Comic Relief's Red Nose Day is back on Friday 19th March and this year it’s never felt more important to have some fun and raise money to support people living incredibly tough lives. Comic Relief want the power of funny to turn laughs into lasting change. Whether you're part of a primary, secondary, or a nursery, they would love for you to get involved.
They have put together free downloads for schools and Early Years settings and encourage you to use their fabulous resources to make the most of Red Nose Day.
A CHALLENGE LIKE NO OTHER
In support of Red Nose Day, professional racing driver and double-leg amputee, Billy Monger, is attempting to undertake a gruelling triathlon inspired challenge. Over the course of four days, Billy will be battling the elements as well as physical and mental exhaustion, as he sets out to walk, kayak and cycle a staggering 140 miles. Along the way, he’ll be supported by family, friends and some very special guests to help spur him on to the finish line.
On the official Red Nose Day site you can even brighten up your video calls (if you are still having any with outside agencies or pupils shielding at home) by downloading one of the seven backgrounds (example below):
Using LGfL Resources
Why not use some of the templates provided on the Comic Relief site to share with your pupils via the just2easy Toolsuite? They can then add their own creative spin on the masks, bunting and posters as shown below in JiT or you could encourage them all to design their own video call background, rather than using one of the ones shown above.
Or get your pupils to write a Comic Relief quiz they could share with the other pupils.
On March 19th 2021 all Busy Bodies will have a red nose for the day! Make sure you have made your Busy Body before the day so you can see which of their five noses you get! If you don't yet have a Busy Body you can read about how to create one here.
Also click on Busy Things Special Events tab to see activities they have suggested for Red Nose Day 2021. The pupils could create a Red Nose picture by drawing their own face or working with a Busy Things character and then use the art tools and clipart to create their own funny face!
Growing Up Around the World aims to help UK children understand the realities of childhood in different contexts. Designed for use in Citizenship, PSHE or Geography lessons, the videos introduce Key Stage 2, 3 and 4 pupils to human rights, building an understanding of the issues facing people around the world. The resources come with a comprehensive teacher pack with full lesson plans, starter activities, sample worksheets, a dictionary of key terms and tips for expanding on the material provided in the resource. The charity tve took over more than two decades, following the lives of eleven children in ten different countries to make this series of groundbreaking films.
You could use the films in Growing Up Around the World to inspire your pupils to think further about the work of Comic Relief in raising money to support people living incredibly tough lives. They could then:
- Write a blog/news report about the work of Comic Relief
- Make a short film to explain why it is important to get involved
- Design posters to persuade parents to donate to this year's Red Nose Day
ReadingZone Live could provide your pupils with a starting point for including humour in their narratives. Below is just one clip from RZL with Andy Riley talking about "How can anyone introduce humour into their writing?"
There are other authors talking about humour too: Julian Clary, Guy Bass and Anthony McGowan (find the videos by searching select to view videos/KS2/humour). Perhaps you could set your class the challenge of writing a humorous short story. They can use ideas from the ReadingZone Live author interviews. Once completed the short stories could be put together in a class anthology called "The Power of Funny" and you could hold a competition to see who has the best front cover design using Adobe Spark.
“THE CREATIVITY THAT GOES INTO HELPING PEOPLE HAVE A BETTER LIFE IS EXTRAORDINARY.” Sir Lenny Henry
Whatever you decide to do with the power of funny to turn laughs into lasting change, we hope you have a fabulous time with your pupils at school! Remember we would love to see any photographs, posters or other work completed by your pupils and showing how your school has raised money for this worthy cause. Please share with us via our Twitter or Facebook pages using the hashtag #RedNoseDay.