When Alice’s father declares a half‑day picnic, Alice and George organise a pig race. Rivalry, bets and trickery (pig swapping and painting) test friendships and community rules as the children learn about fairness, risk and consequences.

Provocation Question

When is competition fun and when does it harm relationships or community trust?

Alice and her family are delivering food to the indentured convicts working at the stone quarry when they have the idea of organising a pig race for the half-day holiday.

Tuning In

Alice and her family plan a pig race as part of a community picnic. This moment shows how children, work and entertainment intersect in town life and raises questions about fairness, labour and community roles.

As you watch the clip, pay attention to:

• How Alice and her family interact with indentured workers;
• The ways the pig race is framed as entertainment and community activity;
• Who organises, who benefits and who is left out.

In small groups, brainstorm big ideas around these questions:

• What does a community event tell us about who belongs and who provides labour?
• How do children contribute to adult economies and social life?
• When is play also work?

As a class, discuss these questions:

• What makes an event feel inclusive or exclusive in a small town?
• How do roles for children differ from adult roles in this clip?
• What responsibilities do organisers have to make events fair and safe?

Finding Out & Sorting Out

Work together in small groups to explore the clip’s core themes of labour, community roles and fairness. In your groups, brainstorm big ideas around these questions and collect short examples from the clip to support your thinking:

• Who does the work in this community and who benefits from it?
• How do play and work overlap for children in the clip?
• What would make a community event fair and safe for everyone involved?

Choose one of the questions above. Use evidence from the clip to sort your group’s thinking into a KWLH (What do you Know, Want to know, What have you Learned, How do you know) class display.

Making Connections

Write a short reflection: what makes a fair competition? Propose one rule to make the pig race fairer. 

Alice is training her piglet Wilhelmina for the pig race but is unable to convince any of the local workers to bet any money on her. Freddie the bookie is concerned at the thought of losing money as most of the locals have bet on Oink, the favourite.

Tuning In

Gambling and reputation shape the pig race. This clip highlights persuasion, risk and how social status influences choices in a small community.

In small groups, brainstorm big ideas around these questions:

• How does reputation affect who people trust with money or bets?
• What social rules govern persuasion and risk in a community?
• When does friendly competition become harmful?

As you watch the clip, pay attention to:

• how persuasion and reputation influence who places bets;
• how characters try to influence others and why;
• the social consequences for winners, losers and bystanders.

As a class, discuss these questions:

• What makes someone persuasive or trustworthy in a small community?
• Should children be involved in activities that involve money or risk? Why or why not?
• How can communities manage the harms that come from gambling or unequal power?

Finding Out & Sorting Out

Work together in pairs or small groups to investigate how persuasion, reputation and risk shape social relationships. Brainstorm big ideas and note moments from the clip that illustrate each idea:

• How does reputation influence who people trust with money or bets?
• What persuasive strategies do characters use and why do they work (or not)?
• When does friendly competition become harmful to community trust?

Choose one group task to complete and share with the class:

• Collect data: tally fictional bets from the class and calculate simple odds;
• Role‑play a scene from the pig races: bookie, bettor, trainer;
• Creative writing task: write a short, sharp, persuasive ad campaign to attract bets.

Making Connections

Class Debate: Should children be allowed to gamble? Support with evidence from the clip, current research and class discussion.

Freddie tells Alice about his forging history while they paint a piglet black. They then switch it with George's piglet Benny in order to fix the race. When Alice awakes she's shocked to find there is something wrong with Wilhelmina.

Tuning In

Deception and consequences come to the fore when pigs are swapped and painted. This clip asks us to consider ethics, accountability and how communities repair trust after wrongdoing.

In small groups, brainstorm big ideas around these questions:

• What motivates people to deceive others in competitions?
• How should communities respond when rules are broken?
• What is restitution and what does it look like in a small town?

As you watch the clip, think about:

• the motives behind the pig swap and how characters justify their actions;
• how adults and children react when the deception is discovered;
• the immediate emotional and social consequences for relationships.

As a class, discuss these questions:

• When is punishment appropriate and when is repair more important?
• How can a community rebuild trust after someone cheats?
• What rules or practices would you introduce to prevent similar problems in future events?

Finding Out & Sorting Out

In groups, explore this clip’s themes of deception, accountability and community repair. Brainstorm big ideas and gather specific clip evidence for each:

• What motivates people to deceive others in competitions?
• How should communities balance punishment and repair after wrongdoing?
• What practical steps help rebuild trust after rules are broken?

Using the ideas you generated, choose one group task and develop a short plan or script that shows how your group would address the wrongdoing:

Ethics chart - list actions, motives, consequences;

Drama - improvise the race aftermath and community meeting;

Problem‑solve - design a restitution plan for those harmed.

Making Connections

This clip raises questions about deception, responsibility and how communities repair harm. The activities below help students deepen understanding through reflection, role play, problem solving and creative response.

• Civic action: draft a short class ‘Code of Ethics’ for fair play and consequences in the school playground.

• Restorative circle role play: In groups of 5, assign roles - person harmed, person who cheated, two community members, facilitator. Use a simple script: each person speaks once about how they were affected, the person who cheated explains why, then the group suggests ways to repair harm.