Alternate Activity 1: Selecting a Cause for Get Involved Action Campaign
Part of Faithful Journeys, Grades 2-3
Activity time: 10 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Newsprint, markers and tape
- A copy of Leader Resource 2, Action Campaign Ideas
Preparation for Activity
- Consult with your director of religious education, minister and/or social action committee to generate a list of campaign issue ideas and actions. If possible, find ways to dovetail with congregational justice work. Select up to five ideas to present to the children for consideration. Present action ideas that require similar materials, so you will be ready to start the children working on the campaign they choose. The best projects for children this age are concrete and have a personal connection.
- List on newsprint the project ideas you will present, and post.
Description of Activity
Tell participants you are going to have an action campaign, like the valentines that California Unitarian Universalists sent to Governor Schwarzenegger to promote marriage equality. Show the children the list of possible campaign issues and action ideas you have prepared and describe them briefly. Remind participants that Unitarian Universalists believe in using the democratic process within our congregations, and explain that the group will use a democratic process now to choose an action campaign. Invite any children to speak briefly in favor of a particular project. Ask if any children strongly dislike any of the campaign possibilities, and remove those from the list. When this is done, vote for the favorite action campaign.
Follow this activity with Activity 5, the Get Involved Action Campaign.