Tapestry of Faith: Love Connects Us: A Program on Living in Unitarian Universalist Covenant for Grades 4-5

Alternate Activity 1: Ark Animals Game

Activity time: 15 minutes

Preparation for Activity

  • Make sure you have an open strip of space across the length of the room.

Description of Activity

This activity requires cooperation, compromise, and creative communication. Divide the group into pairs, and choose a pair to go first. (If you have an odd number of children, a leader can pair up with a child.) Instruct the pair of children that they will portray a pair of animals making their way to the ark. They must both portray the same kind of animal, and the group will guess what kind of animal they are. The trick is that before they proceed across the room as their animal they must decide jointly what the animal will be. And they must make that choice without talking, and use no more than two minutes to figure out what their joint animal will be.

When the game is complete, ask what techniques they found useful for coming to agreement without talking. Do you still need to listen even if no one is talking?

Including All Participants

Be ready to adapt the rules of this game and to pair children thoughtfully, to make sure the game is manageable and meaningful for any child with vision or mobility challenges.