|
ALL
ABOARD: The object of the game is to get all
of the people in the group onto the board.(Can either use a poster board or a wood
board, etc.)Everyone must have at least one foot
on the board.HINT: Try not to give solutions, but
tell them to listen to other’s ideas.You may enlarge or decrease the size
of the board, depending on degree of challenge
you would like.
BANG!
BANG!: This game is similar to “Scissors.”One person starts by saying (in a rather
dramatic way and in any version of these words
he/she would like), “Bang, click, click, click,
bang, click, bang!Who’s dead?”(The person can pretend to shoot an individual
or individuals if they would like.)The group must figure out who is dead.The person who is dead is the FIRST person
who speaks following the “dramatic” act.It may take the group some time to figure
out how the game works....be patient and encouraging.Game continues until everyone figures
it out.
BIRTHDAY
LINE: Explain to the group that this is
a nonverbal exercise.The group is to form a single straight
line, according to birthdays.For example, persons with January birthdays
will be at the beginning of the line, earliest
January dates first followed in order by later
dates.The line progresses by months and days
with December birthdays at the end.Persons with the same birthday share
the same place in line.You must communicate nonverbally (no lip-reading or spelling
in the dirt allowed).When the line is completed, each person
will shout out his/her birthday, beginnining
in January.
BLINDFOLD
LINE-UP: Ask the group to close their eyes
and keep them closed for the remainder of the
game (if they feel comfortable).You may also use blindfolds.In the bumpers position for protection,
ask the group to mill around without talking.After 10-15 seconds, ask them to put
stop and put their hands down.Assign each person a number by tapping
them on the shoulder and saying the number at
the same time.Then tell them to line themselves up
by number without talking or opening their eyes.
BLIND
POLYGON: The object of the game is for the
group to form a perfect square and a triangle
(and other shapes if desired) using the given
length of rope.Ask participants to put on blindfolds.All participants must have at least one
hand on the rope at all times.All participants must remain blindfolded until the task is
completed.When the group believes the task is finished,
ask them to remain their blindfolds, without
moving from their current places.Using the same procedure, ask them to
form any geometric shape you think is possible
for the group.
BODY
ENGLISH: Split the group into two groups.Each group must plan and spell out the
words by using their bodies only (no hand signals
or signs).The other group must figure out what
they are spelling.Start with single words and move onto
phrases as the groups get better at spelling
in this fashion.
BRAIN
BENDERS: Creatively divide the group into the
desired number of small groups.Explain to the group that they will be
asked to think creatively while encouraging
full participation to accomplish the group challenge.Pass out one copy of the brain benders (face down) to each
group.Give the groups 4-5 minutes to complete
the brain benders to the best of their ability.After the alloted time is up, the groups
can share their answers.A sample of brainbenders is in the back
of this section.
CHICKEN,
CHICKEN: This game is very similar to “Bang!
Bang!”One person starts by saying (dramatically),
“(Clear throat) Chicken, chicken, who’s got
the chicken?”Players must guess who has “got” the
chicken.In order to have the chicken, player
must say phrase STARTING WITH A CLEAR OF THE
THROAT.This can be done rather inconspicuously
at first and much more dramatic as people begin
to get frustrated from not being able to figure
out the game.Players can make whatever motions they
want and say the phrase how ever they want.
COUNT
OFF: Ask the group to count to 20 without
pre-planning who is going to say each number.There is a catch....there are no verbals
or signals allowed, and the group must do it
without any two people saying the number simultaneously.See how fast they can do it!
HEIGHT
LINE: Ask participants to close their eyes
(if they feel comfortable).Without opening their eyes, the group
is asked to arrange themselves by height in
a straight line.They may choose to arrange by feeling
height or some say their height out loud.The only restriction is that they may not open their eyes.
HOW’RE
YA DOIN’?JUST FINE, THANKS:
Ask the group to close their eyes and get into
a circle (shoulder to shoulder).Have them count off and remember their
numbers.Ask each person to shake hands with the
person to their immediate left and ask them,
“How’re ya doin’?”The person should answer, “Just fine,
thanks.”Continue to do this between each pair
three or four times.Then ask the group (eyes still closed)
to mill around in the “bumpers up” position
until they are thoroughly scrambled.Ask them to stop and return to their sequential order - with
their eyes still closed.The only thing they can say is, “How’re
ya doin’?Just fine, thanks.”
LISTENING
SKILLS DRAWINGS: You will need a piece of paper
and a writing utensil for each particpant.You also will need two different diagrams
for each pair.Have partners sit back to back and decide
who will be the “listener” and who will be the
“talker” first.Each will eventually have a chance to
play both roles.Give each “talker” a copy of a diagram.The Listener must sketch what they hear
described, and in this round 1, is not allowed
to speak or ask questions.This pair is using “one-way communication.”There will be 1-2 minutes allotted for
this round, or longer if time permits.Partners compare drawings when finished
to see how close they came to the original.The second round can begin and partners
switch roles, still sitting back to back.The dyad together must try to improve results.In this round 2, the talker gets different diagram, and the
listener can speak and ask questions.After the alloted time has passed, partners
should compare results again.Then bring the two groups together to
talk about the benifits of both types of communication.
PASS
THE PEBBLE: All players stand about while one
goes around pretending to drop a pebble into
the hands of each of the players, who hold their
palms together.When the pebble has been completey around
the group and has been left in one player’s
hands, the one who has it slyly slips away and
runs for the goal previously determined by the
group, and all try to catch him/her.The one who succeeds passes the pebble
in the next round. If no one succeeds in catching
the player, that player passes the pebble in
the next round.HINT: Ask players to spread out so no
one knows who holds the pebble.
SCISSORS:
Split the group into small groups of any number
you would like and have each group sit in a
circle.The first person starts by turning to
the person to his/her right and saying, “I am
passing these scissors to you....” (And they
fill in either “crossed” or “open.”The phrase they choose to end with depends
on whether their legs are crossed or open.They can do whatever they want with the
scissors in terms of how they pass them to the
person next to them.The person who is receiving the scissors
must say, “I am receiving these scissors...”
(The ending should reflect how the person before
had his/her legs positioned - NOT how they passed
the scissors.)Game continues around circle...play until
everyone has figured out the game.NOTE: Participants can get easily frustrated
if they can not figure out the game...be patient
and encouraging.
SHOE
SORT: Creatively divide the groups into
two smaller groups.Then tell a space sotry while handing
out the blindfolds.They then need to describe that everyone
has been left speechless from some sort of space
disaster.The leader continues to tell the group
that they need to be fitted for space boots
before they can go on their voyage to return
to earth.The group must line up in order of shoe
size from smallest to largest - without the
use of sight or sound!Have group use bumpers.Once the group has completed the task,
process what happened.
TRAFFIC
JAM: Divide the group depending on how
many people there are.The groups need to be of even numbers
of six, eight, etc.If there is an odd number of people have
them help facilitate the activity and them switch
off.To
set up the game, place marked squares (one more
than the number of people in the group) on the
floor.The boxes need to be placed in a straight
line.Have each person stand on a marked box,
leaving the center open.The challenge is for the groups on either
side of the center unmarked box to completely
change to the other side, by moving one at a
time, like in a game of Checkers.Players may move into the vacant spot
next to them, or they may jump another player
on the opposite side, but they can NOT jump
a player from their own side.Players may not move backwards, and two
people can not move at once.After the group has figured out a solution
to the traffic jam, have them show the leader.
WARP
SPEED: The group starts in a circle formation Warp Speed has the same beginning as
Group Juggling.Instead of adding objects, the group
must comprise a way of moving the object in
the same name pattern under time constraints.Let the group come up with the time constraint.The object is to move the ball (or whatever)
through EVERYONE’S hands as fast as possible.One person can not hold onto the object
at all times.
|
