrase (‘thank you’).
Time for reflection
Ask the children, ‘Which of the three words do you think the young man found it hardest to say?’
Sometimes, like the young man, we can forget to say ‘thank you’ and ‘please’, but usually ‘sorry’ is the most difficult word for us, too. However, when we learn to say sorry to our parents, friends or teachers, it can make a huge difference.
Show the image of a dog looking guilty.
Ask the children to think about whether there is anyone they need to say sorry to today.
Ask the children to make a special effort to use the three important words during the day.
Prayer
Dear God,
‘Sorry’ is a word that makes everyone feel better.
Please help us to learn to say it quickly.
And thank you that, when we say sorry to you, you always forgive us.
Amen.
