We Are All Different

You Have ValueIdeaGroup 6-10 mins
  • EN

Who

Primary 1-4, Primary 5-8, Secondary

Purpose

To practically demonstrate that each of us sees and experiences the world slightly differently, and that all of our perspectives are valuable.

We walk away knowing

That every person has a unique perspective. We all interpret instructions (and life) differently and that impacts how we see the world.

Whakarongo mai!

This exercise demonstrates the importance of detailed directions and careful listening, but it also demonstrates our uniqueness because we interpret things differently and therefore see the world from a different perspective.

Equipment

  • 1 A4 piece of paper per student

Instructions

Give students one sheet of paper. Ask them to close their eyes and listen to your directions.

Give the directions as follows:

  1. Hold the paper in both hands.
  2. Fold the paper in half.
  3. Tear off the lower left-hand side of the paper.
  4. Fold it in half again.
  5. Tear off the upper right-hand side of the paper.
  6. Fold it in half again.
  7. Tear off the lower right-hand side of the paper.
  8. Open your eyes and unfold your paper.
  9. Compare your paper with the people around you. What's the same? What's different?

Debrief

  • Does anyone's paper look exactly the same as someone else's?
  • Why did everyone end up with different shapes and sizes?
  • No one got this activity right or wrong, everyone followed the instructions, there are no wrong answers, but we still ended up with different things. Why is this?
  • What can we learn from this?
  • How can you apply what we have learnt outside of this activity?

Sum Up

Everyone started with the same paper, and everyone heard the same instructions, but everyone ended up with a different result.

We can see that everyone interprets the information they receive through their own lens. This shows us that each of us has a unique perspective. Each of us is valuable and unique, and it is interesting to see the different ways that people think, they can often add perspectives and ideas that we might never have thought of ourselves.