Just as humans say ”hello” and “goodbye” to each other before and after get-togethers, researchers have found that some apes use signals to start and end their social interactions. This resources pack includes an article from The Week Junior magazine, along with a sheet of activities designed to get children thinking, talking and writing about what the story means to them.
Debate
What difference does saying please or thank you really make? Do you actually mean it when you use these largely pointless words? Sometimes, it feels like they are just an excuse for artificial outrage when someone forgets to use them. Or are these little habits and traditions an important part of what holds us together as society? What do you think?
Writing challenges
Imagine you have forgotten your manners, and write a pretend letter to a grandparent for a gift they sent for your birthday.
Or
Write an imagined diary entry about a day on which someone – or a number of people – were not polite to you.
Investigate
Where do all these manners-related words come from? What did they originally mean? Research and write a sentence or two for each of the following words, explaining their derivations (origins).
Please
Thanks
Polite
Manners
Rude
Find the entire series of Topical Tuesday resources to download here.
What is The Week Junior?
The Week Junior magazine looks at current affairs and helps children make sense of the world, provides context and clarity to complex issues, improves general knowledge and encourages discussion and debate.
To find out more about The Week Junior and to download its free resources, please go to schools.theweekjunior.co.uk.