Role model behaviour

Why don’t people always do what they say they will?

In this film, M8-E the robot is tying to figure out the answer to this question, with help from his classmates Milo, Emma, Josh, Tanvi and Zayn.

To help pupils explore this question too, why not watch the film as a class to see what M8-E learns? You could then explore the activities to encourage them to think about why people might not always do what they say they are going to, and how that might make others feel.

It’s break time and the friends are discussing their favourite crisp flavours when they notice that Zayn has not yet joined them. When he arrives and explains that he has been helping tidy up the classroom, they realise that although they too had offered to help, none of them had. Zayn had done what he said he would though and the others resolve to do better themselves in future.

This guide can enable pupils to consider why people don’t always do what they say they will and how that might make others feel.

Learning objectives:

• I can explain why people don’t always behave in the way they say they will.

• I can describe how it makes others feel when people don’t do what they say they will.

• I can identify when personal behaviours might need more development.

To help focus your discussion, you could ask pupils which aspect of being a positive role model Zayn is demonstrating in the film. Which values and characteristics is he showing?

You might like to then replay Tanvi’s question from the final scene of the film.

Tanvi: “This is making me think. It’s like yesterday when I promised Mum I’d tidy my room but I didn’t; or when I told Emma I’d watch her football match but didn’t… am I a bad person?”

Perhaps then discuss with your class why people say that they will do things and then don’t do them.

• Is there a difference between a good reason (perhaps something else happened) and a poor one (like just not fancying it)?
• You could ask them to come up with one good reason why Tanvi didn’t tidy her room (maybe she was helping do something else) and one poor reason (maybe she just didn’t want to).
• Can they think of one good reason why Tanvi didn’t go and watch Emma’s football match (perhaps Tanvi’s grandmother came to visit) and one poor reason (perhaps it was cold outside)?

As a starting point for further discussion, you could ask why it is important that when we say we will do something, that we follow through and do it. What might the impact on others be if we say we will do something and then don’t?

For example, what might have been the impact on Tanvi’s mum when Tanvi didn’t tidy her room? What might the impact have been on Emma when Tanvi didn’t turn up at the football match?

Finally, pupils could think about how they would answer Tanvi if she asked them the question she asked Joshua at the end of the film. You might want to replay this part.

Joshua: “You’re not bad Tanvi… We’ve all said things like that… I suppose we just need to be more careful about what we promise.”

Do they agree?

This activity can help pupils to think critically about their own responsibilities. For a quick starter, you could ask them to score themselves between 1-10 against this statement: I am good at doing what I say I will do.

You could then read out the following scenarios and ask pupils to write down their responses. This is an individual activity and they do not need to share their answers unless they want to. It might be worth reminding them of Joshua’s reply to Tanvi first.

You could emphasise that this is not about being ‘bad’ or being made to feel guilty, but about considering how they might do things differently in future.

Have you ever:

• said you would help tidy the classroom but didn’t?

• promised to tidy your room but didn’t?

• arranged to see a friend but didn’t go?

• promised someone you would do something for them but didn’t?

You could encourage pupils to look back at their answers once they have finished. Do they match with their score in the first activity? If they have answered yes to any of the questions, ask them to write down the reason why it happened. You could ask them to put a tick next to the reason if they think it was a good one and a cross next to it if they think it wasn’t.

For a final reflection, you might like to see if anyone wants to share their responses. If they do, ask them what they could have done differently to make the situation better.

This activity can help pupils reflect upon how other people might feel when someone says they will do something and then doesn’t do it. Consider asking them to think about the following examples:

• How might the teacher feel when only Zayn stayed behind to help, even though the others had said they would?

• How might Tanvi’s mum feel when Tanvi said she would tidy her room but didn’t?

• How might Emma feel when Tanvi said she would go and watch her play football but didn’t?

A great way to explore this further is to suggest the pupils get into small groups and create a short role play for each of these situations. Ask them to act them out, showing how the teacher, Tanvi’s mum and Emma might have felt.

You could then encourage them to role play the scenario again, but this time with the main character doing something else so the other person felt differently. This doesn’t have to be them following through with the promise necessarily. For example, Tanvi could ask her mum to ring Emma’s mum and let her know she won’t be able to make it because her grandmother is coming round. Emma might still be a bit disappointed, but less so than when she thought Tanvi had broken her promise.

Taking it in turns to play the different characters might open up a discussion around the importance of empathy and seeing things from other points of view.