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Working with Others
‘Not on your Own!’ is one of a set of five stimulating stories, which embrace the Northern Ireland Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities Framework.
The story is set on Rathlin Island where, on a family holiday, Tony and his friend Holly meet up with two local children. The children realise that it is only through working together that they can face the different challenges and solve the problem they are faced with.
How the books should be used with children:
• readthebooktoorwiththechildren;• usethebeautifulillustrationstosupportthetext;• atkeypointsinthetextyouwillseea.Thisagoodpointtostopandtalk aboutwhatishappening;• usethepromptquestionsontheinnerbackpagetogiveyousomesuggestions;and• reinforcethekeywordsandphrasesthatareusedwithinthebook.
You could introduce and use some of the following words with the children relating to Working with Others
rolesfairunfairco-operatingstanding your groundtaking the leadworking togetherreaching agreementrolesresponsibilities
Now read the story and have fun finding out how Tony and his friends helped resolve a difficult dilemma.
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Liz Weir is a professional story-teller and author who lives in the Glens of Antrim.
Corrina Askin is an art director, illustrator and animator from Co. Tyrone who is based in Belfast.
MoredetailsabouttheirworkcanbefoundontheWiseUpandThinklinkat;www.nicurriculum.org.uk/skills_and_capabilities/thinking_skills_and_personal_capabilities/index.asp
Acknowledgements
Tony Scullion (CCEA) would like to acknowledge and thank the following for their invaluable contribution to this series:
• CarolWeatherall,BelfastEducationandLibraryBoard
• LynneBianchi,CentreforScienceEducation,SheffieldHallamUniversity www.personalcapabilities.co.uk
• MarianHamill,CCEA,PersonalDevelopmentandMutualUnderstanding
DesignedandproducedbyCCEA|Multimedia
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“I wish I’d stayed at home. I think I’m going to be sick!” Tony held his stomach as the boat went up and down over the rough sea.
“Well, don’t throw up near me!” Holly had made this journey before and she hadn’t stuffed herself with a packet of crisps. She knew better. “Tony, look! There’s the island.”
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Tony lifted his head and saw land rising out of the sea mist. There were houses, cars and something black and shiny popping up from under the waves.
“What’s that over there?” He tugged Holly’s arm and pointed.
“It’s a seal! There’s another one over there by the wall.”
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As the ferry slowed to come into the harbour, Tony forgot all about sea-sickness. He had never seen real seals before. They weren’t a bit bothered by the boat. As the ramp was let down they wheeled their bicycles off.
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Holly’s mum struggled with the cases and boxes of groceries.
“Thanks for leaving it all to me. Come back and help!”
Kizzy was so excited she was getting her lead tangled amongst everyone’s legs.
“Here. Tony, grab your dog before she trips me up!”
Holly’s dad handed her over. She was yelping with excitement.
“Looks like Kizzy’s going to enjoy herself as well,” he said.
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They had to make two trips to get all their stuff over to the holiday cottage. There was a race to see who got the top bunk.
Tony won.
“I was here first!”
“No, that’s mine! It’s not fair!”
“Don’t start squabbling already, you two,” said mum. “We’re only here. Sort it out yourselves.”
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“Well … maybe I’d be better on the bottom in case Kizzy needs out,” said Tony.
So that was that. Holly smiled.
The next morning the sun was shining and they headed out the door. Holly led the way.
“Come on, Tony! Let’s go down to the beach.”
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There was no-one else about so they let Kizzy off. She ran about like a mad thing, barking and trying to chase seagulls flying high overhead. Just then they noticed two children coming towards them.
“Eva, Michael!” Holly called out and ran on down to meet them. “Hiya! This is my cousin Tony. Tony, this is Eva and her wee brother Michael.”
Tony nodded at the red haired girl who was about a head taller than him. Michael was a couple of years younger than Holly.
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“How long are you here for this time, Holly?”
“A week. I was going to show Tony around.”
“We’re heading up to the lighthouse. Do you want to come with us? You’ll need your bikes and you’d be better leaving that dog behind,” said Eva.
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“Sure.” Holly turned to head back to the cottage.
Tony stood his ground.
“Can we not bring her with us?”
“No, there’re cows on the way up. There’s no way you can ride the bike and keep her on a lead,” said Eva.
“I do that in Belfast.”
“This isn’t Belfast. Wait till you see the road!”
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Fifteen minutes later, Tony realised Eva was right. He had started off well but now he was way behind. He was puffing and panting, pushing his bike up the steepest hill he had ever seen. The others were waiting up ahead.
“It’ll take you a while to get used to the hills.” Eva’s voice was kind but Tony was annoyed. Her old bike wasn’t a patch on his brand new one.
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Michael was bored.
“Come on, you lot. I want to get there before the bus comes.”
Tony said nothing.
“Bus?” he thought to himself. “There’s no way you’d get a bus up here. This place is mad.”
Michael was away like a hare with the older ones chasing after him. The sun was hot when they came to the lighthouse.
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”Leave the bikes here. They’ll be fine.” Eva took the lead again. “We’re going down to see the birds.”
Tony had never seen so many steps before and soon they were at a big lighthouse.
“Wow! This is amazing”.
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“Look at the puffins!” Michael called him over to a telescope on the platform. They could hardly hear each other speak as thousands of birds were making a big racket. The puffins looked so funny with their orange beaks and feet.
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Just then they saw a whole lot of people coming down the steps. The minibus had arrived. Holly was surprised to see her Mum. She looked upset.
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“Mum! What are you doing here?”
“I came looking for you. Is Kizzy with you?”
“Kizzy? No,” replied Holly.
“Where’s Kizzy?” Tony asked anxiously.
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“After you left she wanted out. I was at the line and she slipped out the door. She just ran off and didn’t come back. We’ve been searching all over for her.”
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Tony felt like crying.
“She’s my dog. I’ll find her.”
“Not on your own, Tony,” said Holly. “We’ll all help.”
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When they got halfway down the hill Eva spoke up.
“We need to agree on what we’re going to do. What if we split up? Michael, you could go with Holly and Tony can come with me.”
“Wouldn’t I be better to go with Michael? He’s the smallest.” Tony wasn’t sure he wanted to be bossed about by Eva.
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“Michael knows his way about and Holly’s been here before. Why don’t we meet at the harbour at 2 o’clock. You’ve got your mobile and I’ll lend Holly mine. We can keep in touch by text.”
This made sense so they all agreed and set off on their bikes.
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“Where could she have gone?” wondered Tony.
“There’re lots of places for a dog to get lost here, especially a city dog. We’ll head out round by the Kelp Store. Maybe she went after the seals,” said Eva.
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Michael and Holly were riding their bikes towards Bruce’s Cave. They’d asked a local farmer if he’d seen a strange dog and he had pointed over in that direction. A quick text had Eva and Tony heading their way.
“Listen. Can you hear barking?” Michael stood still and Holly stopped beside him. They both heard an excited bark.
“It’s her! Let’s go!”
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The two of them ran across the grass towards the shore and sure enough there was Kizzy, barking her head off.
“Kizzy, come on girl. Kizzy!” said Holly.
Kizzy didn’t move. She just stood at the edge of a rocky cliff, still barking.
“Careful, Holly. Don’t go near the edge.” Michael moved slowly forward but still the dog paid him no attention.
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“Over here!” Holly shouted as she saw Tony and Eva ride up.
“There she is!” Tony started to run towards her.
“Wait a minute, Tony. Stop!” Eva’s voice was serious.
Tony had reached his dog but all of a sudden he felt dizzy when he saw the drop beneath them.
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“Here, take my hand.” Michael reached out and pulled him away from the edge as he held on to Kizzy’s lead for dear life.
By the time Eva got there, both Tony and Kizzy were safe. Eva took a look over the cliff and realised what Kizzy was barking at.
“It’s a cow – she’s stuck!”
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Sure enough, a brown cow was lying on a ledge way down the cliff.
“How can we get her up?” asked Michael.
“Maybe I can climb down and lead her?” said Tony.
“No way, Tony. A man broke his leg down there last year,” said Eva.
“Could we try to chase her back down towards the sea?” asked Holly.
“And then what? It’s too slippy. She’d panic,” said Tony.
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Eva had heard enough.
“Look, we can’t do this on our own.”
“Who can we get to help us?” asked Tony.
“We’ll ring my dad for a start. He’ll know who to call,” said Eva.
Half an hour later help had arrived. The lifeboat came in at the bottom of the cliff to fix the ropes on the cow. A team of local men worked from above to pull her up.
Tony was worried.
“What if Kizzy chased it over?”
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Eva had already thought of that.
“It’s alright, Tony. I asked my dad. He says that cow’s been missing for two days. Without Kizzy’s help she might have died. The farmer’s given us money for chips!”
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That evening all four children were sitting on the harbour wall happily munching fish and chips. Kizzy was running about the beach still trying to chase the seagulls.
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“She’s not bad for a city dog!” wee Michael said.
This time nobody disagreed.
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Discussion PromptsHow were the tasks shared as they got off the boat?Was this fair?How might Tony and Holly decide who should get the top bunk?
What unfair things happen to you when working in a group?Why do you think they happen?
How did Tony and Holly sort out who was going to get the top bunk?Was the outcome a fair one? Why? Why not?Why do you think Tony had to ‘stand his ground’?How do you think Holly, Tony and Kizzy felt at this point in the story?
Doyoueverfeeltheneedtostand your ground when working as a group?When can standing your ground have a good and a not so good effect?Who do you think made the better decision: Holly turning straight away to Eva’s command or Tony for standing his ground?
Who took the lead in the group?Doyouthinkthatpersonwasagoodleader?
Doesagroupneedaleader?Why?Whynot?Is it fair that one person takes the lead each time? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the same person taking the lead each time they work together?How would you decide who the leader of a group should be?
How did the group organise themselves?What roles did they take on?What responsibilities did each of them have? Was everyone clear about what to do?Didtheyallagreeonthedecision?Howdoyouknowthis?Dideveryoneinthegroupworktogethertocompletethetask?Doyouthinktheywerepleasedaboutwhattheyachieved?Why?Whynot?Doyouthinktheymightdoanythingdifferentlynexttime?What?
Why do you need to work well with others in school, at home or in other situations?
Everyone has a story to tell…
Encourage the children to tell a story, real or imagined that involves a group of friends.They might think about:
• thingsthatagroupofcharacterscouldgetupto?• situationstheymightbeinvolvedin?• dilemmastheymightface?Howwouldtheygoaboutdealingwiththese?
To help them structure their stories, they could think about planning the beginning, the middle and the ending.
What happened…
at the beginning? Who was involved? What did they do? Forexample,made something, had a sleep over or played in a team sport.
in the middle? Howdidtheygoabouttheevent?Howdidtheyworktogether?Didtheyfaceanyproblems?Whatdidtheydoto overcome these?
at the end? How did it work out? How well did they work together?
Find additional support and activities for ‘Not On Your Own!’ at: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/skills_and_capabilities/thinking_skills_and_personal_capabilities/index.asp
Tony and Holly meet up with two local children during a family holiday on Rathlin Island.They face a dilemma that requires them to work together to solve it. How do they do it?
‘Not on your own!’ is one of a set of five stimulating stories which embrace the Northern
Ireland Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities
Framework.
