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������̳ Teach > School Radio > Assemblies and Collective Worship
KS1 audio: Something to Think About / KS2 audio: Together

Pre-programme questions:

• What songs do you particularly like singing at this time of year?
• What music do you like to listen to at Christmas time? Are there any tunes or songs that put you right in the ‘Christmas spirit’?
• Have you heard of the Salvation Army? What does it do and what connection does it have with music?

Programme content:

Vox pops: children talk about how they celebrate Christmas at school
Feature: children give us some traditional facts we may not know about ChristmasSong: Come and Praise, no 122: ‘Christmas Christmas’Story: The Salvation Army and its music by Rob John.Reflection: on the inspirational story of the Salvation Army and how music can draw people together and remind us what is special about Christmas.

Story synopsis:

It’s the week before Christmas and Joe is heading into town to spend the £5 his grandmother had given him on chocolate. He walks past a Salvation Army band playing in the high street. He stays and watches the band performing and just as he’s enjoying the music, a group of boys turn up and start to mock the band by making loud noises and being rude. The band ignores them and starts to play even louder. The boys eventually get bored and disappear.

The story then goes into the history of the Salvation Army and how William Booth started the movement some 150 years ago. At the end of the story, a Salvation Army collector comes to Joe rattling his collection tin. Joe puts his hands in his pocket and donates his £5 to the collection instead of going to the shop to buy chocolate.

After the story:

• How would you feel if you saw a Salvation Army band playing and somebody tried to disturb them?
• Why did William Booth set up a church called the Salvation Army and what kind of music do the bands play?
• What did Booth call his members?
• Approximately how many bands are there around the world?

Follow-up activities:

• If you had £5 like Joe, what would you do with it? Think about different activities you could do: you might want to donate it to charity; you may want to buy a gift for somebody who may not receive a Christmas present this year; you may also want to bake something for your school Christmas party - what ingredients would you need? Would you need to buy all of them for £5 or do you have some ingredients at home or school you could use?
• Visit a Salvation Army centre and find out more about what they do - especially at Christmas time when they have various charity appeals. How does their music reach out to people?