Lesson plans with Lego

If a band of Lego minifigures came to stay in your classroom and the children were asked to play host, what lessons could they learn from a Roman soldier, a sea captain and a sad clown, asks Jonathan Brough...

Minifigures are a playground phenomenon.

According to Lego, 3.9 of these small plastic characters are sold around the world every second. They are enormously collectable - with 16 models in each series - and valued to the point of fanaticism by adults and children alike, which makes them the ideal resource for a two-week long project that provides a modern twist on Anne Fine’s Flour Babies. At the start of the project, each child is given charge of a mystery guest (a minifigure still in its packaging) which they will go on to mentor and guide over a fortnight. The element of secrecy and surprise is a powerful hook, preparing children for the range of imaginative, literary and philosophical experiences to come.

Gathering a selection of minifigures for the classroom takes care; the less familiar the characters you choose are to the children the better. Each figure retails for around £2, although bulk deals often appear through internet vendors and auction sites. Unfortunately, the identity of each minifigure is not shown on the packaging, so you won’t know which figure you have bought before you get it home and open the bag. That is unless you do a little research. To avoid blowing your entire budget, find out which series of figures is currently in the shops, then go online and download the corresponding ‘dots and bumps codes’. This allows you to know in advance which character you are buying from distinct markings on the packaging. Minifigure characters can be anything from a Roman soldier to a skydiver, but whilst the vast majority of personalities will fit perfectly into any classroom, some settings may judge it best to avoid a few of the figurines (Fortune Teller, anyone? Battle Mech? Mr Good and Evil?). Alternatively, you might feel able to purchase the widest diversity of characters possible: by mixing releases from two series, every pupil in your group could theoretically ‘host’ a unique individual.

The mystery guests arrive To start the project, it should be easy to generate a tangible sense of anticipation and motivation: just placing the unopened packets of figures at the front of your classroom will be enough to guarantee everyone’s full attention. Begin by opening a packet of your own - I suggest the Librarian (remember, those enigmatic dots and bumps on the packaging will enable you to identify her). But, before you reveal her to the world, explain that you don’t know who is going to be inside and it’s such a privilege for you to be your guest’s guide and mentor for the next couple of weeks. What sort of things are you looking forward to demonstrating about life in your school? What are you hoping the personality whom you have yet to meet will be like and, similarly, what do you hope the character inside the packet will be feeling about you? (Sharing the poem Prayer Before Birth by Louis MacNeice would be valuable, especially if you are working with older groups; or, if this English work is with younger children, perhaps it can coincide with science work on hatching eggs).

Once you have opened the pack, spend some time with the class ‘meeting’ the character and deducing, from clothing, hairstyle/ headwear or accessories what he or she is like - then create a quick character fact file together. For example, the Librarian comes complete with a book entitled Oranges and Peaches. Whilst this might suggest nothing more than a fascination with pomology, some children could consider the similarity in name to Darwin’s The Origin of Species and, consequently, perhaps we have a new Mrs Malaprop on our hands, who could be best friends with a certain Rev. Spooner… a quick foray into the skill of naming characters, including Dickensian creations and the like, may also prove useful.

What’s in a name?

Subsequently, after a detailed personality and appropriate name have become established, demonstrate the concept of standing the figurine on its baseplate – useful to prevent inappropriate fiddling during future work! – and transfer the class’s attention to the flier that is included within the pack and depicts all of the figurines within the series. Ask the children to suggest names for each character, articulating which one they hope they receive, or don’t want to receive, giving their reasons. List the characteristics, qualities and virtues that would make a good ‘guest’ – what traits would each child value in the individual they are destined to host? If they receive someone whom they don’t initially admire, how can they ‘help’ that person to change and become someone whose appeal is more obvious? This can lead into explorations of mythology (there is a Medusa in series 10 and hosting her is sure to bring its own challenges) or a meaty discussion of current social issues, especially with the Hollywood Starlet or Trendsetter Girl (leader or follower? And why does it matter?).

Extend pupils’ empathy skills through asking them to consider the question in reverse: what qualities might the character in the package be hoping to discover within the ‘host’ children themselves? Distribute the packets so that each child has his or her own in front of them – of course, the previous discussion could facilitate you being rather Machiavellian (for good or ill!) during the distribution process if you so wish – but cover the Dots and Bumps with a sticky label on which the child can write his or her name. (You need a way of identifying the packet during the next lesson, and there is a distinct possibility that you will have at least one Lego fanatic in your group who will have memorised all the codes!)

Explain that the packets will not be opened that day, but instead the children need to write a welcome message to the character inside the packet. This is a useful plenary activity for the previous discussions and enables children to summarise their thoughts through putting hopes, aspirations and values into writing.

The big reveal

And so, after all the discussion work, the time finally comes for the packets to reveal their secrets. Children can read the welcome messages they wrote at the end of the introductory work to their sealed bags, then open them up and discover which figurine they have received. Remembering the fact file created on the Librarian, their first task should be to decide upon names and character traits for their guest, then to create a back story. This could either be a third-person narrative in the style of a television talent show, or a firstperson monologue/ soliloquy in which the minifigure ‘talks’ to an audience (use Fine’s Diary of a Killer Cat, or, for older groups, carefully selected scenes of Bennett’s Talking Heads for inspiration). Whilst this, and all other work, could be easily produced in traditional written form, Lego models lend themselves particularly well to ICT-based media. Both stopmotion video and multimedia presentations of still photography over a prerecorded soundtrack are easily achieved in even the most basic of software packages. They are also extremely motivating to produce, especially for the less confident pupil. Children can script a text for their minifigure and record it over appropriate images to let him or her come to life in a very public manner.

Once guest and host are suitable acquainted, the fun can really begin. Take inspiration from key passages within Fine’s Flour Babies and ask the children to ensure their guest travels with them wherever they go, recording as many anecdotal notes or photographs as possible. How many experiences can the minifigure have in one day (or one week) and how does he or she react to each one? What do the class’s guests learn, and how do the things they encounter change them? Can the children think of any misconceptions, misunderstandings or prejudices which the visitors overcome as a result of experience? Once a number of events have been recorded, these can be used as stimuli for diary writing in the voice of the guest (or the host!), letters ‘home’ by the minifigure, or even travelogue-style video diaries, scripted and recorded by the children. (If you have access to YouTube, watch some of the Henson Company’s short Muppet films called The Adventures of Travelling Matt for inspiration.)

The Fame Game

If you are working with figurines from Series 10, one possible further discussion before packs are opened can centre on the concept of ‘fame’ and how it is achieved - are people born famous (Prince William, perhaps) or do they gain fame later in life (Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge)? Is fame a good thing, or does it bring its own problems? Is it easy for famous people to be happy, socially valuable, popular and friendly?