Tapestry of Faith: Families: A Jr. High School Youth Program that Explores the Diversity, Commonality, and Meaning of Families

Activity 2: Reflecting Upon All Our Work Together

Part of Families

Activity time: 20 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Photocopy Handout 1, Participant Feedback Form, for all participants

Description of Activity

Tell participants that it is important to sit back and reflect on any meaningful experience. The process of reflection nurtures deeper knowing and understanding. Ask them to let you guide them for a moment through some reflection on the program. Have them sit comfortably and tell them that you will say a few reflections. Then they will have time to talk together.

You might say, "Think back to the beginning of this program and the photo-documentary project. Remember what you thought you knew, what you looked forward to doing, and what you thought you might learn. Now remember all the things we did: the games we played about families; using family vignettes to learn about many families; photographing yourself, your point of view, and families. Think about the photo-documentary project, interacting with families, photographing them and hearing what they thought about those photographs. Think about creating the display, about gathering the write-backs, and about working together. Think of all we've learned about families and about each other."

Invite participants to talk, either in pairs or as a large group, about what they learned during this program. Provide the following prompts as needed:

  • What is a family? Who is in a family? What do families do?
  • How has this program influenced your ideas of what makes a family?
  • What have you learned about point of view?
  • What implications does this have for you as a Unitarian Universalist or as a person of faith?

When discussion is completed, distribute the handout. Request that participants fill out the form, and tell them their feedback will provide information for future groups. Allow time for youth to complete the handout.