FREE
Some lesson ideas written by John Yates-Harold
based on the four short films comprising “Free”
(written and directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair)
This resource will explore themes of identity, stereotypes, friendship and family. It ties
together and extends discussion points found in many of the books recommended by
Stonewall and the “Different Families” DVD.
The resources are intended as a starting point and may be freely adapted and tailored to
suit the needs of individual schools and groups of children.



Explore the title of the film: What does “free” mean?
What do we mean when we say “Children should be free to be themselves.” How do
adults and the children’s peers facilitate or restrict this?
Is everyone free?
DANNI
1. Activity: You will need: 3 sheets of A2 sugar paper; sticky notes; pens
 In the middle of one sheet of sugar paper, write on one “Boys can...”; on another,
“Girls can...”; on the third, “Boys and girls can...”. Encourage the children to write on
individual sticky notes, things that boys can do, things that girls can do and things that
both can do; stick them on the correct sheets. Discuss.
2. Activity: You will need: one piece of plain paper per child; pencils; colouring pencils/
pens
 Girls can write “I enjoy being a girl because...”
 Boys can write “I enjoy being a boy because...”
 Children should be encouraged to write at least five things
 Extend this with “The best thing about being a boy/girl is...”
3. Activity: You will need: one envelope per child; string/blu-tac/sellotape;
pens/pencils; paper
 Each child writes their name on their envelope
 The envelopes are either strung up across the classroom or stuck on a board or on the
wall in such a way that they are accessible by the children and/or other adults
 Encourage the children to write positive comments on a slip of paper and put them in
the envelope for that particular child
 At the end of the day/week, comments could be either shared with the class read by
the person whose name is on the envelope or the envelopes could be taken home to be
read in private
 This activity does take some “policing” by the Class Teacher/Teaching Assistant to
ensure that only appropriate positive comments are posted and that each child has at
least one comment in their envelope
 Link with SEAL “Good To Be Me”
ALTERNATIVELY:
4. Activity: You will need: a piece of plain paper per child; slips of paper; blutac/sellotape; pencils; colouring pencils/ paints etc; one mirror per child
 Each child looks in the mirror and draws and colours (or paints) a self-portrait; this is
displayed. Children are encouraged to write positive comments on slips of paper which
are then stuck underneath or around the children’s portraits
5. Activity: Discuss: What groups (or tribes) do you belong to? This could elicit answers
such as ‘our school’, ‘our class’, ‘our town/city’, ‘our country’, ‘the world’. It might
elicit answers such as brownies/guides, beavers/cubs/scouts, orchestra, drama/dance
group, after school club (including extra-curricular school-based clubs). Other groups
might include a particular boy/girl band or style of music e.g. garage, rock, goth, emo,
hip-hop etc. Religious or cultural groups might also be represented. If the children
haven’t already thought of it, an adult might suggest something as obvious as ‘boy’ and
‘girl’.
 Encourage the children to bring in something that represents the groups to which they
belong e.g. a t-shirt of their favourite band, a bible (or similar), their cub uniform. If
the children are not allowed to bring in actual items, a photo is a good substitute.
Display whatever is brought in.

Discuss: why do we wear certain things to show we belong to particular groups? This
can even lead to the colours of particular clothes including pink for girls and blue for
boys. Which colours are gender-specific? Which colours are gender-neutral? What about
boys who wear pink and girls who wear blue? What about clothes that are genderspecific? Why is it okay for girls to wear trousers and less okay for boys to wear skirts?
How does what we wear define us/create and/or maintain our identity?
6. Activity: You will need: a variety of catalogues e.g. Argos, IKEA etc; scissors; glue;
large sheets of sugar paper (or similar)
 Give the children different sections of the catalogues to cut out and stick in different
categories. The categories could include: things only boys can wear; things only girls
can wear; things both boys and girls can wear; things only boys can play with etc.
 This could be extended to look at how things change as a child gets older. So the
children could compare clothing of a boy aged 2 with that of a boy aged 10 and even
older still. A comparison of games (or similar things that children want) at different
ages could be made.
 This could lead into an exploration of needs and wants at different ages. Discuss: What
do we all need? How is this different from what we all want? What does a baby/
toddler/infant/child/teenager/older young person need? What do they want? Hopefully
the children will realise that needs are different from wants and that perhaps what we
all need is food, shelter and love. This might link with work in maths (creating bar
charts) or work around money (“My Money Week” PFEG). Refer to Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy
of Needs’. Do the children agree with this? Can they come up with their own version?
 Further, this could lead into discussions about gender-specific toys. Are action figures
just dolls for boys? Why is it more acceptable for a boy to play with a Harry Potter
action figure than a Barbie?
7. Activity: Friendship: what is friendship? How do friends behave towards each other?
Can you have more than one best friend? (Write that question on a sheet a paper and
display it in class/around school. Listen out for the discussions based on that!) How do
friends show they like each other? Brainstorm ideas and write them on a large sheet of
paper. (Link with SEAL “Getting On and Falling Out”)
 Activity: Friendship continuum: read out a list of sentences about how children show
they are friends. E.g. I give my friend a hug when we meet; I always say “Sorry” when
I’ve upset my friend etc. Ask the children to move along an imaginary line in the
classroom with one end being “Totally comfortable with...” and the other end being
“Not at all comfortable with...”
 This could lead into continuum questions about boys being friends with other boys, girls
with other girls; and being friends with the opposite sex. E.g. I’m a boy and I hug my
friends who are boys when we meet, etc. This may open up attitudes and/or
comments/responses about being gay/lesbian which should be handled sensitively and
appropriately. Boys who have other boys as close friends are not necessarily gay;
similarly for girls. Just as much as a boy who has a girl as a close friend is not any less
male than a boy who has just male friends; similarly for girls. The message should be:
it’s good to have friends and it’s okay to show that you like and care for them (in ageappropriate ways).
8. Discuss: what does it mean to “be yourself”? Which words can be used to stop you
being yourself? What is “normal” behaviour for a girl or a boy? Where does pressure
come from to keep boys behaving like boys and girls behaving like girls? (Peers,
parents, media, society etc). Explore words like “sissy” for a boy who likes doing girlish
things and “tomboy” for a girl who likes doing boyish things. Why do people use such
words?
9. Activity: You will need: paper; pencils; various art equipment/mixed media e.g.
feathers, pastels, plastic face masks, modroc/artroc, acrylic paint, chalks etc. Ask the
children to create a picture of themselves as a Native American. Danni in the film
chose to call herself “Danni Crazy Horse”. What name would you call yourself to show
others what you are like? This will make a really colourful and unique display.
ALTERNATIVELY:
10.Activity: You will need: tin foil; card; scissors; paints etc. Ask the children to create a
knight with a shield. On the shield is the child’s very own coat of arms that could be just
one picture which shows one thing the child is good at. I’ve done this activity and
divided the shield into four to show lots of things the child is good at.
RELATED BOOKS:
These books explore the themes found in the film about Danni:
“The Boy With Pink Hair” by Perez Hilton
“The Different Dragon” by Jennifer Bryan and Danamarie Hosler
“Dogs Don’t Do Ballet” by Anna Kemp
“The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler” by Gene Kemp
“Girls Are Best” by Sandi Toksvig
“It’s a George Thing” by David Bedford and Russell Julian
“It’s Okay to be Different” by Todd Parr
“Friends” by Kathryn Cave
“Oliver Button is a Sissy” by Tomie dePaola
“The Paperbag Princess” by Robert Munsch/Michael Martchenko
“Princess Smartypants” by Babette Cole
“The Sissy Duckling” by Harvey Fierstein
“William’s Doll” by Charlotte Zolotow
RELATED MOVIES
“Tomboy” (Cert: U) 2011 French movie directed by Céline Sciamma