Naughty Land
Stimulus:
Francesca is an explorer and she has been away from her home now for some years. One day she stumbles on a village deep in the jungle that has been cut off from the rest of the world and so no one except for Francesca knows about these people. They speak a language that is quite easy to learn and it does not take Francesca long to speak their language.
She notices that they have a very strange custom: unlike the place Francesca has come from, they reward bad people and punish good people. Francesca names this place ‘Naughty Land’.
Task question 1
What do you think it would be like to live in Naughty Land?
Task question 2
Should she politely live like the Naughty-Landers or should she try to persuade them to change their ways?
Nested questions:
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Are good and bad relative to different cultures?
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Are some things just good or bad no matter where you are?
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Would it be right of her to try to change them?
Extension activity:
Read a version of ‘The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse’ and discuss the story (see Robert Fisher’s First Stories for Thinking for the story and some accompanying questions). Read the children the story Mr. Good by Roger Hargreaves and run an Enquiry on the following suggested Task Questions (not all at once!):
- Do people in Badland have to be bad?
- If you go to Badland should you be bad?
- If a Badlander goes to Goodland should they be good?
- Is it okay to be bad if you are in Badland?
- Should you try to change people in Badland?
- Why isn’t there just one big Goodland?
