You are going to attend an assembly called “ Breaking the Cycle”

Write down three things you might expect to hear about in this assembly.

1.

2.

3.

How right were you?

The assembly is about:

Choices

Respecting yourself and others

Forgiveness

What is

Breaking the Cycle?

Learning

Objectives:

• To begin to understand what forgiveness means

• To learn about people who made history by working for non-violence and forgiveness.

• To understand the importance of personal choice in resolving conflicts

What does “Nonviolent conflict resolution through forgiveness”

mean?

Match each word to the quote that best shows its meaning.

1.Nonviolent

2. Conflict resolution

3. Forgiveness

The speakers tell true stories about their lives thatdemonstrate how, through choosing to forgive, conflicts can be resolved.

No, don’t hurt him, he’ll only

get more angry

What can I do to make up with her? How can we

move on from here?

That’s OK. I don’t hold it against

you.

History of

Breaking the Cycle

Breaking the Cycle began in New York in 1999following a tragic high school shooting.

It is an effort to stem the rising tide of youth violence.

Since then, the assemblies have been held at hundreds of schools and colleges throughout the USA and England.

The Book

“Why Forgive?”

True stories of forgiveness!

- Steven was shot and paralysed

- Kate was abused by her father

- Anne lost 2 children to one bullet!

Pick it up for FREE after the assembly.

In the assembly, you will hear about a number of Role Models

Who is this?

Mahatma Gandhi

What do you already know about Gandhi?

Gandhi changed the world with

non-violence and forgiveness.

What do you think made him strong?

Role Models

Who is this?

Martin Luther King Jr. changed the

United States with non-violence and

forgiveness.

What do you think made him strong?

Martin Luther King Jr.

Personal Choice

Like MLK and Gandhi, YOU have to make choices in your life when you are in difficult situations.

To prepare for the assembly, we are going to consider what our responses would be to situations of conflict.

What would you do?

• We will look at some examples of stories where someone is hurt in some way.

• We will look at FOUR different ‘voices’ or viewpoints about each situation.

A) Voice of victim – person who is hurt

B) Voice of perpetrator – person who caused the hurt

C) Voice of friend advising revenge

D) Voice of friend advising forgiveness

What would you do?

Your mobile phone goes missing from your bag during PE. Your best friend Henry was not playing that day. You try not to suspect him, but don’t mention the phone at all. Next day, one of the other boys tells you he saw Henry taking something out of your bag.

What would you do?

You and your mates are having fun in science class during a practical. Kate is messing around, and combines two dangerous chemicals. In the explosion that follows, your face is badly burned, and you are taken to hospital. The doctors later say your skin is permanently scarred.

What would you do?

Your brother is killed in a car crash. He was in the front passenger seat. His mate, who was driving, only received minor injuries.

What did you choose to do?

Plenary: Copy and fill in the following diagram

A question I have after this lesson

Two things I learned today

Three things I knew already