SEQUENCE FIVE: HOMEWARD BOUND

AIMS

To complete the journey home, and deepen the experience that home can also be found within us.

To reflect on where the Anansi stories originated, and how they travelled around the world.

To share and make connections between the children’s experiences of the stories and the journey they’ve made.

To celebrate the power and importance of stories from around the world, and that everyonehas their own story.

RESOURCES

Audio recording 3 (resource three), story box, map (resource four) and boat (resource one).

STRATEGIES

Listening to a story, acting out the journey, mapping.

INTRODUCTION

This final journey is about returning home and capturing the pupil’s memories and feelings about the whole story experience, as well as allowing them to identify their own wisdom and those qualities that they might share with Anansi and the little wise girl in the wisdom story. Anansi is a trickster, but he also acquires wisdom, and his stories have survived for hundreds of years, with new ones being created all the time. Anansi is the keeper of stories from all over the world!

ACTIVITY ONE: GOING HOME

Stage One: The final part of our journey

Explain that we are now going to imagine we are coming home, across the sea, after our adventures discovering the Anansi stories.

Get the class settled, and listen to the last part of the story narrated by Sam (below and resource three).

https://youtube.com/watch?v=od1tuKGHSL4

Stage Two: Finding a souvenir

Explain that before they step back on board the boat, we find something we want to take home with us from the island. Ask them what they might look for, and where they might find a souvenir to take with them.

Ask them to act out, on the spot, finding their souvenir and putting it somewhere safe to take home with them on the final part of the journey.

Now they are ready to get back onboard with their souvenir.

Stage Three: Bringing the sea journey narrative to life

First, ask everyone to put on their lifejackets, reminding them that these will keep us safe.

Ask the children to imagine they are stepping onto the boat and sitting down. Now ask everyone to imagine the boat has set sail, and as we are moving off, the sea is gently rocking us back and forth.

‘All together, let’s hoist the sails.

Let’s take a breath in, and a gentle breath out.

The weather forecast is good for our journey home. Now you are out at sea, ask the children some of the following:

‘What are you thinking and feeling as you look back at the island you’ve left behind? How did we say goodbye to Anansi when we left? What does the sea look like all around us? What are you looking forward to as we return home? Is there anything worrying you? We are almost there, we’re almost home. Have you got your souvenir safe? Oh, look, there’s wisdom being carried on the wind - can you catch some? What have you caught? Who can see you waiting for you on the shore? What will you remember the most about Anansi? We’re home. Let’s take off our lifejackets and step out of the boat and back onto land. How are you feeling, now that we’ve returned home?’

ACTIVITY TWO: HOME

Explain that now that we have heard all of the stories, and created some of our own, we can look at where the stories have travelled. Move the small model boat on your map or globe, from the Caribbean to Britain.

This is an opportunity to widen the conversation about colonialism and to explain what it was. Include the very long relationships the places we visited (West Africa and the Caribbean) have had with Britain.

Ask children in the class where else on the map or globe they have family. Can they point out where members of their family live, or used to live before they travelled to Britain?

You may also wish to reference the Windrush generation, and say something about the notion of home often meaning that many of us have connections to many places.

Encourage them to think about how the Anansi stories have travelled all over the world and about all the exciting other stories we haven’t yet heard, as well as being able to carry the story of their journey home with them!