Wonderful World

To give an awareness and appreciation of the world in which we live

by Jan Edmunds

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To give an awareness and appreciation of the world in which we live.

Preparation and materials

• This assembly was delivered as a class presentation to the rest of the school. We all read through hymn no. 17 in Come and Praise, ‘Think of a world’. The actual preparation was done in an Art and Craft lesson. The children drew and painted all the animals, people and items mentioned in the lines. We cut them out and using Blu-Tack we assembled them to form a collage on a blackboard covered with dark blue sugar paper. We placed this low down on an easel within reach of the participating children yet clearly visible by the audience. Several speakers were selected and their words were put on to cards (though most knew them by heart). The remainder of the class were selected individually to remove the objects as the speakers mentioned them. The children were grouped at each side of the picture accordingly. An OHP helped with the reading of the prayer.
• A record of Louis Armstrong singing ‘Wonderful World’ could be played as the children enter the room.
• The words used are by Doreen Newport and can be found in Come and Praise, a BBC publication. Please note that for copyright reasons we cannot quote directly so please use the words from the Come and Praise book.

Assembly

1st speaker

Good morning, everyone. We have been busy making this picture in our art lessons.

2nd speaker

It made us think about all the things we see every day, yet take for granted.

3rd speaker

(Reads 1st and 2nd lines of song – flowers and trees. The selected children now remove these items and return to their places.)

4th speaker

(Reads 3rd and 4th lines – sky, sunshine, breeze. These items are now removed.)

5th speaker

(Reads verse 2, lines 1 and 2 – animals … herd. Remove these items.)

6th speaker

(Reads verse 2, lines 3 and 4 – stream, fishes, dawn bird. Remove these items.)

7th speaker

(Reads verse 3, lines 1 and 2 – people, street. Remove people.)

8th speaker

(Reads verse 3, lines 3 and 4 – town, houses, love and care. The last items are now removed.)

9th speaker

Now we are left with a blank piece of paper. See how empty our world would be without all the wonderful things that God has given us.

10th speaker

As we approach Harvest time let us give thanks for all these gifts. For the beauty of the earth and for the food we eat and for the sun and rain that makes them grow.

Time for reflection

Reflection:

Think of the world without all the things that make it special –
the plants and trees, the sky and birds,
the animals, the buildings, the people.
Think how lucky we are to have all these things.

Prayer:
We thank you, Lord, for flowers and trees and sunshine
and for all your living creatures.
We thank you for families and friendships,
for our homes and our school.
We thank you for giving us our daily bread
and for all the food we eat.
We thank you, Lord, for everything wonderful in the world.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Think of a world’ (Come and Praise, 17)