How to use this site    About Us    Submissions    Feedback    Donate    Links   

Assemblies.org.uk - School Assemblies for every season for everyone

Decorative image - Primary

Email Twitter Facebook

-
X
-

Rules Rule

Rules really do matter!

by the Revd Trevor Donnelly (revised, originally published in 2008)

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To reflect upon the importance of rules.

Preparation and materials

  • You will need a large snakes and ladders board or something similar. An example is available at: https://tinyurl.com/2p98ej7h
  • You will also need a large dice. (If one isn’t available, you could use a small dice, but ask a child to call out the numbers as they are thrown.)
  • Note: ideally, the children will not know that the theme of this assembly is ‘rules’ until after you have played the game. It will lessen the impact if they know what is coming.
  • Optional: you may wish to have available a copy of the Ten Commandments to display. An example is available at: https://tinyurl.com/2p8jm8tc

Assembly

  1. Explain that you are going to play a game.

    Show the snakes and ladders board.

    Explain that you are going to play against all of the children. Explain that the rules are slightly different from normal, but you’ll tell them what they are as you go along.

  2. Ask volunteers to roll the dice when it’s the children’s turn. When it’s your turn, make up the rules as you go along. For example, ‘Oh good, I’ve rolled a 2, so I get an extra go,’ or, ‘Great, I’ve rolled a 5, so I can move backwards and go straight up this snake.’ Make the rules as ludicrous as possible!

    Ignore the children’s protests and win in the most outrageous manner possible. (You will need to judge this carefully; don’t keep it going too long or some of the smaller children could get genuinely upset!)

  3. Explain that the game may have been fun for you, but it wasn’t fair for everyone else. Rules need to apply to everyone. If we were allowed to steal things, we might have fun for a while, but if everyone was allowed to steal, nothing would be safe. Rules are there to make things better for everybody.

  4. Ask the children whether they’ve heard of the Ten Commandments.

    Listen to a range of responses.

    Explain that these ancient laws are the basis for the ideas of right and wrong in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths.

  5. Ask the children whether any of them know what the Ten Commandments are. If appropriate, explain them and fill in any gaps.

    Optional: show the copy of the Ten Commandments.

    The Ten Commandments appear in the Bible in Exodus 20.3-17.

Time for reflection

Ask the children to think about the rules in school that they are expected to keep.

Ask them to tell you some of them and explain why they might be important.

Listen to a range of responses.

Ask the children to think about how rules affect us. Ask them to consider school rules, the rules in our families, the laws of the land and so on.

Point out that some rules may annoy us, some rules may seem unfair and some rules may be unfair. However, most of the rules in our lives help to protect us and help us to live together.

Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Amen.

(Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr)

Song/music

‘The prayer of St Francis (Make me a channel of your peace)’, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihhvm6eLWZI (2.51 minutes long)

Publication date: March 2022   (Vol.24 No.3)    Published by SPCK, London, UK.
Print this page