ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: ELEVATOR SPEECHES (15 MINUTES)

• 
  Pen, paper and scrap paper
  
• 
  Newsprint, markers and tape
  
• 
  Timepiece
  
• 
  Chime, bell or other musical noisemaker
  

• 
  Write on newsprint, and post: What is a Unitarian Universalist?
  

This activity gives participants practice in articulating a Unitarian Universalist identity. By spending deeper attention on children's individual beliefs, you might make this activity an alterative to the Faith in Action worship activity.

Direct children's attention the question you have posted and tell them today everyone will answer it. Explain the "elevator speech:" A few brief yet meaningful words to communicate an idea to a friend or stranger in the time it takes an elevator to go from the first floor to the twelfth floor—the equivalent of a walk from one's classroom to the school cafeteria. An elevator speech should be positive, clear and informative.

Distribute paper and pens/pencils and give the group five minutes to script what they would say to a friend who asked "What is a Unitarian Universalist?" As they work, remind them the elevator speech should be something to help someone understand.

After five minutes or when most seem to be finished, pair participants and ask them to stand together as if in an elevator. Invite one to ask the question when you ring the chime and listen to their partner's answer until they arrive at their floor and you ring the chime again.

Ring the chime, wait 90 seconds, then ring it again.

Help the children form new pairs so that this time, the children who asked the question before now get to answer it with their own elevator speech.

Re-partner the children two more times so that, in total, each child gets to make an elevator speech twice and listen twice.

If participants express frustration with how quickly the time passes, remind them this conversation is happening in an elevator.

Gather everyone together and ask a few volunteers to share their elevator speeches with the whole group. You may wish to stage each speech as if the speaker were riding with a few people in an elevator and invite one of the elevator-riders to ask the question. When they are done, clarify their statements by asking questions and making corrections as necessary.

Ask the group whether the exercise was difficult. Why or why not? Ask if there were similarities or differences in what they heard? Might they use some of the words they came up with or heard others say, if asked about Unitarian Universalism? If you have newcomers in the room, ask if they found the elevator speeches helpful.

ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: THE ROAD NOT TAKEN (10 MINUTES)

Materials for Activity

• 
  Handout 2, The Road Not Taken (included in this document)
  
• 
  Pencils/pens for all participants
  
• 
  Newsprint, markers and tape
  

• 
  Review the questions about the poem and choose those you think will resonate with your group. The questions are meant to elicit interpretations of the poem and help children relate it to their lives. It is more important to use the poem well than to use all the questions.
  
• 
  Plan to read the poem aloud. Or ask a participant or adult volunteer in advance if they will read it; if possible, give them a copy of the poem in advance.
  
• 
  If the group typically includes more than eight children, consider forming smaller groups of three to five—as many groups as you have adult facilitators. Copy Handout 2 and the Description of Activity for each adult who may facilitate a group.
  
• 
  Consider carefully what the poem means to you in relation to the purpose of this session. Articulate this in a one- or two-word sentence you can share with the group during the discussion.
  

If the group is large, form small groups. Give each adult facilitator a copy of the poem (Handout 2) and a copy of the prompt questions (below).

Settle the group(s) for discussion. Distribute the poem and pencils/pens. Invite the children to read the poem silently and jot down any thoughts about it. Then, read it aloud or have pre-arranged volunteers read it.

Explain that now the children will practice listening and discussing skills to understand the poem from the multiple perspectives in the room (or small group). Ask participants to pay particular attention to the poem and their own reaction to it—not what others say about it.

Invite children to briefly retell the poem in their own words. What children recall and relay tells you what they found most meaningful or memorable. After they have shared, suggest a method discussion, a line-by-line exploration of the poem, reflecting on what each line means to individuals in the group. Use the discussion questions to explore the poem and children's responses to it. Getting through all the questions is less important than drawing out children's individual responses to the poem as a whole; if you are running out of time for the line-by-line study, skip to the final three questions to give the discussion a meaningful conclusion.

If the group has energy around a particular line, begin there. Or, start at the beginning and re-read aloud the first line:

Prompt:

• 
  Why do you think the color yellow (gold) is used? What might Frost be trying to suggest here? Have you ever been in a yellow wood?
  
• 
  What yellow road is well known? (the Yellow Brick Road in Oz) Where did that yellow road lead?
  

• 
  Why did the traveler look down the road to where it bent? Do you ever think about the future? What do see for yourself there?
  

• 
  Is it difficult to choose between two unknowns? Is it easier to choose or to be told what to do? Where have you had to do choose?
  

• 
  What might this line mean? Do you ever make choices that are different from others but are better for you? How might this apply, if it does, to attending a Unitarian Universalist congregation?
  

• 
  What does this line tell us? When do you make big choices, do you do so alone or do you seek advice? Who do you ask?
  
• 
  How does knowing that others have had to make the same choice make a difference to you?
  

• 
  What does this line tell us? (It implies that both roads were less traveled.)
  

• 
  What does this mean to you? Have you ever made any choices that are less traveled?
  

• 
  What about making choices is missing in this poem?
  
• 
  Do you ever have people giving you advice about which road to choose? How does this help you decide?
  
• 
  Do sometimes people not make a choice? What happens then?
  

• 
  What does this line mean now to you? (You might offer something like "I think it means that making choices is what makes the difference in a life.")
  
• 
  How is choice related to being a human being?
  
• 
  How is choice related to be a Unitarian Universalist?
  

• 
  All participants' Window/Mirror Panels
  
• 
  Materials for display of Window/Mirror Panels
  
• 
  Basket(s) of Window/Mirror panel materials:
  
  • 
    Sheets of Mylar (R) in several colors, shiny gift wrap, aluminum foil and other reflective paper
    
  • 
    Sheets of plain or construction paper
    
  • 
    A variety of drawing and writing materials, including color markers (permanent markers work best on Mylar)
    
  • 
    Glue sticks, tape (including double-sided tape) and scissors, including left-hand scissors
    
  • 
    Optional: Stick-on sequins, a hole-puncher, yarn, ribbon, scraps of fabric and a variety of old magazines to cut up
    

If this is the last session of Windows and Mirrors, engage the group in completing and assembling their Window/Mirror Panels for a congregational exhibit.

Dorothea Dix lived in the 1800s. At a time when women had fewer choices than men did, Dorothea made extraordinary choices for herself. She did not grow up a Unitarian, but she chose to become one as an adult. Another choice she made was to work hard on behalf of other people.

Dorothea made one of the most important contributions to our society by helping to create hospitals for people with mental illness. In her time, there were no hospitals for people with mental problems. People who acted strange or could not communicate because they had difficulty thinking and interacting the same way most others did, were kept in prisons. Often they were chained and given very little clothing. So what if it was cold in the prison? Nobody cared whether these people were cold. Most people thought people with mental illness did not get cold or feel pain. In fact, many people thought that those with mental illness were not fully human at all.

What gave Dorothea Dix a different idea about them? Maybe it was some of her own troubles that made her think more compassionately.

Dorothea Lynde Dix was born on April 4, 1802 in the town of Hampden in Maine . She was the oldest of three children born to Joseph Dix and Mary Bigelow Dix. Dorothea's mother was often sick and her father was not very nice to his family. He often hit his wife and children. The family moved a lot, from Maine to Massachusetts and finally Vermont . When she was 12 years old, her grandmother sent for Dorothea and her two younger brothers to come live with her in Boston . Dorothea's grandmother was wealthy and she expected Dorothea to behave in a certain way. Dorothea only wanted to care for her younger brothers. She was not interested in learning to be a "lady;" which at that time meant taking lessons in how to behave in society.

It took time for Dorothea to learn and understand how to "behave." But one thing that she did very well, and loved in fact, was to read books and study. It was unusual at the time for a young girl to know how to read and write, but Dorothea's father, a Methodist minister had taught her. Even though he was difficult as a father, he did teach her something valuable.

As Dorothea grew up, her grandmother was very strict and very concerned about her status in society. When Dorothea became involved in opening a school for poor children, she wanted to use her grandmother's barn as the school. Dorothea was so worried her grandmother would not let her teach the poor, especially in her own barn, that she wrote her a letter to ask permission. Dorothea's grandmother said yes right away and Dorothea spent years as a teacher.

Dorothea was religious, attending her grandmother's Congregationalist church every Sunday. One day, Dorothea decided to visit the Unitarian church where Dr. William Ellery Channing was speaking. What she heard that day changed her life forever. She heard Dr. Channing preach that God was love and we are all a part of that love and we are called to show that love to others. This was very different from the sermons she heard in her own church. Dorothea became a Unitarian. After she got to know Dr. Channing, he offered her a job helping to care for his children. She lived with the Channing family for six months, traveling with them and tutoring the Channing children.

When Dorothea was in her forties, she visited a women's prison and saw women in chains with no clothes on. When she asked why, the prison matron told her those people were mentally ill and didn't understand anyway. Dorothea was appalled. She was so upset, she called her friends in the Massachusetts government to tell them. They told her they would need a written report before they could act. Dorothea went to every prison in Massachusetts and wrote a detailed report about the conditions for the mentally ill in each one. With her reports, Massachusetts began to open hospitals that treated the mentally ill with respect and gave them good food and warm clothing.

Dorothea Dix began to travel to other states, investigating conditions in prisons, filing reports, and testifying before state legislatures. Some of the hospitals she started still stand. So does the view of the mentally ill that she put forth: Even when someone's words or behaviors cannot be understood by others, they are still a person who deserve dignity, respect and love.

Dorothea deeply valued the right to make one's own choices. She trusted her own choices about the right way to live her life. One of her choices was to become a Unitarian. Another was to work to help people with mental illness in ways they were not able to help themselves. She understood they were people whose right to make their own choices had been taken away. She helped everyone understand that people with mental illness are people like us, who deserve dignity and respect.

WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 16:
HANDOUT 1: SCAVENGER HUNT RULES

1. Your group must stay together.

2. No stealing! You can borrow items, but you must return them—make sure you remember to whom they belong.

3. You must stay in the building or on the grounds.

4. You cannot buy anything.

5. You have 10 minutes. You loose points if you return late.

GOOD LUCK!!

Points	Items
	5 different things with "Unitarian Universalism" written on them
	Congregation's newsletter or bulletin
	Signature of a signed member
	2 different things with the congregation's name on them
	A rubbing of a congregational name or artifact
	A symbol of the congregation
	A symbol of Unitarian Universalism
	Signature of someone who knows what "UUA" stands for
	Signature of someone who has been a Unitarian Universalist from birth
	Something from pews in the congregation's sanctuary or the worship space
	Something available for visitors at no charge
	Signature of a leader of worship service on Sunday morning
	TOTAL POINTS

WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 16:
HANDOUT 2: THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

By Robert Frost.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 16:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: CHALICE TEMPLATE