Superpower
Every little helps
by Janice Ross
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the joy of being super-helpers.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (Superpower) and the means to display them.
- You will need the story ‘Superworm’ by Julia Donaldson. A read aloud version can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KLrRNtSqiUc
Assembly
- Ask the children what they think of when they hear the word ‘Superpower’.
Listen to a range of responses.
Answers might include Superman, Marvel characters, etc.
Show Slide 1. - Guide the children to other ideas of power by showing the following slides.
- Show Slide 2.
This is a Devel Sixteen Engine Dyno, 4515hp. At the time of writing, it is the most powerful car in the world. It can reach a speed of 560 km/h. - Show Slide 3.
Some rockets are enormous. This slide shows a comparison with the Statue of Liberty. - Show Slide 4.
This shows an infrared satellite image of hurricane Patricia. It originated in the Gulf of Mexico and is the most powerful hurricane on record. The wind speeds reached 215 mph. Compared to Patricia, the strongest winds experienced in the UK were on Boxing Day, 2020, with Storm Bella. Wind gusts reached 106 mph on the Isle of Wight, while most of the country had 50-70 mph winds. - Show Slide 5.
The children might be very surprised to see these well-loved vegetables on a slide about superpowers! That is because this group of green leafed vegetables, called crucifers, are packed full of nutrients and even have cancer-fighting properties. This makes them powerful health helpers. - Show Slide 6.
They may be even more surprised to see a worm! But this is no ordinary worm! This is Superworm. - Either read or listen to the YouTube clip of thestory of Superworm by Julian Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. This can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KLrRNtSqiUc
- Ask the question: Who did Superworm help and how?
Responses may be:
Baby toad – who hopped on to a busy road and was rescued by Superworm!
Bees – they were bored, but Superworm taught them how to skip!
Beetle – she fell in the well, but Superworm rescued her! - You may like to sing the chant with the children found on video clip at 1.33mins:
‘Superworm is super-long.
Superworm is super-strong.
Watch him wiggle! See him squirm!
Hip, hip, hooray for SUPERWORM!’ - Super-long, super-strong, Superworm was a super-helper! And he enjoyed helping!
But then the wicked lizard caught him. All the creatures came together. They were worried and wanted to help.
Ask the question: What could they do to help?
Listen to a range of responses.
Possible answers might be: Eat the magic flower leaves, sticky honey, caterpillars fetch leaves, spider weaves a web.
Point out that they all did what they could to help.
Time for reflection
Invite the children to think back to all the superpowers we saw on the slides at the beginning of our assembly.
Which superpower would benefit our class/school this year?
Encourage the children that, at the beginning of this new school year, you will be looking out for the super-helpers around the school. They are the ones who can make a super difference and bring us all joy.
Prayer
Dear God,
When Jesus was on earth, he showed us that there is great joy in serving others.
When we are super-helpers we find we are super-blessed ourselves.
Please teach us the joy of serving others.
Please help us to think about other people.
Please help us to always look for opportunities to help others.
Amen.
