Are you the same as me?

To help the children recognize the value of a multicultural environment.

by Ronni Lamont

Suitable for Key Stage 2

Aims

To help the children recognize the value of a multicultural environment.

Preparation and materials

• You need to have the questions ready to go. Someone needs to keep the score.
• You will need a Bible for reading the story of the Good Samaritan.

Assembly

1. Have two teams of volunteers come to the front to answer the quiz questions.
   
   I’m going to give you an American word, and I want you to tell me what we call the same thing. What’s a:
   
     (1) Gurney – hospital trolley
     (2) Diaper – nappy
     (3) Rug – wig
     (4) Bangs – fringe (hair)
     (5) Faucet – tap
     (6) Vehicle (emphasis on ‘h’) – vehicle
     (7) ‘Leesure‘ – leisure
     (8) Pants – trousers
     (9) Purse – handbag
   (10) Recess – play time
   (11) Freeway – dual carriageway/motorway
   (12) Chips – crisps
2. Winston Churchill described English as a common language that divides two races. What do you think he meant? Take answers.
   
   But, even in Great Britain and Ireland, we speak differently. Here are some examples of English dialects:
   
   (1) ’Stom – It’s at home (north Notts)
   (2) Ey up, me duck (with northern vowels) – Hello (Lincolnshire)
   (3) Rosey lee – Tea (Cockney rhyming slang)
   (4) Canny – Perceptive (Geordie)
3. Do any of you know any words from other parts of the country that you don’t hear around here? Take answers, especially if a child has moved from another area of the UK.
4. Sometimes we say that we don’t like people who don’t look, or sound, like us. When Jesus was alive, his race of people, the Jews, said they didn’t like the Samaritans, who lived very close by. If you asked them why, they might have found it hard to explain, as the reason for the argument between the two races went back hundreds of years.
   
   One day, a man asked Jesus; ‘Who is my neighbour?’, and this is the story Jesus told in reply.
   
   Read from Luke 10.29ff. (the story of the Good Samaritan).
5. What was the point of that story, do you think?
   
   Which people do we sometimes think we don’t like, for no good reason? If none are forthcoming, throw in some ideas. Don’t forget travellers, as well as people from other ethnic groups. And there’s always people who support another football team.
6. Do you think it’s sensible to dislike people just because of how they look, or the way they speak, or where they come from?

Time for reflection

Reflection

Give the children time to think about the story of the Good Samaritan.

Prayer

Help me, Lord, to accept people for who they are.

To listen to the wisdom that they bring,

to learn from them about their ways of life,

to recognize that you love everyone just the same, no matter how clever, or how rich, they are, or where they come from.

Amen.