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

Activity 2: Story - The Woman Who Wouldn't Give Up

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Read the story several times so you are comfortable sharing it with the participants.

Description of Activity

Tell or read the story to the participants.

After the story, invite the group to be silent for a moment to think about it.

Begin a discussion by asking the participants to recap the story in their own words. What they recall indicates what they found most meaningful or memorable.

Lead a discussion using questions such as:

  • What did the author mean when they story said at the end Elizabeth Blackwell was following her calling?
  • What were some of the obstacles Elizabeth Blackwell faced?
  • When do you think she might have felt discouraged?
  • What might have encouraged her to keep going when obstacles got in her way? If you were Elizabeth, what might have kept you going?
  • How did Elizabeth's desire to help people by becoming a doctor carry her through the challenges she faced?
  • Ask the children to think about ways they could help other people, when they are grown and have had a chance to learn special skills. Ask volunteers for examples, or suggest that a carpenter could build homes for people, a scientist could seek cures for diseases, a firefighter could help people in emergencies. Then, invite them to think of obstacles that could get in their way-for example, needing to pay for special training, needing materials to build a home. Then ask: What does our heritage of persisting so we can help others encourage us to do?
  • Do any of our Principles encourage us to follow this calling to help others? Which ones? How? (You may wish to share relevant phrases from the Principles. Use language the group has worked with before.)

Including All Participants

Provide a hard copy of the story for any hearing impaired participants and encourage them to read along as you tell the story.