At "Radu Vlădescu" Theoretical High School, the students developed and improved their social skills (cooperation, teamwork, inclusion, leadership, solidarity, tolerance, respect) with the help of the following games and outdoor activities:
2 Truths and 1 Lie
The team gathers together in an intimate environment. Each team member shares two truths and one lie about himself/herself. Team members have to guess the lie out of the three statements.
Number of participants: 25-30;
Duration: 50 minutes;
Objective: Break the ice and get people involved;
How to play:
1. Ask the players to sit in a circle;
2. Each player has to think up two truths and one lie about himself/herself;
3. Each player then gets up and stands in the center of the circle and says three statements about himself/herself (two truths, one lie);
4. The rest of the group has to guess which of the statements is a lie;
5. The process repeats for all the other players.
Strategy-There is no competitive element to this game. Instead, it is designed to get people to open up and get to know each other better. The opportunity to lie can also get some hilariously outrageous statements from players, which further improves the group's mood.
Blind drawing
Time: 5 - 10 minutes
Number of Participants: a group of students divided in pairs
Materials Needed: a picture for each pair, markers and paper
Rules: Divide everyone into pairs. Have the two individuals standing back-to-back. Give one player the marker and paper and the other player the picture. The person with the picture describes it to their partner without actually saying what it is. For example, if the image is a glass of milk in the fridge, do not say, "Draw a glass of milk inside a fridge." The player with the marker and paper draws what they think the picture depicts, based on the verbal description. Set a time limit for 5-10 minutes.
Objective: This is an activity that focuses on interpretation and communication. The winning pair is the one whose drawing is closest to the original.
Game of Possibilities
Time: 5-6 minutes;
Number of Participants: multiple small groups;
Materials Needed: Any random objects;
Rules: This is a great 5-minute team building game. Give an object to one person in each group. One at a time, someone has to go up in front of the group and demonstrate a use for that object. The rest of the team must guess what the player is demonstrating. The demonstrator cannot speak, and demonstrations must be original, possibly wacky, ideas.
Objective: This team building exercise inspires creativity and individual innovation.
Get It Together
This outdoor game builds focus and encourages teamwork.
What you’ll need: a class of students, blindfolds, white chalk, a number of small items
How to play: divide players into two-person teams and blindfold one member. Use the chalk to create a circle and place various items within it. Based on directions given by their partner, the blindfolded member must retrieve specific items from the circle. The players giving instructions may not enter the circle. The game becomes complicated and challenging as more and more two-person teams join the fray. When it becomes virtually impossible for teams to communicate and navigate, or once all the objects have been retrieved, the game ends. Building focus helps team members concentrate on the person they’re communicating with despite potential distractions. Try switching the roles within each team after every round so the members can learn more about their own and other people’s behaviour in challenging situations. This game works best in large groups since it increases the game difficulty. The more chaos by the end, the better!
Mine Field
What is needed: chalk to draw a square boundary line, cones (or other objects), blindfolds
Time: 10 - 15 Minutes;
Recommended age: 7+;
How to play: Set out the square boundary line and put all the cones inside and spread them out. Get the group into pairs and put them in each corner of the boundary line. Blindfold one person. The other person has to direct the blindfolded person across to the opposite corner by shouting directions and instructions. If the blindfolded person touches any of the cones, someone else will start again. The person who is giving instructions can’t move from the corner.
Odd Couples
Number of participants: +20 people
Duration: 45-50 minutes
Objective: Improve team bonding and communication skills
How to play?
1. Create a list of odd pairs of objects that, for some reason, go well together. Like "butter & jam", "chocolate & coffee", "salt & pepper", etc.
2. Write down the names of objects from each pair on separate sheets of paper.
3. Tape a sheet of paper to a participant's back. Do this for all participants.
4. Ask participants to mingle with the group. Their objective is to figure out what's written on their backs. The trick is: they can only ask yes/no questions ("Do I add flavor to food? Do I make the food spicy?").
5. Once participants figure out what's written on their backs, they have to find the other half of their pair.
6. After they've found their pairs, participants have to find three things they share in common with their opposing pair.
Strategy
In any team building event, one of your biggest challenges is bringing different people together. An exercise like this can give participants a reason to sit down and share experiences with people they might not mingle with otherwise.
Tell me a story!
Have groups of three students work together to come up with a short animal story.
e.g. “The Bear was sleeping in his cave. Then, he woke up, got up and walked slowly outside. He got to the pond to take a drink. He was sad. A sad Monkey came to the pond to drink, too. She was crying. After they met, they decided to become friends. Then they were both happy.”
One will act as narrator, as the others go through the actions.
This is a great way to encourage creativity, listening and observation and to focus on good public-speaking techniques.
The Detective
This game requires teamwork and close observation.
Students stand in a circle. One student (the detective) goes away turning his back on the circle. While the detective is not looking, another student is chosen as the leader to start the motion. The leader begins a motion, for instance, clapping their hands, while the rest of the students in the circle follow along. The detective is called and goes to the center of the circle. After a short while, the selected student/leader changes the motion, for instance touching their shoulders and knees, and the rest of the students follow along. The detective has to figure out who the leader is. The detective gets three guesses. Then a new leader and detective are chosen for the next round.
What’s My Name?
This is an activity where each player is assigned the name of a person - dead or alive - and displays that name on their back such that only the other players can read the name. Once everyone has been assigned a name, the players mingle with one another, treating their colleagues the way they would treat the person listed on that player’s card. They can also ask questions about their own hidden identity until they correctly guess who they are.
“What's My Name?” has no complicated rules or potential for competitiveness. It is simply an empathy-builder - a critical ingredient of good school environment- allowing students to find out what it would be like to be treated the way someone very different from them might be treated every day.
