Meesha Makes Friends - Tom Percival Assembly for Primary Schools
This Meesha Makes Friends assembly uses Tom Percival’s thoughtful picture book to explore belonging, making friends and how we can help other people feel welcome and included.
Designed for EYFS and Key Stage 1, the assembly combines storytelling, discussion and reflection to help children understand that people make friends in different ways. It also encourages them to think about the small things we can do to make it easier for somebody else to feel that they belong.
Assembly Theme: BELONGING
Suitable for: EYFS and Key Stage 1
This resource is part of our Tom Percival assemblies for primary schools and our wider collection of Books & Stories assemblies, using brilliant children’s literature as a starting point for exploring values, feelings and experiences.
What is Meesha Makes Friends about?
Meesha loves making things. Making friends, however, can sometimes be much more difficult.
When Meesha finds herself struggling at a party, she discovers her own way of connecting with Josh. Through their shared interests, a new friendship begins to grow.
The story gently explores the fact that social situations and making friends can feel different for different people.
Like many of the books featured in our Books & Stories assembly collection, Meesha’s story gives children an accessible way to explore an important experience through a character rather than being expected to talk about their own friendships.
How does the assembly explore belonging?
The assembly begins by helping children discover how shared interests can provide a simple starting point for connecting with somebody else.
Children then consider how people make friends in different ways. Some might find it easy to walk up and start talking, while others may need more time or find different ways to connect.
Importantly, the assembly also turns the question around. Rather than focusing only on how we can make friends, children consider what we can do to help somebody else feel comfortable, welcome and included.
This makes Meesha Makes Friends a useful addition to our primary school assemblies about values, helping younger children understand that belonging is something we can help create for others.
Using books to explore big ideas
Picture books can provide a brilliant starting point for conversations about friendship, inclusion and belonging.
Our Books & Stories assemblies for primary schools use carefully chosen books to help children explore values, feelings, relationships and everyday experiences through engaging stories and characters.
Meesha Makes Friends focuses on belonging, while the other assemblies in our Tom Percival collection explore courage, honesty, acceptance, friendship and self-control.
What is included?
The ready-to-use assembly includes a PowerPoint presentation and accompanying instructions, with key vocabulary, an interactive introductory activity, opportunities for discussion, reflection questions and a final thought for children to take away.
As with all of our ready-to-use primary school assemblies, the planning is built into the presentation so teachers can quickly see what to do and adapt the assembly for their own children.
Optional Christian collective worship slides are also included and can simply remain hidden when they are not required.
Collective Worship
The optional collective worship section explores Romans 15:7:
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.”
Children are invited to complete the sentence “You would know you were welcome if…” and consider some of the small actions that can help another person feel comfortable and included.
The Bible link encourages children to think about what Christians might understand by welcoming and accepting others, connecting naturally with Meesha’s experience in the story.
The section includes opportunities for reflection and a short prayer about noticing when somebody needs a friend and helping others feel welcome. Schools looking for further worship resources can explore our collective worship plans for primary schools.
Do I need a copy of Meesha Makes Friends?
Yes. This assembly has been designed to be used alongside a copy of Meesha Makes Friends by Tom Percival.
The presentation does not reproduce the book or replace the original story. Instead, the activities, questions and reflections help you build an assembly around it.
If you enjoy using children’s literature in this way, you can find more titles in our Books & Stories primary assembly collection.
About Tom Percival
Tom Percival is a British author and illustrator whose picture books often explore feelings, relationships and experiences children encounter as they grow up.
His stories approach important subjects in an accessible and child-friendly way, making them particularly useful as starting points for discussion and reflection with younger children.
Books including Ruby’s Worry, Perfectly Norman and Meesha Makes Friends explore themes such as worries, acceptance, friendship and belonging. We have brought six of his books together in our growing Tom Percival assembly collection, with each assembly focusing on a different value.
Explore more Tom Percival assemblies
Meesha Makes Friends completes our collection of six Tom Percival assemblies:
Together, the six assemblies use Tom Percival’s stories to explore courage, honesty, acceptance, friendship, self-control and belonging with EYFS and Key Stage 1 children.
Looking for your next assembly?
Explore our Books & Stories assemblies for more resources using children’s literature to explore important themes and values.
Or browse all primary school assembly plans to discover ready-to-use resources across Books & Stories, Famous Faces, British Values, Faith Heroes and Times & Places.
Assembly Resources:
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