Getting Angry!
What should we get angry about?
by Alexandra Palmer
Suitable for Key Stage 2
Aims
To consider good and bad reasons for us to become angry.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Getting Angry!) and the means to display them.
- Have available the YouTube video ‘Naaman (2 Kings 5.1-14)’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 0.57 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/B9PKmFt3prw
- Optional: you may also wish to use the extension activity (Getting Angry! - Extension Activity) that accompanies this assembly.
Assembly
- Show Slide 1.
Ask the children, ‘What should we get angry about?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Ask the children, ‘Is it wrong to get angry?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that different things make us angry, but it’s important to think about whether it’s OK to be angry about some things, or whether being angry is always wrong. - Explain that you are going to show six slides. Each slide shows two different scenarios. You want the children to decide whether either of the scenarios would make them feel angry.
Tell the children that you would like them to communicate their answers by giving a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down.
With each decision, listen to a range of responses as to why the children have chosen that option. - Show Slide 2.
Explain that, in some parts of the world, children have to walk a very long way to school. - Show Slide 3.
Tell the children that, unfortunately, many children around the world don’t get the chance to go to school because they have to earn a living from a young age. - Show Slide 4.
In some countries, children who go to school have to clean their classrooms themselves, after lessons have finished for the day. - Show Slide 5.
Many schools around the world don’t have access to the internet to help with learning in the classroom. Many schoolchildren don’t have books to write in or pens to write with. - Show Slide 6.
It’s always great to have as many friends as possible so that we always have somebody to play with. However, it’s important to help other people join in and to make sure that no one is feeling left out or being bullied. - Show Slide 7.
It’s always best to do our homework before we start playing games. Sadly, there are many children who struggle to do their homework because they haven’t got access to electricity. - Introduce Naaman’s story from the Old Testament part of the Bible.
Naaman had leprosy, an infectious skin disease that didn’t have a cure in biblical times. Let’s listen to how Naaman reacted when he was told how to make himself better.
Show the YouTube video ‘Naaman (2 Kings 5.1-14)’ (0.57 minutes long). - Ask the children the following questions.
- How would you describe the maid from Israel? (Answer: the maid was kind and caring because she wanted Naaman to become well again.)
- How do you know that the king of Syria liked Naaman? (Answer: the king sent Naaman to be cured of leprosy and gave him a chariot to travel in.)
- When Elisha told Naaman to wash himself in the River Jordan, how many times did he say that Naaman would have to do it? (Answer: seven times.)
- Why did Naaman get angry? (Answer: Naaman thought that Elisha would simply wave his hand over him and cure him. Naaman also thought that the rivers in Syria were better and cleaner than the River Jordan.)
- What happened when Naaman obeyed Elisha and washed himself seven times in the River Jordan? (Answer: Naaman’s leprosy was cured.)
Time for reflection
Ask the children, ‘Did Naaman need to get angry?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Ask the children, ‘Do we sometimes get angry about the wrong things?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that sometimes, it’s good to get angry about things. For example, we might feel angry about somebody being bullied or about people living in poverty. Our anger can make us want to do something about the problem. Jesus sometimes showed this type of anger. It’s called righteous anger, and it happens when we get angry about something that is morally wrong.
Ask the children, ‘What things might be considered morally wrong?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that we need to stop and consider carefully what we get angry about. Naaman was angry about having to do something that he thought was beneath him. He thought that Elisha should have given him an easier option. When we experience this sort of anger, it’s best to forgive whoever has upset us and move on. If we hold on to our anger, we’ll just end up hurting ourselves.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for our emotions.
Thank you for the times when we get angry about things that are morally wrong.
Thank you that we can make a stand when we know that things are right or wrong.
Please help us to know when we have used our anger in the wrong way.
Please help us to say sorry and forgive others when they make mistakes.
Thank you that you always want to forgive us.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Inside Out emotion theme songs’, available at: https://youtu.be/fmMUCMesVtE (5.32 minutes long)
Extension activities
- Give each child a copy of the sheet that accompanies this assembly (Getting Angry! - Extension Activity). Ask them to complete it. In the first column, they should draw or write what they should get angry about. Then, in the second column, they should draw or write what they can do to help solve that problem.
