In this lesson, we are learning to:

• Define and understand what leadership means.
• Describe different leadership styles.
• Identify our leadership qualities.

Episode: ‘Pling Plong’ – A new playground craze takes over the playground and Eddie finds himself a stranger in a strange land.

Find ‘Pling Plong’ on NITV, Netflix or SBS On Demand.

Assign students to groups. Ask each group to brainstorm games and toys that are currently or previously popular at school, then choose one of these options to perform for the class. Hold a game of charades, with each group acting out a scene while peers try to correctly guess the game or toy.

In this Eddie’s Lil’ Homies episode, a new game called ‘Pling Plong’ has become the latest playground craze. As the self-appointed ‘King Plong’, Junior invents the rules and dictates who is allowed to play. He enjoys this social power and is hoping to remain King Plong forever. Meanwhile, Eddie doesn’t even know how to play the game, but he demonstrates leadership in different ways. For example, he rescues both Shanti and Junior from tricky situations. 

Watch this episode as a class, asking students to focus on examples of leadership. After viewing, invite students to share their observations.

In a class discussion, explain that a leader is someone who can encourage, motivate or inspire other people to achieve a goal. All schools, sports clubs, workplaces and governments have leaders. Sometimes the leader is identified for everyone, like the coach of a basketball team. In other situations, a leader is found when other people start following them – usually because other people are confident in the leader’s knowledge or skills. 

Every person has qualities that can be valuable in leadership, such as being positive, empathetic, creative, responsible or a good communicator. 

Ask students to turn and talk to a partner about the leaders in their own lives. They could be Elders, student leaders, sports coaches, teachers and principals, religious leaders and more. What makes these people good leaders?

Different leaders have different ‘leadership styles’. This refers to the ways that leaders motivate other people to reach a goal. Some leaders give the group instructions, or a leader can model behaviours as an example, or leaders can work with others, asking everyone questions to make decisions as a team.

Prompt the class to reflect on and discuss the different leadership styles of Eddie and Junior. Who was most effective at guiding other people? Is one leadership style better than the other? Why?

Assign students into small groups. As a hands-on collaborative task, challenge each group to invent a fun new game using equipment from the classroom or playground. After adequate planning time, ask each group to present their game idea to the class. Ask each group to speak about: 

• Their game idea.
• How they worked together.
• Whether one or more leaders emerged in their group during the process.

To enable students to demonstrate their understanding of leadership, have students complete the provided worksheet (see PDF). They will draw and/or write about their own leadership qualities.