Nothing Scares Me: FOUNDATION - HPE - Engage

Old Dog and Elly fear goannas, Ms Chen fears geckos, and Big Cuz fears the dentist. Little J boasts he isn’t scared of anything, but this may not be true. When Mick, Ally, Little J and Old Dog go to the beach, Little J discovers that his hero, Mick, is scared of Hermit crabs. Together, on the cliff, Mick and Little J overcome their shame of being afraid and help each other to be brave.

Engage - Identify and describe emotional responses people may experience in different situations 

Theme - PHOBIA

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 11 ‘Nothing Scares Me’, engage students with the following learning activities to support their understanding about phobias, and how to overcome them.

As a class, revisit the phobias of each character in Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 11 ‘Nothing Scares Me’ and list these on the IWB or Board. Poll students, through questioning, or a Kahoot, on what they fear. Draw on the similarities, such as fear of the dark, snakes, spiders, mice, rats, grasshoppers, etc. Have the class order the fears for those most feared to the least feared. Discuss how and when these fears began for individual students. Have students suggest ways they may overcome fears (not necessarily their own), but as advice for others who may still have these fears.

Invite students to read or view, individually or as a class, a selection of books/video clips about children’s fears, such as:

  • Bourgeois, P., & Clark, B. (2014). Franklin in the dark. Toronto: Kids Can.
  • Danneberg, J. (2000). First Day Jitters. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Pub. 
  • Mayer, M.  (1987).  There's an alligator under my bed.  Melbourne:  J.M. Dent (video, told by Mercer Mayer)
  • Polacco, P. (1990). Thunder cake. Philomel Books, New York (video, read by Patricia Polacco)
  • Rey, H. A. (2017). Curious George goes to the hospital. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin. 
  • Scott, A. H. & Coalson, G. (ill.) (1996). Brave as a mountain lion. New York: Clarion Books.
  • Snicket, L. & Klassen, J., (ill). (2013). The dark. New York, NY, Little, Brown and Company.  
  • Tomlinson, J., & Howard, P. (2000). The owl who was afraid of the dark. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
  • Watt, M. (2008). Scaredy squirrel. Kids Can Press, Toronto 
  • Wild, M. & Tanner, J.  (1989).  There's a sea in my bedroom.  Camberwell, Vic: Puffin Books (kids reading, with English subtitles, animation (Teacher resources)

Discuss with the class the fears of each character in each book or video, and how the characters overcame their fears. Have students suggest some solutions to their own phobias.

Using a fishing line, hang the names of each student’s fear/s (in the shape of a cloud) on the line. Over the course of the unit/semester, invite students to remove and discard the fear when they feel they have confronted it and overcome it. They can replace the cloud with a heart-shaped label, ‘Brave heart’.

(If available) As a class, read Kwaymullina, A. & Kwaymullina, E.  (2011).  The two-hearted numbat.  Fremantle, WA:  Fremantle Press. (Teaching notes)

Have students explore the text and respond to these sample questions:

  1. Why is it important that the eldest Numbat watches over the family Numbat’s journey?
  2. Why is it important that Numbat eventually has a heart of both stone and feather?
  3. What is wrong with just having a heart of stone, or just having a heart of feather?
  4. What did the other numbats expect when Numbat wore his feather heart?
  5. What did the other numbats think of Numbat when he wore his stone heart?
  6. What was wrong with what the other numbats thought?

If possible, access Teach this worksheet for “The two-hearted numbat” and ask students to complete the questions.

Compare the behaviours of the characters in Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 11 ‘Nothing Scares Me’, to the numbats in “The two-hearted numbat” and ask students to draw an illustration of their chosen character using either a feather heart or a stone heart.

Suggested teacher resources