Spot the Difference
A new school year
by Becky May
Suitable for Key Stage 3
Aims
To consider change and new beginnings.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Spot the Difference) and the means to display them.
- Optional: you may wish to show the YouTube video ‘11 best spot the difference puzzles to test your visual perception’, in which case you will also need the means to do so. It is 6.28 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/3k17XVLgAu8
Assembly
- Welcome the students and ask how they are feeling about the start of the new school year.
Are they feeling tired, excited, looking forward to learning . . . or wishing they were still on holiday?! - Show Slide 1.
Ask the students whether they can spot 15 differences between the two pictures (answers could include the time on the clock, the mountains in the picture on the wall, the cupboard handles, the older lady’s hairpin and collar, the child’s mouth, the bowl on the shelf, the smiley plate, the child’s foot, the cat’s lollipop, the number of bananas, the cookie on the tray and the flowers on the plant).
You could ask the students to call out answers, or talk to the person next to them, as they try to find them all. - Show Slide 2.
Ask the students whether they can spot six differences between these pictures of Big Ben.
(The answers are available at: https://tinyurl.com/2p973jyf if you scroll down the page.) - Show Slide 3.
Ask the students whether they can spot six differences between these pictures of the Sydney Opera House.
(The answers are available at: https://tinyurl.com/2p973jyf if you scroll down the page.) - Explain that at first glance, the two pictures in each set looked the same. However, as we looked closer, we spotted little differences that made them non-identical.
- Explain that this can be like our experience of coming back to school. Mostly, things are the same as they were when we were last here, but some things have changed, so things may feel different.
- Ask the students to think about two things that have stayed the same, and two things that have changed since before the summer holidays began.
If appropriate, ask the students to share their ideas with the person next to them. - Point out that there will be many different feelings in the room about starting the new school year. Some people will be feeling happy or excited, whereas others may be feeling nervous or sad.
- Ask the students whether they have been surprised by any of the changes that they have noticed at school since they left for the summer holidays.
Explain that we often like things that stay the same, because they feel familiar and comfortable. Sometimes, we feel unhappy about change because it can make us feel unsettled.
However, change is important. If everything always stayed the same, life would be very boring! Change is how we grow and develop; it can be very exciting.
Time for reflection
Invite the students to pause to think about some of the changes that have happened in school or that they will face this year.
Encourage them to consider how they are going to face these changes. Are they going to run from them, or will they take every opportunity that comes their way?
Explain that there is a story in the Bible that can help us to understand the idea of things being the same, but different.
Show Slide 4.
Some fishermen had spent the whole night fishing, but they had caught nothing. Suddenly, Jesus appeared on the shore and told them to throw out their nets on the other side of the boat. At first, the fishermen didn’t believe that it would work. However, they did what Jesus had said, and caught netfuls of fish - so many, in fact, that the nets were breaking! Jesus invited the fishermen to follow him, which they did, becoming his disciples.
Show Slide 5.
After Jesus had died, the disciples didn’t know what to do, so they went back to their fishing. One morning, the same thing happened as before. The men had spent a long time fishing, but hadn’t caught anything. Suddenly, Jesus appeared on the shore and told them to throw out their nets on the other side of the boat. Guess what? They caught so many fish that the nets were breaking!
By doing this, Jesus was telling the men that although everything had changed - he had spent three years teaching them, he had died and he had come back to life again - things were still the same; he still wanted the men to follow him and do the work that he had given them to do.
Christians believe that because Jesus died and rose again, we can all have a fresh start with God, like we have a fresh start at the start of this new school year. The Bible tells us that change can be good - it’s how we grow and develop - but also that God never changes; he is always the same.
Song/music
‘Getting on with life’ by Philippa Hanna, available at: https://youtu.be/IOv5yhxJ1I0 (4.14 minutes long)
