Which Way?

Celebrates the end of the academic year

by Alexandra Palmer

Suitable for Key Stage 2

Aims

To celebrate Year 6 children’s time at primary school before they move to secondary school.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Which Way?) and the means to display them.
• You will need the YouTube video ‘LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 1.23 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/brcI4oF1Kto 
  
  Note: this short clip from the film The Fellowship of the Ring sees Frodo setting off on his journey from Rivendell (a hidden valley that belongs to the elves) to destroy the One Ring (an evil ring of power). He is leading the group (the Fellowship of the Ring) and doesn’t know which way to go, but Gandalf (the wise wizard) whispers to him to go left.
  
  
• Before the assembly, arrange for seven Year 6 children (one to represent each year group from Reception to Year 6) to write a few sentences about their memories from the relevant year groups. Arrange for another seven Year 6 children (or the same ones) to write a few sentences about their dreams and hopes for the future.

Assembly

1. Introduce the assembly by inviting the prearranged Year 6 children to read out their sentences and pass on their memories of their time at school.
   
   After the Year 6 children have finished reading, explain that although it’s important to remember our time at school, it’s also important to think about the future.
   
   Invite the other seven Year 6 children (or the same ones) to read out their sentences about their dreams and hopes for the future.
   
   
2. Show Slide 1.
   
   Ask the children, ‘How are all these pictures connected?’
   
   Listen to a range of responses. 
   
   The answer is that they all help us to decide which way to go.
   
   Refer back to the Year 6 children and explain that, as they move through secondary school, they will have many decisions to make.
   
   
3. Ask the children, ‘Who can help us to make decisions?’
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Suggestions may include parents, grandparents and other family members; friends; and teachers.
   
   Show Slide 2.
   
   
4. Show Slide 3.
   
   Explain that some of the decisions that we make at school are to do with which clubs and hobbies we want to get involved in. As the Year 6 children move to their next school, they will have the chance to take part in a wider range of clubs and hobbies. There are lots of opportunities!
   
   
5. Show Slide 4.
   
   Explain to the Year 6 children that, as they progress through secondary school, they will spend time thinking about a future career. What they end up deciding to do might be based upon their hobbies or be inspired by other things. It’s important that we use our skills and talents in a positive way so that we can achieve and help others.
   
   
6. Show Slide 5.
   
   We will need to work hard to achieve our goals. Before J. K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series, she experienced some challenging times. However, she persevered and didn’t give up on her dream. When she was writing her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, she would write in cafes to keep warm, so that she didn’t need to pay for heating at home. Since the success of the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling has given a lot of money to charity and medical causes because she knows how important it is to help those who need support.
   
   
7. Show Slide 6.
   
   Friends can be helpful when we are making decisions.
   
   Ask the children, ‘Have you ever read or watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings?’
   
   The man on the left in the photo is J. R. R. Tolkien, who wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The man on the right is C. S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series that includes The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
   
   Lewis and Tolkien had a great friendship. They would meet with other writers to talk about the books that they were working on and get advice to help them with their writing. It must have been one of the best book clubs ever!
   
   
8. Show Slide 7.
   
   The Lord of the Rings focuses on the main character of Frodo, who lives in a village called Hobbiton in Middle-earth. Bilbo, who is Frodo’s uncle, gives him a magical ring to look after. Unfortunately, the ring turns out to be the One Ring, an evil ring of power. To protect his fellow hobbits, Frodo must leave Hobbiton and take the ring with him.
   
   
9. Show Slide 8.
   
   Frodo’s journey takes him to Rivendell, home of the elves. When he arrives, he thinks that his journey is over and that he can return home. However, the elves form a council and decide that the ring must be taken to Mount Doom and destroyed once and for all, the only place where this is possible. Frodo feels like he is the only person who can achieve this and agrees to undertake the journey, accompanied by the newly formed Fellowship of the Ring, a group of his friends.
   
   Show the YouTube video ‘LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring’ (1.23 minutes long).
   
   
10. Show Slide 9.
    
    The map shows what a long journey Frodo would have to get from Rivendell to Mount Doom. He had never been that way before, so he had to keep working out which way to go throughout the journey.
    
    
11. Show Slide 10.
    
    When Frodo set out from Rivendell on his journey to Mount Doom, he had a group of friends to consult with about which way to go. However, by the time Frodo had reached Mount Doom, only his best friend, Samwise Gamgee, was left to help Frodo work out where to go and destroy the ring.
    
    Explain that as we go through secondary school and then onto college or university, our friendship groups will change. However, along the way, we can make friends who will help us, and whom we can help.
    
    
12. Show Slide 11.
    
    To help Frodo and the Fellowship on their way, Elrond said a blessing over them. A blessing is like a prayer, and Elrond wanted the Fellowship to achieve their purpose and destroy the ring.
    
    Explain that likewise, people at school wish the leavers the very best, and want them to achieve their purpose in life.
    
    
13. Show Slide 12.
    
    Ask the children, ‘Looking at this photo, how do you think Frodo was feeling?’
    
    Listen to a range of responses.
    
    Suggestions may include adjectives such as unsure, nervous, unconfident, anxious, apprehensive and worried.
    
    Explain that when we start out on a new journey, we often feel many positive emotions like joy, happiness and excitement, but we might also feel anxious and apprehensive. It’s OK to feel all of these emotions because they are a part of us.
    
    
14. Show Slide 13.
    
    Frodo realized that he needed help quickly because he didn’t know which way to go at the very start of his journey.
    
    At some point, we will need to ask for help when it comes to making decisions and that’s OK. In fact, we all need help to make important decisions. It’s often helpful to discuss our decisions with someone we trust, like our parents or a trusted adult.
    
    
15. Show Slide 14.
    
    Frodo knows that he must give up everything to destroy the ring. When he finally destroys it, he doesn’t know if he will ever get back home.
    
    Sometimes, the decisions that we need to take will come at a cost, such as giving up our free time so that we can study and learn. When we’re older, leaving home to start a new job or moving away to study at university can feel like a cost too. However, often, that cost can end up helping us to achieve our dreams.

Time for reflection

Show Slide 15.

Finding the right way through life can sometimes be tricky. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf gives Frodo a lot of direction and advice.

Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, was a Christian and many readers of his books have noticed Christian themes. Some say that, in The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth can be seen as the biblical setting of Israel, and the inspiration for Gandalf, a wizard who leads the Fellowship of the Ring, was Jesus.

When the Fellowship leaves Rivendell, Gandalf is just behind Frodo, whispering the direction that he should take. This could be Tolkien’s way of describing how Christians believe that Jesus directs them in life. First, they ask Jesus which way to go. Then, they believe that if they listen to Jesus, he will gently take them in the right direction.

Finding the right way in life is important because it can bring us peace and wisdom. We can then pass these on to others by helping them and giving advice.

The prayer is split into two parts.

Show Slide 16.

Read out the blessing on the slide, and then say the following prayer.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for all the children and adults who have worked hard and helped this year to be a success.
Please help us to know which way to go in life.
Please bless us with people to help and give good advice.
We pray that we can all have a good rest during the summer holidays and start September feeling refreshed and ready to begin the next academic year.
Amen.

Song/music

‘One more step’ (Come and Praise, 47), available at: https://youtu.be/7PXV3dwaeNU (2.51 minutes long)