Tapestry of Faith: Riddle and Mystery: A Program on the Big Questions for Grade 6

Alternate Activity 1: Notable Thoughts

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Bag or box containing participants' Big Questions notebooks
  • Pencils or pens
  • Masking tape
  • A large roll of plain paper and assorted arts and crafts decoration supplies and materials including color markers, scissors (including left-handed scissors), glue sticks and tape

Preparation for Activity

  • Identify a large surface where you can roll out a large section of plain paper for the youth to cut into covers for their notebooks.

Description of Activity

Notable Thoughts has been the first Alternate Activity in each session of Riddle and Mystery. In this two-part concluding activity, participants write their final notebook entries and make covers for their notebooks.

Part 1. Remind participants that this is a time for them to record their own ideas about today's Big Question. Distribute participants' notebooks and pencils or pens. Remind the youth that the notebooks are private and that they will take them at the end of this session.

Remind them of today's Big Question: "What does Unitarian Universalism mean to me?" Say they will have about five minutes to write about anything they want. Their ideas can be as different as they wish from what you have talked about so far. If youth have nothing to record, they are free to doodle or relax.

Give them a few minutes to work quietly in their notebooks.

Part 2. While participants are writing, roll out the plain paper on a work table or the floor and set out art materials. Call an end to the writing time and invite youth to make a cover for their notebooks. Suggest they cut paper to the size of their notebook, then put a title, their name and an illustration or decorations on the paper. Invite the youths to show their covers to each other and to take their notebooks home for re-readings and possible additions. If their notebooks contain mostly (or all) doodles, they can still keep them and add some thoughts (along with more doodles) whenever they wish. Point out that keeping their notebook can help them explore and revisit, over time, how being a UU is important to their lives.