Self-Awareness Games |
Give everyone a small piece of paper and tell them they will have a couple minutes to write three statements about themselves. Two of the statements should be true, and the other one should be “stretching the truth,” meaning that it should be believable, but not true. When everyone has finished, each person should get a turn to read his or her three statements out loud. When each person is done reading their statements, ask the rest of the group to raise their hands to guess which statement wasn't true. If possible, have a facilitator share their statements first to model the activity.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Supplies: A ball of standard sports size
Players should begin by holding hands or linking arms in a large circle. In the center of the circle, place the ball or have someone throw it in. Players are not allowed to touch the ball with their feet, but are allowed to make contact with it with other body parts. If the ball touches a player’s foot, that player is eliminated. The goal of the game is to remain in the circle until there is one player left by launching the ball at others or pulling and pushing the entire circle.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
One or more children may be “it.” When they tag another child, that child will act like an animal (elephant, lion, walrus, sloth, etc.). The game continues until all of the children have turned into animals, at which point they can reflect on their new jungle, or zoo. After that, a new child may be chosen to be “it.”
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Variation: Children can become ‘untagged’ if they meet another child acting as the same animal, and they hi-five.
Explain to participants that you will be the captain, and they are all sailing on a ship at sea. The game begins by having all participants run around the available space at random, scrambling themselves. At any time, the captain must call out an order, and the participants must follow that order (see below). If a participant fails to do the correct order or is not part of a group when a particular order is called, he/she is considered to be “overboard” and must stand to the side of the playing area. Depending on the age group, feel free to pick and choose which/how many commands will be used, or ask students to come up with their own commands!
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Commands:
- Captain’s Waltz – participants must find a partner and pretend to waltz around the room. Anyone not in a group is considered “overboard.”
- Row Boat – participants must form groups of three, stand in a line and pretend to be rowing a boat while singing “row, row, row your boat.” Anyone not in a group is considered “overboard.”
- Captain’s Table – participants must form groups of four and pretend to be sitting around a table eating dinner. Anyone not in a group is considered “overboard.”
- Starfish – participants must form groups of five, put their arms together in the center of the circle and spin around, creating the five arms of a starfish. Anyone not in a group is considered “overboard.”
- Beached Whale – participants must lie down on their backs and put their arms and legs in the air. The last participant to do so is “overboard.”
- Port – all participants must run to the left hand side of the room. Participants who move in the wrong direction are considered “overboard.”
- Starboard - all participants must run to the right hand side of the room. Participants who move in the wrong direction are considered “overboard.”
- Bow - all participants must run to the front of the room. Participants who move in the wrong direction are considered “overboard.”
- Stern - all participants must run to the back of the room. Participants who move in the wrong direction are considered “overboard.”
- Attention! – All participants must face the captain and stand at attention. Once this command is called no one may move or perform other commands until the captain says “at ease.”
This game can be used to split a large group into smaller groups, to learn something new about people in the group, or just as a fun and active game.
Make sure there is enough room to move around freely. Explain that people are going to separate into groups as quickly as possible. Keep the questions moving quickly (i.e. give just enough time for people to introduce themselves or look around their group before asking the next question). Alternate between 50/50 questions and multiple-choice questions.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Possible questions:
- Which leg do you put in your pants first when getting dressed?
- When you clap, is your left hand or right hand on top?
- Using your index finger, draw an imaginary circle in the air. Does your finger travel clockwise or counterclockwise?
- Which eye do you use to give a spontaneous wink?
- Can you roll your tongue?
- When eating ice cream cones, which way do you rotate the cone?
- What month were you born in?
- Fold your arms; is your right or left arm on top?
- How many siblings are in your family, including you?
The facilitator should begin the game by asking for a volunteer. Once a volunteer has been chosen, this individual should come to the front of the room. Tell the participants that they are to observe this volunteers appearance (jewelry, clothing, hair style, etc.) Give the group enough time to observe the volunteer.
After about 3-5 minutes have gone by, have the volunteer go into the hallway and change 3 things about their appearance. When the volunteer comes back in, have them call on participants who think they know what was changed. Once every change has been guessed (or the group has been stumped) pick another volunteer. If the group seems to be getting the hang of the game, have them split up into pairs. Have the pairs take turns being the guesser or the changer. Have all of the changers leave the room and re-enter the room at the same time, and see which guesser can guess all three things first.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Volunteers choose a category and the student must act out something in that category without using any words. For example, if the category is “profession” then the student can choose to act out any job such as a teacher or fireman. The other students in the classroom must work together to guess what the student is trying to act out.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Begin by explaining that there will be no actual running in this game, instead players will have to walk “heel to toe” meaning that with every step the heel of one foot must touch the toe of the other. Ask players if they know what this looks like and ask someone to demonstrate. If no one can or is willing to, facilitators should demonstrate for the group.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Explain that the playing area is the ocean and that all the players are clams (and that clams are very slow walkers). The game is played like regular tag with one person (or two if the group is large) being “it” and trying to tag the rest of the group. When a player is tagged they are “stuck in the mud” and must wave their arms in the air and squeal, “Heeeelp me!” over and over again. Two other players can free this person by standing on either side of the stuck person, linking hands, and shouting “Claaaam Free!”. When players are freeing someone, they cannot be tagged. Ask if there are any questions, choose someone to be “it” and give the group a few seconds to spread out (already walking heel-to-toe) and begin the game.
This is a great game to get people moving and find new things that people have in common while thinking creatively.
Begin by telling people to get into groups of three. Tell them they have two minutes to find five things that they all have in common. (You could make it harder by ruling out obvious things like clothing, gender, skin color, etc.). After a couple minutes have passed, have each group find a new group to combine with. Have each original group share their commonalities before giving the newly combined group two more minutes to find three things that everyone has in common. (These new commonalities must be things that neither group shared from the first round). After the two minutes are over, repeat this until the entire group has merged together. As a whole group, everyone should search for at least one thing that they all have in common.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
As part of the debrief, have people share some of the things they learned about each other.
This game begins with everyone standing in a circle. The facilitator should explain that when the game begins, everyone should look down at the floor and pick a pair of shoes to look at. The facilitator will then count to five, and after counting, everyone should follow the shoes up to look at the person’s face. If two people are staring at each other, they both say “Dude” and switch places in the circle.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Variation:
Word Association Dude: (Age: 10+) The game remains the same but instead of both people saying “dude,” one person will say the first word that comes to mind, and their partner replies by saying the first word they think of when they hear their partner’s word. (Example: the first person could say “peanut butter!” and their partner might reply with “jelly!”)
Explain that in this game everyone is “it”. Before the game begins all players should spread out. When play begins, anyone can tag anyone and they may be tagged by anyone. Whenever someone is tagged, they must sit down, but they can still tag people that run by. The game ends when everyone is sitting.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Have the group sit in a semi-circle around the “stage.” Ask for three volunteers, two to be the actors and one to be the director. Have the director silently pose the two actors in any way they choose. When the actors are positioned, have the director call “Action!” and then rejoin the audience. Both actors must then begin an improvised scene – with or without talking – based on how they were posed. (For example, if one actor was positioned on one knee and the other seated nearby, they could act out a marriage proposal, a lost contact lens, or a dog begging for morsels from the dinner table).
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Explain that the audience is an audience of actors and that any person in the audience may, at any time, yell “Freeze!” and stop the scene. When this happens, they must tag one of the actors in the scene, assume their exact pose, and then call “Action” to restart a new scene. The objective is less to develop complete scenes than to get players thinking quickly and creatively, which means that the action must be constantly frozen and restarted. Continue playing as long as people are having fun or until time runs out.
Supplies: Several bowls, Candy
From the start announce to the group that there will be no talking during this activity. You also want to mention that there is no physical contact with other members, so if someone gets a piece of candy before another they CANNOT attempt to take it away from them. Also, let the groups know that they can’t eat the candy until the activity is over. Groups of 3 to 5 should be created.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Each group should be given a bowl with twice as many pieces of candy as there are people (i.e if there are 3 people the group starts with 6 pieces of candy). The object of the game is for each player to get the most candy for his or herself. The game works in rounds, to start a round the facilitator simply says “Go” and the participants have the choice of taking either at least one piece of candy or as many pieces as they’d like. Before you start the first round let everyone know that at the end of each round (which is determined by the facilitator) the amount of candy left in the bowls is doubled (with a maximum of the original amount in the bowl). Once a group has no candy left in their bowl they can no longer participate. The game goes until all of the groups have no candy left or the facilitator calls the game
The object of group sit and stand is for groups to sit and stand together without unlinking arms. Begin the game by separating the group into pairs. Make sure to pair people according to size. Have the pairs stand back to back and link arms. After all the pairs are in the correct position have them attempt to sit down without unlinking their arms or crashing to the floor. Once pairs have managed to sit have them attempt to stand back up. As pairs complete the task, have them join together and try again in groups of four. Tell participants that in groups of 3 or bigger they may stand facing inside the circle. Continue to combine the groups until eventually all the participants are sitting and standing in one large circle.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Discuss what made this activity easy or difficult. Vary the activity by having the participants attempt to sit and stand without talking or while standing on one foot.
Supplies: Notecards, Markers
This game may better later in the year when players know one another pretty well.
In this game, students write down three interesting facts about themselves (characteristics, accomplishments, cool events, etc) on a notecard, and the group tries to identify whom the facts describe.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Explain the nature of the game and remind everyone that they are not to explicitly identify themselves on the cards. Then give everyone a note card, and have everyone write down three interesting facts about themselves. Then randomly choose card by card and have the group guess whose card it is based on the facts.
Variation: Instead of having people write their own cards, assign a person to each person to describe in 3 positive facts. Then have the group guess whom the facts describe. Reveal who wrote the facts as well.
Have the group sit around a large table or kneel in a circle on the floor and begin by placing their hands out in front of them, palms down on the floor or the table. Next, have each person raise their right hand and place it over the left hand of the person on their right. This way, each person’s left and right hand are separated by the right hand of the person on their left and the left hand of the person on their right. The object is to tap hands in the order that hands are placed on the table or floor. For example, if Rachel began by tapping her left hand, it would be followed by Justin’s right, Emily’s left, then Rachel’s right. Practice it once or twice. When everyone feels relatively comfortable with it, introduce a new element to the game. Explain that anyone may reverse the order of the taps by double-tapping. In other words, if Rachel taps her left hand, then Justin taps his right, Emily can send the order back to Justin by tapping her left hand twice. If this happens and Rachel raises her right hand by mistake, her right hand is out. (She must take it off the table or put it behind her back). This continues until all but two players have been eliminated or until time runs out.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Supplies: An orange, softball or similar sized object
Have the group stand in a circle with their hands behind their backs. Choose an object, like an orange, and tell them that it must be passed all the way around the circle; however no one may use their hands. Before you begin, have the group brainstorm ways to do this and pick one that everyone agrees on to try. Examples are holding it under their chin, between their head and shoulder, and using their feet. Once everyone agrees on a method, pick a person to start and begin the relay. Play a few rounds and try to beat your time or try a new method of passing the object around.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Everyone stands in a circle. You may not laugh. You must motion properly. The motion is having your hands flattened together and pointing either up above your head, or to another player, depending on what part of the game you are in.
One player begins by motioning up above his/her head and saying "huh." The two people on either side of him must then simultaneously motion to this person and say "huh." This person then must then motion to someone else in the circle and say "huh."
This begins the process over, and the new person must motion upward and say "huh" as the two on either side of him motion toward him and say "huh", and so on.
You are out if you laugh, or if you don't say "huh" or do not motion fast enough.
When two people are left, they must take turns pointing upward and at each other and must get faster and faster until one messes up. The last one standing is the winner.
Tips:
- If the last two players are just not laughing or messing up, have the game facilitator yell out a vegetable. The final two players act out that vegetable, and the rest of the group votes on the best actor.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Begin by having participants pair up. Explain that there is going to be a leader and a follower but that these roles will be switched frequently. Ask for one person from each pair to volunteer to be the leader first. Have the leader place their hand one foot away from their partners face. Explain that the followers’ goal is to maintain this distance while the leader slowly moves their hand up, down, sideways, and walks around the room. After about a minute or so, explain that there are going to be two “commands.” If the facilitator claps one time the players are to switch roles, if the facilitator claps two times they are to quickly switch partners. Make sure to continuously give commands so that the game stays interesting, and play for as long as everyone is having fun.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Variations:
- One way to switch up “Hypnotist” is to have both players lead. Have the players choose one spot on their body (fingertips of their left hand, nose, elbow, etc.) Have players walk around the room while trying to maintain three feet of distance between their partners chosen body part and their own face.
- Another way to switch up “Hypnotist” is to have one person lead the entire group. The leader would have all of the followers attempt to keep their faces three feet away from the leaders hand while the leader slowly and deliberately moves their hand.
Have the group stand in a circle an arm’s length apart. Explain that you are going to be the conductor and that as you chug around the circle people should jump on your train! Once everyone is on the train move around the room, inventing obstacles that your train has to bypass. Maybe the train has to slow down as it is moving up a hill, or speed up as it is coming down the other side. Maybe the train has to crouch down to go under a tunnel, or stand on tip-toe while going over a bridge. Maybe the train as to hop up and down as it hits a particularly bumpy part of the track. Use your imagination! Facilitators can be obstacles as well (leg tunnel, toll booth, etc.). Once the group gets used to working as a train, pick a different conductor. Play for as long as everyone is having fun or until the time runs out. Play this game often enough so that different people get the chance to be the leader.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Variation: Split the group up into two or three different trains to give more participants a chance to be the leader.
Split the group up into groups of 6 people and explain that they are going to work together to make a jigsaw person. Inform the groups that each jigsaw person will be made up of a head, a torso, two arms, and two legs. Tell the groups it will be up to them to decide who will be which body part, and to arrange themselves on the floor so that they make up a jigsaw person.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Variation:
- Assign each member of each group to a body part. Explain that they will be limited by their body part assignment, and may only use that part of their own body while attempting to form the jigsaw person. The person who has been assigned the head may think and talk, but may not point or move unless directed. The people who have been assigned the arms may point and wave, but may not move unless directed. The people who have been assigned the legs may walk and nudge people into position, but may not talk or point. The person who has been assigned the torso may not talk or move unless directed.
- An additional variation is to have the groups form giant animals, and to act out how that animal would behave.
Supplies: index cards/name tags/ small pieces of paper, pens/markers, tape
Give each player a marker and an index card and ask them to write down five characteristics that describe them best. Examples are race, ethnicity, gender, religion, likes, dislikes, talents, hobbies, goals, achievements, and values. For younger children you can offer a prompt such as favorite food, holiday, color or something they’re good at. After everyone finishes creating their label, give them tape and have them tape their cards to their shirts and walk around the room. Tell them to look at other people’s cards and talk about what they’ve written. They can ask questions about the different things people have chosen to represent themselves or talk about the similarities and differences between them.
The idea is to give participants the chance to have conversations about their identity based on the qualities they value the most about themselves and direct people’s attention toward these aspects of their identity. After about ten minutes, bring the group back to debrief.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Have the group sit on the floor and form a large circle. Explain that there will be a leader and a guesser. The guesser will leave the room while the group selects a leader. The leader will begin a rhythm using their body ex: clapping, slapping thighs, snapping, etc. The rest of the group must follow the leader’s pattern. When a pattern has been established the guesser will rejoin the group and attempt to guess who the leader is and will have two or three guesses depending on the size of the group. The leader can change the pattern at any time.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Put people in pairs and have them spread out around the room. Have the groups choose someone to be the leader and someone to be the follower. Explain that the leader should move slowly and deliberately while the follower mimics their every move, thus creating a mirror image effect. Players shouldn’t talk, but should focus on each other’s movements. Leaders should make sure that they are moving at a speed the follower can keep up with. After a minute or so, have the pairs switch positions. Once pairs demonstrate enough skill to successfully mirror one another, have the pair try again without a designated leader/follower.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Supplies: Enough scraps of paper for each group member to get two
To set up the game, the facilitator must first identify how many group members are going to be involved. If the group has 20 members, the facilitator must make two sets of twenty slips of paper numbered 1-20. The facilitator should then have the group form a circle and should go around distributing the first set of labeled numbers. Group members should be told to place this number face up at their feet and ignore it. The facilitator should now distribute the second set of numbers. Group members should be told that this number signifies which member of the group they will be watching. The object of this game is to stay as still as possible while observing the designated person. Group members should also be told that if the person they are observing moves, they should mimic their movement in a slightly more exaggerated way. Once this game begins it can move quickly, so the facilitator must be prepared to set up a couple rounds!
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Target Themes: Safe space, Creativity, Self-control
Begin the game by having the group sit in a circle so everyone can see each other. The facilitator should then tell a story that should include the following:
When I was younger, I had a babysitter. Her name was Mrs. Jones.
Mrs. Jones wore dentures, but she thought it was funny when she took them out because it meant that she talked “like this.” (cover teeth with lips when saying “like this”)
When she would do this, we would all laugh together. She would call it playing “Mrs. Mumbles.”
One day, “Mrs. Mumbles” was running late for babysitting, so I went to look for her
Then explain that each person in the group will have a chance to ask the person next to them if they’ve seen Mrs. Mumbles. However they may not show their teeth when they are asking or being asked a question. If they do show their teeth or start laughing then they will sit out of the rest of the round and watch. NOTE: you can make a few players who are already out the “teeth police.”
Encourage people to exaggerate their questions, include details about Mrs. Mumbles that might help identify her (she’s about his tall, she’s wearing glasses, she was wearing a pink shirt etc.), and keep the conversation going. Encourage people being asked about her to probe their questioners with more questions. Give each exchange about 15-30 seconds before having the person being questioned turn to the next person and ask the same question. Make sure everyone gets a turn. The game should go on until there are only a few people left, or time runs out.
Target Themes: self awareness, embracing potential,
Supplies: none
NOTE: We only play the Museum version of this game, not the hunting version.
Have all of the students (except for one or two “hunters”) lie down on the floor in sleeping positions. Once they are settled, they are not allowed to move. The two hunters walk through the room and try to make the sleeping lions move by making them laugh, telling them jokes, and so on. However, the hunters are not allowed to touch the lions. Once any lion moves they are tapped and get up and join the hunters The last child on the floor wins!
NOTE: Many kids also refer to this game as “museum.” In this version of the game, children pose as statues in a museum and 1-2 “night guards” walk around trying to catch those who move.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Target Themes: Introductions, Creativity, Observation
Have players sit in a circle. Tell them they are going to play a name game to help them get to know each other. Each person will say their name and they are going to a cookout/picnic/whatever. They should then say they are bringing something that starts with the same letter as their first name. For example, the first player says, “My name is Tom and I am going to a cookout. When I go, I am going to bring tamales.” Each successive person in the circle should introduce everyone who came before them in order before saying their name and their item.
- Use different types of balls and balloons to adjust the level of challenge
- If there is no access to a volleyball net, have the two tallest volunteers hold a bed sheet or blanket as a net
Supplies: Parachute, small ball or stuffed animal
Organize kids evenly around the parachute so each is standing up and holding onto their own color section. Each color constitutes a team. The game facilitator throws a stuffed animal or light ball onto the parachute and, when he or she says go, all the kids shake the parachute, trying to get the object onto their team's color. The game facilitator will yell "Drop it!" randomly and everybody has to drop the parachute. Whichever color block the object lands on wins a point for that team! You can keep going for as many rounds as you want!
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Have the group stand or sit in a circle and everyone hold hands. The object of the game is to pass a squeeze (a pulse of energy) around the circle without talking. Designate one person to start the squeeze by gently squeezing the hand of the person next to them. When someone feels their hand being squeezed, they should squeeze the hand of the person next to them. This continues until the squeeze makes it around the entire circle. Some people may get excited and squeeze too early, so you could have everyone close their eyes or face outward so they can’t see the squeeze being passed. To add an extra element of excitement, challenge the group to pass the squeeze as quickly as possible. Time the group and then try to pass it faster and faster.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Explain all of the directions before playing and give people the option not to participate. Have participants stand in a circle and count off by twos. There must be an even number. After everyone has a number, have the group hold hands and then take a few steps backward so that their arms are extended (but not too tightly). On the count of three, tell everyone to keep their feet planted and then have all of the ones slowly lean forward while the twos slowly lean backward until everyone is at a 20 to 30 degree angle, completely balanced in both directions. Hold this for 10 seconds and then tell people to ease back to a standing position. Take a moment to appreciate the teamwork and balance that was required for the activity, and then debrief it with the group. If the exercise was not successful, talk about why and invite people to try it again.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Supplies: Paper or another token. Be Creative!
Pesek is similar to Duck Duck Goose. The kids sit in a circle with their eyes open and one will walk around the circle carrying something like a piece of paper. As they go around they'll sing a song and drop the paper behind someone's back, they'll continue going around like nothing happened and the person who has the paper behind them has to realize they're it. They then grab the paper behind them and chase the person who was it before, like Duck, Duck, Goose. This deals a lot with nonverbal communication and how one person's choices can affect another.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Variation: use this space if necessary to include any useful variations (how to make it adapted to another theme, age group, energy level, etc.)
For People to People you need a large open space to move around in. Ask participants to find a partner and stand together. Tell them that you are going to call out instructions like “hand to hand” or “foot to foot:” and that they will then have to match up their hands, feet etc. with their partners. Tell them that when you say “people to people” they must find a new partner. Try to give only three or four commands with each set of partners so the participants get to interact with more people in the group.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes
Variations:
Everyone for themselves
Acting instead of matching
Ex: People on a picnic
Debrief Pointers:
-Comfort Zone
-Humility
-Trust
-Lack of communication—issues?
Supplies: One jar of Play-Doh per team, Play-Doh Pictionary Cards
This game is just like the classic game Pictionary, in which players to guess an object being drawn by one of their teammates, except that instead of using paper and pencils, players shape objects out of Play-Doh. Begin by dividing the group into teams of 5-7 people and explain the rules:
- There is absolutely no running. Everyone must walk.
- Play-Doh sculptors may not talk
- Play-Doh Sculptors may not use symbols, letters, words, and/or charades to help their team guess
Give each group one container of Play-Doh and place them at tables or on the floor approximately equidistant from the facilitator. Tell each team to choose a sculptor for the first round and send that person to the facilitator. The facilitator will reveal a Play-Doh Pictionary card (with the name of an object), and sculptors must walk back to their team. Using the Play-Doh, sculptors try to get their team to guess the object. After a team member guesses correctly, the next person in line walks to the facilitator for the next card. This continues until every person on the team has had a chance to be the sculptor. Play as many rounds as time allows.
Variation: Instead of having people walk back and forth to the facilitator, set up cards at each team’s station. Each player takes one card and the team keeps playing until they go through either all players or all the cards.
Back to Fall Themes
Back to Spring Themes