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.

Explain - Examine health messages and how they relate to health decisions and behaviours

Theme - WELLBEING

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 11 ‘Nothing Scares Me’, engage students with the following learning activities to support their understanding about personal and social strengths, and friendship.

As a class, revisit the fears of Little J, Big Cuz, Old Dog, Elly and Uncle Mick within Episode 11 ‘Nothing Scares Me’, and ask students to recall that Little J was afraid of heights. Have students recall that Little J boasted that he ‘wasn’t afraid of anything’, even though he was. He confided his ‘shame’ to Big Cuz.

Engage the students with a discussion about the meaning of ‘shame’, such as, feeling disgraced, embarrassed, dishonoured, humiliated. Have students suggest times when they have felt ‘shamed’, and try to find some commonality. Most people will feel shame when they were proved ‘wrong’, suffered a competition lose, committed to doing something and then didn’t complete it, was found out in a lie, fall behind in their learning compared to others, etc. Talk with students about how they feel in these situations and how it affects their behaviour.

Have students suggest some ways of overcoming ‘shame’, and how people can help others to overcome shame. The basic message is about ‘inclusion’, ‘acceptance’, ‘trust’ and ‘friendship’. Have students explain how they feel when they are ‘excluded’, ‘left out’, or made to feel ‘different’.

Explore how:

• Uncle Mick assisted Little J to overcome his fear of heights, and of being shamed.
• Little J assisted Uncle Mick to overcome his fear of hermit crabs, by problem-solving (the use of bread to attract the crabs away from the cliff face).
• Uncle Mick scares away the goanna for Elly to feel safe.
• Nanna helps Big Cuz overcome her fear of the dentist.
• Big Cuz helps Old Dog to overcome his fear of the goanna.

Watch the animation, ‘Jack’, and discuss how friendship empowers people and increases our sense of worth.

Activity 1

Have the class stand in a circle with their heads bowed. When the command ‘Look up!’ is given, each student raises their heads and looks at another student. If the student they are looking at is looking back at them, then both are out so they both sit down. Repeat until only two students are left.

This game explores relationships in the class. Students will usually look at their friends first, and ‘unfamiliar’ students or the isolated students last. Explain to students how sometimes, people don’t look at people because we feel we are different. Repeat the activity to see if students look at different people, and have students explain why they chose a person to look at, and what relationship they have with that person.

Activity 2

Have each student select one coloured piece of paper. Tell students that they are to make a most interesting or beautiful picture/pattern. If they wish, students can tear the paper into small pieces so they have a ‘pile’ of smaller pieces.

Allow students to consider the problem: ‘How will they make an interesting pattern/picture with only one colour?’ Invariably one or two students will suggest that they could share their colours, such as swapping, trading, or mixing all the colours into a centre pile and dividing the pile equally for each student.

The message from this activity is that people achieve better things by working with others than by themselves.

Invite students to read books or view video clips about acceptance, friendship, and trust, such as:

• Hardy, D. (2014). Alfie's big wish. Broome, WA : Magabala Books. (Teacher Notes PDF)
• Hardy, D.  (2013).  Alfie's search for destiny.  Broome, WA :  Magabala Books. (Teacher Notes PDF)
• Leffler, D.  (2011).  Once there was a boy.  Broome, WA :  Magabala Books. (Teacher Notes PDF)
• Tyson, Venetia.  (2015).  My lost mob.  Broome, WA:  Magabala Books. (Teacher Notes PDF) )
• I Think, ‘Clash’, Australian Children’s Television Foundation (Scootle TLF R6072)
• I Think, ‘Lost’, Australian Children’s Television Foundation (Scootle TLF R6083)
• I Think, ‘Real Friends’, Australian Children’s Television Foundation (Scootle TLF R6073) 
• I Think, ‘Out of Order’, Australian Children’s Television Foundation (Scootle TLF R6077) 

As a class, discuss how each resource explores friendship and what impact these messages have on the students to help and include others.