Activity 1: Story - Creation from the Dreamtime
Part of Sing to the Power, Grades 4-5
Activity time: 10 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Story, "Creation from the Dreamtime"
- Optional: Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources
Preparation for Activity
- Read the story and prepare to share it with the group.
- Read the discussion questions and choose ones that will best help these children interpret the story and relate it to their own lives.
- Optional: Print the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources so you can refer to them during this activity's discussion.
Description of Activity
Read or tell the story to the group.
After the story, invite the group to be silent for a moment to think about the story.
Then, ask participants to recap the story in their own words. What they recall indicates what they found most meaningful or memorable. You might say:
We just heard a creation story, one of many from Australian Aboriginal cultures in different parts of the continent. Of course, other cultures and other religions have creation stories, too. You may have heard the creation story from the Hebrew Bible of how God created people by breathing life into the nostrils of a person shaped out of dirt. Both these stories share a sense that people are directly connected to the land, that we are grounded in the earth we came from.
Lead a discussion using these questions:
- Are there places in nature that feel special or sacred to you?
- What activities or practices make you feel connected to the earth?
- The Australian Aborigines believe sacredness is alive in the natural world around them. Many of their other beliefs are grounded in that important belief. What are some of the important beliefs-the big ideas-our Unitarian Universalist beliefs are grounded in? [Examples: Our first Principle, which affirms the inherent worth and dignity of all people, is an important grounding for UU beliefs. The Sources section of our Principles and Sources statement gives many examples of what Unitarian Universalism is grounded in, including wisdom from our Jewish and Christian heritage, scientific thought, and earth-based spirituality.]