Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

• Newsprint, markers and tape
• A large piece of poster board
• Magazines and newspapers to cut up, with images of people from all over the world
• Newspapers to cut up for additional images of people from all over the world
• Colored construction paper, scissors (including left-handed scissors) and glue

Preparation for Activity

• Collect a variety of magazines and newspapers with images of people from all over the world. Good choices may be National Geographic, UU World, Good Housekeeping, Ebony, and healthcare or travel magazines.
• Identify a wall space to display the finished collage poster, in or near the room where Moral Tales meets.
• Post the newsprint where you can easily write on it. Write at the top of a blank page "Who is my neighbor?"
• On the poster board write the words "Our Neighbors" (large) and "by the Moral Tales group" (smaller).
• Place magazines, scissors, glue, markers, and construction paper at work tables.

Description of Activity

Making a collage that includes images of people in all walks of life, from all around the world, broadens children's concept of neighbors to include everyone.

Tell the children:

We are going to make a group collage about our neighbors. Everyone here gets to add to the collage. First, let's talk about who are our neighbors.

Ask the children what types of people are our neighbors. Write on the newsprint every type of person they list. As they run out of ideas, ask, "Are strangers my neighbors? Are Iraqis my neighbors? Are people in jail my neighbors? Are people who do not come to Unitarian Universalist congregation our neighbors? Are teenagers our neighbors? Are elderly people our neighbors?" Write down all the suggestions they affirm.

Once you have enough suggestions, tell the children that together you are going to make a poster collage of all the types of people that could be our neighbors. Invite them to look in the magazines and cut out a few pictures of people they want to include in the collage.

When everyone has some faces cut out, begin to put them together on the poster board. If some children finish more quickly than others, allow them to glue their pictures on the poster board. The idea is to cover all of the space.

As the poster board fills with images, ask the children if there are any types of people missing that they wish were included on the poster. Invite them to look for these faces in the magazines. When the poster is finished, invite one or two volunteers to help you post it.

Including All Participants

Allow children who have difficulty cutting to look for pictures and designate a volunteer to cut out pictures for others. If a child is sight-impaired, partner them with another child to whom they can make suggestions about what sorts of faces to look for in the magazines.