ZAMASAMA PRESENTS
A Guide for Teachers and Parents
Written and Illustrated
by
Reshma Thapa Gurung
After engaging with this story, children will:
- Understand how different traditions and cultures influence the way schools teach values.
- Learn to appreciate the importance of welcoming and including others who may be new or different.
- Identify how sensory experiences (hearing, touch, smell, taste, sight) help us connect with new places and experiences.
- Reflect on how acts of kindness and inclusion build friendships.
- Develop awareness of how classrooms can be unique and culturally rooted.
Discussion Questions
Before Reading
- What do you think it feels like to be the new student in class?
- Have you ever had to welcome someone new? What did you do?
- Do you know any traditions or routines that your school follows?
While Reading
- What are some of the things the children do to help the new boy feel comfortable?
- What do you notice about the Dharma class?
- What sights, smells, sounds, or textures are mentioned? How do they make you feel?
After Reading
- How did the new student feel by the end of the story?
- What can we learn from this school in Sikkim?
- Are there traditions in your school that make it special?
Activities
- Sensory Map – Ask children to draw a “senses map” from the story: one sound, smell, taste, sight, and touch they noticed.
- Cultural Classroom Exchange – Have students share one unique tradition or routine from their school or culture.
- Welcoming Roleplay – In pairs, act out how you’d welcome a new classmate.
- Mindfulness Minute – Try a short session with soft music or a singing bowl (if available) to introduce meditation.
- Story Extension – Write a letter to the new boy as if you were one of the students in the class.
- SDG 4: Quality Education
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
SDG Explanation:
- SDG 4 (Quality Education): The story highlights how education extends beyond books to include mindfulness, cultural heritage, and emotional well-being.
- SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): The new student’s integration reflects the value of inclusiveness and equal opportunity for all learners.
- The Tale of the Water Hyacinth: River residents along the Mekong delta using the leaves and stems of the water hyacinth plant to make items for sale.
- Ismat’s Eid: Ismat is a shoemaker. Do you know of any shoemakers or repairs in your neighborhood?
- Bounthy’s Singing Birds: Bounthy’s father captures birds from the wild for sale.
Students will gain empathy, understand cultural influences in education, and appreciate inclusiveness in classrooms around the world. They’ll also become more mindful of their own actions when someone new joins their group.
Zamasama is a nonprofit platform that brings together stories from around the world to help children discover that beneath our differences—of culture, language, or belief—we share the same hopes, joys, and dreams.
Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens, and the responsibility of building a more peaceful, tolerant, and empathetic world lies with them.
That’s why it’s vital to instill these values early—through stories that help them rise above the biases they inherit, and see diversity as a strength that unites us all.