This week I finally managed to get my hands on a copy of El Deafo by Cece Bell and very quickly I could understand why it was so highly recommended. The story completely dragged me in to the extent where it left me no option but to make sure I finished it that day. Whilst reading it I felt a huge desire to share it with my class in a way that would really stimulate their thoughts about how we treat each other especially those who we may perceive to be ‘different’. I decided to photocopy two pages of the book which covered the idea of the qualities needed for a good friend, why we shouldn’t judge others for appearing ‘different’ to us and the pressure to care about what others think even if you don’t interact with them. The class came up with lots of excellent ideas about why we shouldn’t be so preoccupied with what others think whilst acknowledging that people are concerned about this because not everyone is treated fairly especially if they are ‘different’ in some way themselves. After a fantastic thirty minutes of dialogue about how we should treat everybody the same no matter how ‘different’ they may seem the children then set about making posters to promote empathy towards others in society. They made them together in pairs which allowed them to continue discussing ideas whilst working and really focus on the core principle that we shouldn’t be judging people just because something about them seems ‘different’ to us. I thoroughly recommend the text for those who haven’t read it yet as not only is it a brilliant book to read but the amount of PSHE work you can get out of it in UKS2 is phenomenal.

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