Category:

Life Skills Memory Match (Set 1 & Set 2) Print-N-Play

10/30/2020

You know those times when you go into a situation with no real expectations and you come out the other side saying, "That was really fun!" Well, I had one of those experiences with Karen Whittaker and some of the Base Camp Challenge Center staff recently. Karen reached out and wanted to give back to the community of Fun Followers that we are. We set up a ZOOM call and I expected that Karen and I were going to simply talk out some of the activities they use during their programs. Well, "little did he know..." (movie reference)...I was surprised with a small group ready to play and 'show' me the activities. Needless to say, I learned a lot from these amazing educators! (Thank you my friends!!)

Life Skills Memory Match is one of the (processing) activities they shared - one I knew I could get out to you right away (and I know how much some of you like the print-n-plays!). The Base Camp Challenge Center (among other things) team builds with high school ages. During their programs they align activities with the Michigan Technical Education Essential Standards, what we can call life skills. Karen and the staff work from a specific list of traits and skills they can address based on the standards. Life Skills Memory Match is most often used as a processing activity at the end of a series of high school student programs to review many of the traits and skills the students learned and practiced while at the Base Camp Challenge Center.

Karen provided us with two sets of Memory Match activities (downloads below). Each set includes an answer key. She shared with me that a 4 by 5 grid is a good size to work with - more choices takes longer. And, there is certainly the option to mix the pairs from each set to make another 'set' - just be sure you have an answer sheet for your new set. Thinking through this resource, if I have the same group over different days (like the Base Camp groups), I would put a set of memory match cards together to review the traits and skills we practiced during different parts of the program (e.g. after the second program of four). Then, as a final processing activity I'd put a game together with the most relevant pairs to review in the mix. Lots of potential versions to create with this one.

Basic Play for Life Skills Memory Match
Karen provide a set of the Memory Match directions (at right). The directions outline a competitive way to play with a review of the pairs after the 'match.' And, I like how it says, "You can allow a team to match 'wrong' as long as they can tell you why they think the cards match, then..."

basicmemorymatch_directions_competiiotn.pdf
File Size:	104 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Of course, you can also play cooperatively and work together to find the matches (...as long as they can tell you why...). When a positive match is found, take a moment to reflect on the learning behind the match. Then, continue to search for the next combination.)

Set Up
As Karen shared, a good size for play is a 4 by 5 grid of cards (10 pairs to find). NOTE: I set up the example images in Google Slides with 'covers' over the cards (and yes, we could play virtually). Please consider the covers to be the backs of a cards so we'll 'flip' the card over, uncovering it in Slides.

Play
Two players go to the grid, either from the same team, if competing, or from the group if playing cooperatively. Each player turns over a card...

If the cards do not match (and the group cannot "tell you why" they match), the cards are flipped back over (words down - you might need to include this specific phrasing due to the creative nature of some groups - what is a flip?).

If the cards do match (correct answer or a good reason why), the 'team' pulls the pair out and play continues (same team plays again, or next team goes? Up to you....), or (as I - Chris - might play), we would take some time to talk about the significance of the pair then take the cards out of the grid, place them off to the side and continue playing. (I like the idea of taking the found pairs out of the grid so it doesn't become distracting as other pairs are found.)

Most of us have played a 'Matching' game of some sort, so I'm guessing you know how it plays out over the long run. Be sure to adapt the game to meet your specific needs. Does the grid need to be a 'square/rectangle' grid? No. Could I have some 'distracter' cards in the mix? Yes. Can my grid contain more cards? Yes. Can we jump up and down in celebration when we find a match? Yes!! Reviewing our learning is an important part of what we do as team builders. Make it the best for your situation.

Another BIG THANKS to Karen and her colleagues for taking the time to share with us. And, there is more on the way from these amazing educators.

Here are the downloads:

lifeskills_memorymatch_set1.pdf
File Size:	410 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

lifeskillsmemorymatch_answersheet_set1.pdf
File Size:	104 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

lifeskills_memorymatch_set2.pdf
File Size:	479 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

lifeskills_memorymatch_answersheet_set2.pdf
File Size:	140 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

NOTE: If you have any questions about the content in the Sets, email: chris@onteambuilding.com

Be well my friend!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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LOOPS: Toxic Waste Removal (with Video)

9/17/2020

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Back in April 2019, I posted, 'P-Cord Loop Activities' shared by Andrew Bogue and Ben Vanderzyden. At this first post you'll find the video, 'Ball Game with Ropes' and the 'Let's Get Loopy' PDF ebook with several p-cord loop initiative. After I became aware of the super-fun activities using 'loops' I put my kit together (p-cord loops and inflatable vinyl orbs), ready to play. Then everything slowed down in the early months of 2020. However, just before all programming stopped, I was able to get some film with some of my facilitator friends trying Loops: Toxic Waste Removal (video below).

At this moment in history, team builders are starting to get back out, face-to-face with groups. I think this one will be great for this transition time of team building while safely distancing.

Toxic Waste Removal plays well with 10 to 16 players per set-up. You'll be pairing up participants. Each pair will need one 'Loop' - a 25-foot length of p-cord tied together with a double fisherman's (Barrel) knot. (You'll see the details in the video.)

The Basic Set-Up: You'll need an 8-foot by 8-foot square of rope (webbing or tape) and a container (the grey circle in the graphic) in the center of the square. Then set out eight game spots about 10 to 15 feet away from the square in different areas. Place an orb on each game spot. I found some vinyl inflatable orbs (playground balls) about 6-inches in diameter at a local Dollar Store. Dodgeball-type orbs are really good as well. (Tennis balls work too, but these are more challenging to move.)

Objective: The specialists (your group), are tasked to move all the radioactive orbs (ROs) into the protective container located inside the quarantined square.

Procedures:

The ROs may only be touched by the Loops.
If an RO touches one of the specialists, this person must stand perfectly still for 60-seconds so the radio waves do not move through the skin into the blood stream.
When a pair of specialists is moving an RO they may not move their feet (too much risk of contamination).
If an RO is dropped to the ground, another pair of specialists must take over moving this RO. (The pair that dropped the RO must evacuate the area around the RO to avoid the immediate pulse of radio waves.)
If an RO is dropped inside the 8 by 8-foot containment area (the rope square), any pair can pick up this RO using their loop.
ROs may not be rolled, on purpose, along the ground (or floor) - this causes an excess of radio waves to be released and may lead to a complete evacuation of the specialist team and all of the local inhabitance.
In order to avoid a complete evacuation of the local inhabitance, you must safely contain all the ROs within ______ minutes. (You will need to decide a fair, but challenging, time for the goal.)
DISTANCING RULE: (If needed) Specialists must stay at least 6-feet away from each other to provide enough room for the slow leak of radio waves to pass between each other. (You will need to decide how this will be monitored.)

Facilitator Notes: One of the main facilitated objectives I see with this activity is the opportunity to learn and practice a skill set, and then put this skill set to use. (And then be able to process how this experience was for the participants.) In the video (below), you will see the group initially learning about and practicing the use of the p-cord loops. (FYI: This video was taken pre-COVID, so we were not concerned with distancing and waring masks.) Then, they jump in to move the ROs to safety. Not as easy as it sounds.

This activity is still in Beta Testing mode. I have yet to play a full round of moving 8 ROs - I'm guessing this can take a while depending on how long you let the group practice and how far the ROs are placed from the square. When you can, get out there and try this one (and some of the others shared in the Let's Get Loopy PDF). Let us know how it goes!

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Through the Hoop (While Safely Distancing)

9/3/2020

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Our friend Neil Mercer (On Board, Pressure Cooker 2.0, Microphone Introductions) from Israel sent in another activity for us to work on/with - one that can be done while safely distancing. He sent us a note:

I was rummaging through my game files and came across another of those activities from the meandering mind of Neil Mercer, that I’d written down but never actually brought to fruition. It seems as though it was just biding its time and waiting for its moment! I’ve attached my instructions – both for facilitator and participant on one sheet [PDF Download below]. I’ve played it a couple of times which went quite well. Some other colleagues of mine have also used it. Please let me know what you think of it.
Wishing you well and keep safe,
Neil

Here are the original directions for 'Just One Step' from Neil:

just_one_step_mercer_2020.pdf
File Size:	117 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Shortly after he sent the directions, he followed up with a change:

I think that one step is actually not enough. So each participant is allowed two steps – which includes the step needed to pass through the hoop. Of course, the name of the task thus becomes, JUST TWO STEPS. As the facilitator, it’s important to be strict regarding the rules of touching the hoop or it touching the ground –otherwise, the task will be too easy. Furthermore, we should be sensitive regarding the size of the hoop and the self-perceived size of the participants. Perhaps having a larger hoop available would be wise.
N

[NOTE from Chris: I really like how Neil just gets things out there, shares it, asks for feedback, refines it and lets us all join in on the discovery. If we wait to share until something is "just right" (i.e., perfect), it may never reach the helpful hands of others.]

An Exercise in Variation (from Chris)

After Neil sent me, Just Two Steps, I took a little time to let it simmer. He left his directions pretty wide open for interpretation - something I like to do as well when I start building on an idea. I decided I wanted more specific Rules and less restriction on movement. One of my preferences when creating an activity, one that works for me, is to have as much moving around as possible (minimizing 'wait' time). So, here's what I came up with:

Preparations: Use a large diameter hula hoop (being mindful of Neil's second email) and three lengths of rope or p-cord about 4-feet (1 meter) long. (If you use a length of webbing as the 'hoop' use four lengths of rope to make the webbing form a square hoop.) Tie the ropes to the hoop so the 'hoop apparatus' (HA) looks like the configuration in the diagram above. Tie an overhand on a bite at the end of each rope to create a small loop 'handle'. Set down the HA among the spots.

Set out games spots, like illustrated in the diagram above, at a distance mandated by the distancing procedures you are following (e.g., all spots are 6 feet from any other spot). In the diagram, there are 15 spots for a group of 12 participants - if you add more spots, the activity will be a little easier.

Directions:

PPE: Since participants may be passing within 6-feet of each other (and maybe closer), masks might be required - LOPs. Also, providing hand sanitizer or, at least, one rubber glove (holding the rope) might be recommended as well - LOPs. (At least 6 participants will be touching the ends of the ropes.)
Ask everyone to stand, by themselves, on a spot.
Safety Protocol: Everyone should do their best to stay '6 feet' away (LOPs) from each other. If someone sees they are too close to someone else, he/she is free to move and occupy an open spot in a different area.
OPTIONAL RULE (it will make the activity a bit more challenging) Participants are allowed to move to a different spot as long as no one is touching the Hoop Apparatus - see Rules below.
Objective: Everyone must pass completely through the hoop. This will be a timed activity - time starts movement on "Go" and stops after the last person goes 'Through the Hoop' and everyone is standing on a spot.
Hoop Apparatus (HA) Movers can move anywhere within the activity area - they don't need to stand on a spot while they are manipulating the HA.
After a participant passes through the hoop (completely), the HA Movers set down the HA in the playing area and move to, and stand on, an open spot. The HA is now ready for another group to pick it up the get someone else through. (HA Movers may not move the hoop over two or more people in a row. They can come back to be a Mover after another group of Movers passes someone through.)

Rules:

Participants cannot make physical contact with the hoop.
The HA Movers can only manipulate the ropes by holding the loop handle at the end of the rope - no other part of the rope may be touched.
HA Movers may not touch any part of the HA until all non-hoop movers are standing on a spot.
Non-HA Movers are required to pass through the hoop completely - the hoop can start at the feet and be lifted up over the head or the hoop can start at the head and go down past the feet.
All participants are required to keep at least one foot on his/her spot at all times while going through the hoop - any part of a foot on any part of the spot.

If a Rule is broken, 10 seconds is added to the overall group time. (Who will be responsible for keeping track of Rule violations?)

Here is some of my thinking about this version:

It's okay for the hoop (and ropes) to touch the ground - keeping the hoop off the ground would require more ropes for the change-over and might bring participants close together.
Forcing the HA Movers to change out after each 'through the hoop' provides more opportunities for other participants to be active and assume the 'risk' of moving the hoop over someone.
Not touching the HA until everyone else is on a spot opens up some strategic planning opportunities (e.g., the HA Movers place the hoop down 'over' an empty spot after moving the hoop over someone. Then, a participant runs to the spot inside the hoop, ready for the new Movers to bring the hoop up and over).
With all the specific rules, there is an opportunity for the group to create a number of roles and responsibilities during the task - and some will change for participants depending on how much they want to take on. There is more to do for more people.

Give your group the opportunity to try this one a few times in order to improve.

Through the Hoop does have some proximity risk and sharing equipment (ropes). So, you will have to run this through your current LOPs to determine if this activity can be used. I like the dynamics of it and the opportunity to try it a few times in order to improve. And, what will the group decide to improve upon? A process goal (e.g., keep safely distanced) or a product goal (e.g., a better time)? Or, both?

I hope you get to try this one. Let us know how it goes. Leave a Comment below.

All the best,

Neil & Chris

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Not In the (Playing) Cards

5/13/2020

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This is another activity for in-person team building while safely distancing. (Circle Around - the last FUNdoing blog post - is another safe distancing activity to consider.) Request: If you have an activity in mind that can be done while 'safe distancing' please let us know through the Comments so we can all be ready for the transition.

Set Up
Not In the Cards will probably play well with 8 to 12 participants (so far, this one is just an idea). Using a 50-foot activity rope (about that length), set down a square or circle (or whatever shape you want, really) and put out a game spots, one for each participant, around the outside of the shape - set the spots six feet apart from each other (or whatever your distancing LOPs require). (The Set Up above is for 12 participants.)

Setting out 48 Cards: In the picture above, I've set out 48 cards so there are a bunch overlapping - this could be a more challenging set up? An easier array (?) would be to not overlap any cards. Before laying down the cards, take out one card from each suit and set them aside - you'll need to do some prep with these four cards in a moment. If you plan to overlap, be sure to leave enough of each card showing so the rank and suit can be identified.

The other 4 Cards: The four cards you removed from the deck are needed for the second half of the challenge ahead. You need to come up with four mathematical formulas with these numbers that result in (the sums are) different numbers - keep these formulas with you during the activity. For example, say you pulled out a 3, 5, 8 & 10. One number you could use is 26 - if you add the four numbers together. Now, you need three other formulas with these same four numbers. Your others could be: 72, 13 & 10 (Challenge: Find the formulas I used to get these numbers?) (This part of the challenge was inspired by the activity, Get 20, from Playing with a Full Deck by Michelle Cummings.)

Before you can play, you'll need some paper and and markers (you could also use four small white boards and appropriate markers for these). If you have access to clip boards, grab four of those as well. Take four pieces of paper and the four 'sum' numbers you have figured (using the four cards you removed from the deck). Write one number on each piece of paper - a different number on each piece. (Using the example numbers above, one piece of paper will have the number 26, another piece will have 72, another 13, and the fourth piece of paper will have a 10.) Place theses papers nearby, separated from each other, along with a marker (recently sterilized) for each piece of paper. (Make sure you are following your safety protocols for using equipment/supples - if needed.)

Procedures for Play

Gather your group around to give them the directions. Be sure you are not too close to the cards/spots set up - you don't want the group to see the cards just yet.
Tell them there are two parts to the challenge. The first part is to identify the cards that are missing from the pool of cards. [Optional: You can tell them how many are missing, or you can leave this out - leaving this fact out can create other great things to discuss.]
While working to identify the missing cards, participants must be standing on their own game spot - the spots may not be moved and no one is allowed inside the rope shape.
When the group has identified all of the missing cards they can ask you for access to the four 'math problems' - this is the second part of the challenge.
Before accessing the math problems (the four pieces of paper and markers), the group (along with your guidance) will need to decide how they will safely retrieve and use the supplies as a group.
For the second challenge, the group will need to come up with a mathematical formula that will equal the number on each page, using the numbers on the cards that they determined are missing from the pool. (NOTE: The group might find others ways, than yours, to 'solve' for the number. This is okay. Keep your formulas handy in case you need to provide proof of a formula.)
When the group understands the two-part challenge, tell them, "When everyone is ready, you can go over to the activity set up and begin."

Facilitation Notes
To reiterate, this activity is still conceptual in nature - no play data yet. So, help me think through this. One of the main facilitated objectives for this activity is to see how the group manages to work through the challenges while safely distancing (based on what you have set up with the group about this). These are some of the questions I'm thinking I could ask a group about this experience:

Was 'everyone' ready before you went over to the game area? How did you know if everyone was ready?
Did any planning take place before you started or did you 'jump' right in? What are your thoughts about this?
What role or responsibility did you have for the first part of the challenge? Did anyone not have a role or responsibility? How did this happen? What are your thoughts about this situation?
What was your 'process' for discovering the missing cards? Or, was it something other than a process? How did it work out?
Did you discover all the missing cards? Did you discover too many missing cards? Not enough? Did you have a plan for 'checking' your findings? If so, how did the plan work out? If you did not have a plan, would you consider anything else the next time you are tasked to do something similar?
How did your 'safety' planning go before you obtained the math problems? What was good about it? What could have been better?
If you are willing to share, what is your take on the second part of the challenge - solving the math problems. What worked for you? What did not work for you?
Did you feel like you contributed to the process of solving the math problems? What part did you play? If you didn't feel you helped in any way, what prevented you from helping? Could you have done anything differently?
How successful were you as a group in solving the challenges - gold, silver or bronze medal? If you didn't get the gold, what was missing? The team that did win the gold, what did they do differently than you?
If you were to make a bumper sticker that said something about this experience, what would it say? (Remember, there is not a lot of room on a bumper sticker.)

Considerations

The size of the cards can change the experience.
(Reminder) The spacing of the cards can change the experience.
The size of the rope shape (and the shape) can change the experience.
The number of cards you remove from the deck can vary - maybe only three or maybe six. Maybe from only one or two suits?
Assigning participants to roles can influence dynamics. For example: Assign four 'quiet' people to have and write on the paper; Assign two leaders to 'lead' the first challenge, two different people for the safety transition and then two others for the second part of the challenge.

Let us know what you think. Let's make this one better together. Share in the Comments or send me (Chris) and email.

All the best!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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April Challenge Week (Experiential Learning)

4/13/2020

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5 Days, 5 Challenges - some you may know, others will be new. The theme is learning, teaching and then using our new-found skills and abilities in new situations. How will you challenge yourself? (Have FUN this week and don't forget, kindness goes a long way.)

Challenge #5: Overhand Cuff Links

This final challenge for the week is a tricky one (actually, tricky two). No magic involved, I promise. (I lost track of the source for this one - pretty sure I saw it online somewhere. Since I don't know the name for this challenge I could not re-find it. If you know a source please share. Thanks.) Challenge On!

Challenge #4: Double Jump Six Count

I have not seen a specific reference to this activity - someone taught it to me years ago at a conference. Thank You, Someone!

Challenge #3: Six Count

Six Count can be found in, Executive Marbles and Other Team Building Activities, by Sam Sikes (1998). Sam says, "This is a good, quick icebreaker that stretches people's minds and smile muscles." Six Count has become so much more since - it's about moving through the discomfort of challenge and failure. It's about sticking to it, even if it's not easy.

You can find Six-Count to Competence (what I called, Synchronized Six Count in the video) in, The More The Merrier. Here are some of the Discussion/Questions from the book: What were some of the strategies your group used to learn Six-Count? What made the activity difficult? How did you, as a group, overcome the difficulties? In what ways is Six-Count like other things you do?

Challenge #2: Pencil/Pen Turning

A write up for Pencil Turning (or, Pen Flip) can be found in, The More The Merrier, by Sikes, Evans & Cavert (2007). One Facilitator Note from the books says, "The wonderful thing about this activity is that both hands have to work together to accomplish the task." Discussion/Questions include: What makes this activity difficult? What helped the most to find a solution? How is this activity like our interactions with each other?

Challenge #1: Wiggle-Waggle (with a special cameo guest!)

The most recent description of Wiggle-Waggle is found in, FUNN 'N Games by Karl Rohnke, 2004. (I believe, Wiggle-Waggle made its first appearance in Rohnke's, FUNN Stuff, Vol. 3 1998). You'll see the original mode of play in the video (along with two additional ways to Waggle), but there are more versions of play in the book:

Digital Wiggle-Waggle - Big circle of players. Each player connects (e.g., point at one another) with another person across from him/her - essentially pairing up. "On the signal each person walks toward [his/her] partner and attempts a double (both hands) Wiggle-Waggle."
Blind Wiggle-Waggle - Pairs are divided in half, each half moves to one side or the other of the playing area - not too far apart. All players close their eyes (by choice). With bumpers up, partners move towards each other, communicating freely. When pairs meet, Wiggle-Waggle - eyes can open when successfully Waggled.
Electronic (Virtual) Wiggle-Waggle - "Call a friend on the phone [or ZOOM call them] and try to verbalize what needs to be done to reach a satisfying level of solo completion."

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Pangram Project (another Beta Test) with Video

2/5/2020

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Okay. First off, the video (below) is a weird one, but it's filled with good stuff - I promise!! So, I'm going to ask you to pretend you're listening to a Podcast - BTW - The OnTeamBuilding Podcast is launching soon....stay tuned - so this will be practice. I got to work with Kim's Crew recently for about 20 minutes (Kim's old Crew helped with some FUNdoing videos last year), but I did not have all the permission to film releases for this new group, so the focus of the video is only on hands and the box-top we worked with (seriously, if you are prone to seizures, don't watch the video - just listen).

Background: I'm collaborating (with a virtual friend - we have never met in person!) on an online course called, Team Building with Letter Tiles, that will include old favorites and new challenges (using large letter tiles). This Pangram Project is a new one I've been working on. In this version we used small (Bananagram) letter tiles and plan to go Jumbo (Bananagrams) when we work out the process.

Below is a partial transcript of my interaction with Kim's Middle School Crew. When you see the part that says, Video Starts Here - that's where the video starts (obvious, I know). The transcript before the start of the video was my discussion with the Crew before the activity. (I wanted to spare you some, pointing at the ground footage - I was basically recording myself through the wireless microphone that goes through my smartphone camera, then pointed my camera at the action.)

Nuff said. This is a long one, but I think there are good take-aways. Let me know your ideas about the activity.

Chris

Pangram Project Pre-Conversation Transcript (with Kim's middle school Crew)

Chris (C)
What is team building to you? What does team building mean to you? Obviously, team building is, team building, but what does that mean? You've done team building right? Maybe on your wilderness trips you did some team building things...

Student (S)
Working as a group...

S
Doing things together...

S
Figuring out problems together...

C
Doing things together. That's a key word. You could do things by yourself, but when you work as a team you figure out things together.

Let's play a little, then afterwards I'll ask how we were team building.

As with all activities I'll share with you, you are not required to take an active part. If you want to stand back and keep an eye on the team to see what we're doing you can share your observations about how we did as a team after the activity is over. And, if you want to take an active part at any time let us know and we'll get you involved.

This is how it works. There are 26 letters on top of this box, A through Z. If you want to play come up and step around closer to the box. If you want to just watch you can stay where you are. If you want to move closer up behind the group and watch, feel free to do that.

This is going to be a team project. It has three parts [and we actually added a fourth part - shown in the video]. Part 1 - everyone that chooses to be a part of this project has to have some letters. Your role and responsibility is to keep track of your letters.

For Part 1, you will need to figure out who has what letters. As a group, you're going to touch the letters in order, however you want to do that. Everyone that's in play should have at least one letter if not more than one. Whatever you think you can handle. Decide together who is taking and touching what letters.

(Video Starts Here)
Part 1 is touching the letters A through Z in order with everyone, in play, touching at least one of those letters. Whenever you are ready, you can begin Part 1.....

(Students choose and touch their letters and then put in one more round for practice)

[Introducing Part 2]
At any point in the project you can always practice. If someone says, "Can I practice a bit more," you can stop the group and set this up and practice.

So, here's Part 2 if you're ready, unless you need to practice?

This next Round (Part), you're going to flip your letter over - you touch it, then flip it over in order. In Part 2, here's what's going to happen. You're going to flip the tiles back over, in order, A to Z. So, if you need to practice before you flip the tiles over, get some more practice. When you're ready for Part 2 we're going to do the flip-over thing.

Does anyone need to practice one more time?

Kim (of Kim's Crew)
Do you feel confident with where your letters are by just looking at it - once you can't see the letters. What do you think?

(An orah of student consensus for moving on.)

Okay, going on to Part 2? Alright. Is it going to be okay to say fail? Because, if we make a mistake, some people call it failing.

Kim
First attempt in learning.

C
Is it going to be okay to make mistakes?

Students (Ss)
Yah...

C
What are we doing with mistake?

Ss
We're learning from them.

C
We're learning from them. Then we're moving on. Trying it over. Getting better.

Alright. So, this time, we're into Part 2 of the project. Part 3 is the final exam. We'll get to that in just a moment.

So, when you touch your letter (this time), touch it and then turn it over - in order.

(students turn over letters in order...all letters tiles are face down)

C
Okay. Are you ready? (I'm a little nervous) Are you ready to try?

Ss
Yes....

C
Okay, here we go...

(students turn over letters in order...without any mistakes)

C
Nicely done! Anyone a little nervous about turning over their letter?

Ss
Yes.....

C
Talking about team building. How...would you define what we're doing as team building?

S
We're remembering where we put it [our letters]...we're working together so we all can figure out where it is.

C
So, you are remembering your part.

S
Yah

C
Your role and responsibility, as part of a team. Right?

Anything else about team on this one?

Kim
Success as a whole?

C
Were you successful?

Ss
Yah

C
Even if you missed a couple, would you still be successful? That's still an 'A' probably.

Ss
Yah

C
Yah. You've got to define your success.

Kim (in the background)
We're helping each other out.

C
Anything else about being a team in this situation?

S (maybe picking up what Kim said?)
We're helping each other out if we forget where a letter is.

C
Yah. I think someone wasn't sure, and someone said, "no, maybe..." So we can help each other out. That's good too, right?

Are you ready for the Final Exam, or do you want to try this Round (Part) one more time?

Kim
I noticed a lot of focus in our group during that round. Do you think we're ready?

Ss
Yes...

C
Okay. Let's get ready for Round (Part) 3, you are going to turn your letters over in order, A to Z. We're going to get ready for the final exam. (students turn letters over, face down again)

C
Do you work on group projects in school?

Ss
Yah

C
What are important things for you about a group project? When you're in a group, what do you like to see happen in a group?

S
Everybody working together.

C
Everybody working together. And, what is one behavior, that when everybody's working together they're doing? What are the things you can see and hear?

S
Focused

C
Focused...on the project. Versus being sidetracked...

S
Yah

C
Anything else you would like to see and hear while working with a group?

S
Communication

C
Talking to each other?

S
Yes.

C
Is it, nicely talking to each other? Or yelling at each other, or...

S
Nicely

C
Nicely. So, calmly, nicely. Intonation is important to you.

Anything else about a project that you like to see when you're working together?

S
Everybody doing their part.

C
Everybody doing their part. Do you all have a part?

Ss
Yah

C
What is your part in this project?

S
"E, P, S"

C
E, P, S [this person's letters]. Oh, I like that. You all have your letters, right? And you feel confident about your part of the project?

Ss
Yes....

C
Is it going to be okay to make mistakes?

Ss
Yup, Yes, Yah...

C
Here's Part 3. Anybody know what a Pangram is? [A sentence that includes all the letters of the alphabet. The pangram challenge is to create the shortest, proper, sentence using all 26 letters.

(See Video. Setting up Part 3 - spell the words in a pangram.)

Part 3: Participants are required to spell the words of the Pangram - flipping letters over in the order of spelling the word in play.

Pangram we used: (31 Letters) The five boxing wizards jump quickly.

(Lots of good stuff in here...)

C (after successfully spelling all words in the first pangram presented)
Help me out with this. What do you think about this as a team building activity? What are some things [this activity] does to build a team? What does it help us practice?

S
We're communicating together.

C
Talking to each other. And, talking nicely to each other. You weren't yelling or making fun of anybody. That's a good quality.

S
We were focused.

C
Seemed to be very focused, especially on our part.

S
Right.

C
And then there are others able to focus on other people's part. It depends on the kind of learner [you are]. Anything else this helps to build a group of people?

Kim
I noticed there was no judgement. We were able to do our part. Sometimes when I'm working with High Schoolers, and they're working in a group, they are quick to judge on how somebody's doing something. But, I know that I was focused on other stuff, and I missed my letter, but nobody was, "come on Kim" giving me a hard time about that at all. Everybody was...

Teacher in the Crew
...supportive...

Kim
Kind and patient. Yah, supportive.

C
[There was a time when] you got stuck...what did a 'teacher' (Kim) do, as a role of a teacher, what did the teacher do to help you?

S
She said, "let's practice"...

C
Sometimes people have advice that can help you move forward. Sometimes you've just got to restart and go from the beginning. But that was a great way...to practice without even looking at the letters.

New: Part 4 (Spontaneous experiment with this.)
Players 'train' the person to their left what letters they have - so, everyone will then have a new letter or letters to remember.

Training occurred, then, with the limited time we had left, players flipped over the letters from A to Z without any mistakes - each person flipping over his/her new letter or letters.

[This was about 70% of the conversations that took place during the activity. Lots more in the video.]

4 Comments

What's Missing? Revisited (New Prop)

9/23/2019

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It's so fun for me to find easy-to-use props for team building activities. Back in 2015 I shared the activity What's Missing using Qwirkle pieces - small wooded squares. You can get three sets of wooden pieces from a Qwirkle game, but it is a slight investment to buy the game. Well, those clever MindWare folks have a spin off - Qwirkle Rummy cards!! For us, it's a super-portable inexpensive prop for What's Missing.

I found my deck at Barnes & Noble for $6 (plus tax)! If you don't have a B&N near you, pick them up from their website for the same price - plus a little shipping HERE. And, same deal. There are three 'sets' of colorshape cards in a Qwirkle Rummy deck. So, you have a couple sets to give away. (FYI: At the time of this post, Amazon was selling the cards for about $12!?)

Here are the updated directions for What's Missing using the cards:

Needs & Numbers: You will need one set of color shapes cards from the Qwirkle Rummy game - 36 cards: six different colors and six different shapes of each color (again, there are three of these 36-card sets in a Qwirkle Rummy deck). Plays well with 12-34 people.

Set Up: Place all 36 cards colorshape-side down on top of a table (or on the floor). You (the facilitator) pick up two cards off the table - be sure the group sees you pick up the cards, but make sure they don't see the colorshapes you have. NOTE: I like to make sure I have two cards of different shapes and colors, and, more often than not, I like to be holding one of the 8-pointed stars and a card that is purple or blue - I've found these cards often have the most ambiguity.

Once I have my two cards I ask each person in the group to pick up one card without letting anyone else see what colorshape they have. If there are cards still left on the table, I ask for volunteers to pick up another card. If there are still extra cards I ask for volunteers again to pick up another card. If all group members have the number of cards they want and there are still cards left on the table I will provide the 'Leftover' Rule (see below).

The Challenge: Once everyone has the card(s) they want to manage (this is a choice they can make) and they all understand they are not allowed to show their colorshape(s) to anyone in the group, the challenge is to find out the colorshape cards I am holding - the shape on each card and the color of the shape on each card.

When I facilitate this one, more often than not, I allow my group three attempts at the answer. And, when making an answer attempt, they must tell me the shape on both cards and the color of each shape. If the answer is incorrect, I simple say, "Incorrect." I don't tell them which one is incorrect. This adds a little more 'adventure' to the process. If their answer is correct, with a little flare, I reveal each card and we celebrate the effort before debriefing the learnings.

The One-Shot Challenge: I have used this process as well. I leave all 36 cards on the table and ask them to pick up cards (like explained above) until only two remain. (If there are more than two after everyone has the card(s) s/he wants, I ask someone to slide two cards off to one side of the table - these are the two they will need to discover. The group will use the Leftover Rule with the other cards left on the table.) When the group believes they have the answer we flip over one card at a time to see if they 'succeeded' or 'failed.' This process can be stressful but very appropriate for some groups.

Rules:

Players are allowed to say anything they want about the colorshape on their card, but they can't show anyone what they have.
Players are allowed to move around.
Players may not give away any cards they are holding.
Players are allowed to put a card they are holding back on the table.
Players may not pick up a card from the table once the activity begins - when players start sharing information about their cards.

Leftover Rule:

Every player can take one turn to pick up one card from the table, look at it - no more than 10 seconds - then place the card back on the table, colorshape down.

Variations:

If you are playing with smaller groups (e.g., 12 participants) you can take out six cards - six of the same color or six of the same shape to keep the 'set' intact. If you need to take out more, the next removal would be five of the same shape or five of the same color. (The "set" will not remain intact taking out random pieces.)
Don't allow the players to move around during the activity - they must remain in the place they are standing once the game begins.

Have FUN out there my friends!! Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

2 Comments

Consensus Building with Chiji Cards

8/14/2019

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Recently, at a training for some amazing educators, I had another opportunity to work with my Chiji Cards. For me, they are a 'grounding' prop, one that I have been using in impactful ways for over 20 years (they were the first image cards on the scene way-back-when). Now, there are a wide variety of 'image cards' that can be used to build community in all-kindsa ways. (My second favorite set of image cards: Climer Cards.) And, I've seen some homemade image cards that are amazing - just cut out and laminate pictures from magazines and catalogs. (I'm actually working on a print-n-play set of my own - drawing the images on my iPad.)

After this recent training I was looking through my Chiji Guidebook materials and found this great story from Jennifer Stanchfield of Experiential Tools - Jennifer is an amazing educator, trainer and author working with people all over the world. Here's one of her Chiji stories:

My favorite ways to use the cards are
group consensus methods.
Jennifer Stanchfield

My favorite ways to use the cards are group consensus methods. This came out of one of those accidental inventions of facilitation that occur when you are confronted with having to adapt your favorite activities to new parameters. I made a major switch in my facilitation approaches when I moved from working with small groups in the therapeutic setting to larger classroom groups in public schools.

I first came across the cards early on in my training career when I was searching out tools and ideas that would help the recreational therapy students I was teaching in my program at the university hospital. I wanted to show them how to become more comfortable with processing.

The Chiji Cards were introduced in an experiential education magazine as a tool for novice facilitators and Steve Simpson and I connected around that article. [Steve is one of the creators of the cards and the co-author, with me, on, The Chiji Guidebook: A Collection of Experiential Activities and Ideas for Using Chiji Cards]

When I started using the cards with my own groups I found that that they weren’t just a “tool for beginners." As a seasoned facilitator I appreciated the depth of conversation and insight that came out of participant’s connection to the metaphoric images.

I used the cards successfully in my small groups of adolescents and family groups at the hospital. Because they had become one of my favorite tools I of course carried them with me to my classroom settings as well. When I moved to these larger groups I couldn’t use them in the same way I had at the hospital, as it was impractical, due to time constraints, for 24 students to pick individual cards and share in a class session. So one day after a group challenge in the physical education classroom I tried spreading out the whole deck of cards on the gym floor and asked the whole group of students to come to agreement on one that represented what they achieved together.

I became hooked on this method after seeing the group drawn in by the cards and treating processing as an engaging group problem rather than “that boring thing you do after the fun activity”, not to mention the rich dialogue that occurred as the students discussed coming to consensus on one card. The student’s shared profound insights about the cards and their connection to the activity/learning as they came to consensus. It was if they were unaware that they were processing.

Since that time this has become my method of choice when using the cards. After an activity/important moment/ end of session, I just ask the group to come to consensus on one card/object that best represent their experience as a group, the strengths of the group, or something they have achieved together.

Thanks Jennifer for sharing your story. How about you? Do you have a favorite activity using image cards? What are your favorite image cards? Leave us a Comment so we can learn together.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Hooper Dooper (Revisited)

5/23/2019

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Back in 2015, I posted HOOPER - a variation of the activity 60 in 60 (found in, The More The Merrier by Sikes, Evans & Cavert). Recently I found some video footage of Hooper and updated the self-directed handout (download below), so I thought I'd 'revisit' this fun activity with a new post.

I've played this one with middle school age groups and older. So far, 12 groups in play is the most I've tried this with.

The Basics:

Hooper Dooper is meant to be a self-directed activity for one or more small groups of five to six players.
Provide one hula hoop, one inflated beach ball and the directions to each group.
Set a planning and practice time for all groups in play - for the first planning and practice time, I give them 10 minutes. Then, only three minutes before any other additional game. (I usually provide time for three games - scoring attempts.) All groups plan and practice at the same time.
Set an 'Official Game' time - I also refer to this as a 'Scoring Attempt'. Depending on group objectives, a short game is two minutes, a long game is four minutes (long games are usually for groups working on that stick-to-it/grit objective). All groups play the Official Game at the same time - all groups are on the same clock held by the facilitator.

I love using this activity when there are lots of groups in play. We have great conversations about:

Where ideas came from - were ideas 'stolen' from others?
Did any collaboration take place?
How did groups spent their planning and practice time.
If a plan was made, did groups stick with it or change it in progress, and why?
What distraction happened and how did groups deal with them?
Did each group follow the directions (especially the one where each player take turns hitting the ball).

Here is the handout:

hooperdooper_guidelines.pdf
File Size:	39 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Let me know how it goes for you!

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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P-Cord Loop Activities (FUN Follower Share)

4/25/2019

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Well, the cat is out of the bag! Over two years ago now I saw a cool video (below) with a group using strings and tennis balls - they were moving tennis balls across the strings and dropping the tennis balls into baskets. Shortly after that Ben Venderzyden (a FUN Follower) sent me a PDF (below) of three activities put together by Andrew Bogue noting, "Andrew put this series of activities together as an introduction to P-Cord Loop Activities." Then, shortly after that my friend Solomon Masala sent me his version of "Tennis Ball Transfer" (the other PDF below).

With all this information converging in a relatively short period of time, I knew I had to try it out. Well, finally, this past January, I put my P-Cord Loop Activity gear in a bag and carried it with me to two different conferences in hopes of getting some good video to share. However, I failed!! I did shoot some video but nothing I found useful - we ran out of time at each workshop to complete the activity. Then, today, someone shared on the Facebook group, Challenge Course Pros, a little clip of one of the workshops where we were trying out the process of rolling orbs along the P-Cord track - the cat out of the bag.

So, it's time to share everything I have and give a GREAT BIG thanks to those who shared with me so long ago - sorry it's taken this long. (I'm still on the quest to shoot some video of a full activity, so I'll share it when I have it.) And, since you'll have your hands on these ideas, try them out and get some film!! We would love to see how it works for you!

My "Loop Kit" contains 12 orbs, about 8 inches in diameter (I found these at a Dollar Store and I can let out the air and pump them up when ready to use) and 12 P-Cord Loops (25 feet of P-Cord each, tied at the ends with a Barrel Knot). I have enough equipment for 24 participants (each pair gets one orb and one loop).

Have FUN out there my friend!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Let's Get Loopy (P-Cord initiatives from Andrew Bogue and Ben Vanderzyden)