April 2nd, 2010.
Here you find some hints, how you can create or improve social skills by using easy and nice games or activities. If you have questions or want to know more, contact one of our project coordinators.
Siauliai
In a factory hall
Imagine you are in a factory hall. Each group (4-6 persons) invents a machine. Every part (person) of the machine is connected to another. It moves in different ways, with different noises, together or one after another.
To plan and test every group has got 5 minutes. Then every group presents its machine.
The Tower
Every group (4-6 persons) gets 10 pieces of paper (DINA4), glue and scissors.
Task: Build a tower as high as possible only with the given materials. The tower has to be built within 10 minutes.
Sitting without chairs
All players build a circle, standing behind each other and putting hands on the shoulders of the person in front. Now they try to sit down together on the lap of the person behind.
Nest of matches
Every group (3-4 persons) gets 1-2 matchboxes and 1 bottle.
Task: Build a nest of matches in 10 minutes. Use as many matches as possible. Work the first 7 minutes without talking, use the remaining 3 minutes to share your strategy.
Velka Bystrice
Flee fly flow, an old traditional song The game can be found in various versions worldwide. You can accompany the words with clapping hands, legs, stamping feet a.s.o.: One starts with the text, the others are repeating (from dash to dash) . Here is the text: Flee, flee fly, flee fly flow, cumala cumala cumala vista, vista, vista, no no nono la vista, ena mene sala mene oo o uanamene, ena mene sala mene oo oa, exa mene sala mene oo o uanamene, exa mene sala mene oo oa, a bidn bit bowoh idn bidn did a idn bit bit bowoh idn dutch. Here you get a link , to have an idea about the song
Make a fruit salad with closed eyes
The fax game: Two (or even more) groups with the same number of members are standing in a row one after the other. A picture is shown to the last one in the row. He has to paint it on the back of the person in front of him, a.s.o. The first one has to paint it finally on a sheet of paper or the blackboard. Alternatives: write words, names ore sentences (very difficult- nothing for starters)
Whispering post: All persons are sitting in a circle. One starts whispering a word into his neighbours ears. He/she has to pass it to the next till it arrives again at the start. You will get funny results!
Fruit salad: All participant sitting in a circle are split into 4-5 (depending on the number of players) kinds of fruits f.e. bananas, oranges…. All places are occupied. One in the middle is calling a kind of fruit. The according players have to change places. The one in the middle has to occupy an empty place. If he calls “fruit salad”, all players have to change places.
Poor little black cat: All are sitting in a circle. One is playing the cat. He/she has to kneel down in front of a person in the circle, making “miao” to motivate him/her to laugh. He/she has to repeat “poor little black cat”. The dialogue is repeated three times. If the “cat” has reached its aim, a new cat is found.
Follow the leader: All people are moving in a row according to a piece of music. One is wearing a hat. He is the leader. All others have to copy his movements till the hat is passed to another persons who is the new leader.
Untie the knot: All persons are standing very close to each others in a narrow circle. They have to give their hands to others in the circle with closed eyes (not the neighbours!). If there are problems to connect all hands the eyes can be opened at last. Now the knot has to be untied by crossing other arms (under and over) without loosing the connection. The work can only be done, if there is communication.
Guess the situation: Some persons are asked to leave the room. The others agree in a situation in which the persons should be, when he comes back to the room f.e. he/she has won a million of Euro, got a baby, a new job… He/she has to guess the situation by interpreting the words and, gestures or facial expressions of the group.
The wolf is coming: A person is holding a ball or something like this close to his belly. All people (the sheep) are moving in a room (not too big) With the words “The wolf is coming” he/she tries to give the ball to another player, who has to take it, if he/she isn’t protected by hugging another “sheep”)
Explain and guess things or activities: All players have to write down nouns for things or activities on little pieces of paper. Afterwards the papers are collected. One starts to explain one of the words. He mustn’t use the word itself. The others have to guess. The first who gets the solution is the next to explain. You can do this game also as a competition for groups of students. The words can also be played to the audience.
Some games to be played in a sports hall or outside: The passed time or the result can be evaluated:
Find the numbers in the right order: Cards with numbers from 1 to 15 are placed on the floor (face to the floor). A group of players are standing in a distance to the cards. Now they one after the other has to run to the place, to look at one card, to take it, if it is the right one or, or to show it to the partners and to remember the place, if it isn’t the right one. In this case he/she has turn the card around again and come back without it, before the next one is trying his luck. The time is over, when all cards are at the starting place in the right order.
Find the right order: Numbers from 1-50 are placed on the floor. The players are standing around them in a circle. They have to work together to touch all numbers one after the other with a hand or a foot.
Blind running: A player has to find a ball in a fixed distance, to take it and to bring it back to the group with closed eyes, leaded only by the voice of the partners.
Basketball shots: Every member of the group has to try to reach as many points out on a fixed number of shots;
Gioia del Colle
Try to be a good detective (Find out the solution!)
Find the Robber
Last night there was a robbery at the bank. Only five men knew how to open the safe. Can you find out which man was alone last night: Which man has no alibi?
These informations can help you:
1. Mr Jones is fat an drives a VW.
2. Mr Smith drives a Jaguar; he is English.
3. The thin man drives a Fiat.
4. Mr Pool is Scottish
5. Mr Kent wears a blue suit
6. The fat man wears a black suit.
7. The thin man is Irish.
8. Mr Bright wears a green suit and drives a Renault.
9. The short man is Scottish.
10. The thin man wears a blue suit.
11. The man who is of average size is Canadian.
12. The man who wears a grey suit drives the Metro.
13. The man who wears a black suit is Welsh.
14. The tall man wears a brown suit.
15. Last night the Welsh man was with the Canadian.
16. Last night the tall man was with the man who drives a Metro.
What is the name of the Robber?
Do you know Polly Molly’s peculiarity. I give you a hint: She loves swimming, but isn’t interested in sports.
Find out what kind of animal you are: On every players’ back a sheet of paper with the name of an animal is fixed. Everyone has to asked the others questions, which only may be answered with “yes” or “no” to find the solution. The game can also be done with names of famous persons, towns, countries etc.
Rhythm with cups- play the clap game. Here you find explanations
Open or closed: All people are sitting in a circle. A bottle, box, or something else, what can be opened or closed, is passed to the neighbour with the words: “I give the bottle closed” or “I give you the bottle closed” Not always are the things really closed or opened. So find out the trick!
Jastrzebie Zdroj
Give us a little massage: All persons are standing in a narrow circle. Now everyone is giving a massage to the one in front of him/her. After a while everyone turns round and gives back hat he/she has received.
Puppet player: The arms of person between two others are moved by the puppet players on both sides.
Puppet on a string: The same exercise like above. The only difference is, that the arms of the puppet are moved by invisible strings.
In a new step the puppet shall be stronger than the players and able to move them.
Presentation of a city: Students are divided into groups. Each group has to show a city (f.e. Vienna, Paris, New York, London) without talking. They can move or just stand still.
Guessing a city: Each group (3 -6 people) has to “mime” one city. The other groups must guess what city it is.
Same orders- different results: All members of a group are requested to close their eyes and let them keep shut till the end of the game. Everyone gets a sheet of paper (normal size). Now everyone has to follow these orders: fold in the middle, rip off left and right corner, fold again in the middle and rip off again left and right corner. Unfold the paper and compare the results.
Marching game: All students are standing in to rows facing each others (This starting position is also called “pencil”). Listening and moving to a march (f.e. Radetzky march) the group is following the orders of an instructor building ” a circle”, “two circles”, a “hour glass”, a “funnel” or other formations. This game is a good possibility to learn cooperation and nonverbal communication.Here you find a link to a youtube video of the March
Sitting Kasatschok: All students are sitting in a circle. Listening to the Russian music, they accompany the text “Kasatschok” by clapping hands, hitting legs, stamping feet. At the change of music between the verses the arms shall be stretched. Here you find a version of the song. (If you know the language contact our webmaster)
“Fart orchestra” – L. Delibes Pizzicato At the last notes of every line the groups makes sounds “kisses”, to click one’s tongue or “fart”. If you don´t know the music, try out these links:
Pizzicato (String)
Pizzicato (woodwinds)
Pizziacato midi
Concentration and awareness: All students sit in a cycle. The aim is now, that always 4 of them (changing) stand up for four seconds.
Counting: People are sitting in a circle. The aim is to count as far as possible with closed eyes (e.g. from 1 to 20). One person (game leader) starts with “one”, then somebody continues with “two” and so on. But the person who continues must not be sitting next to the person who said the previous number. The game is over when two or more people say a number at the same time.
Very difficult!
Lend me your arms: One person hides his hands behind its body. Another one behind the person shows his arms and acts. You can do several alternatives in this game:
The inactive partner has to guess, what he is doing (activity, profession, famous person)
Other persons have to guess it.
Both players can work together, one speaks, the other one accompanies the speaker with gestures. (Can be very funny, especially if the actor is the active partner and the speaker has to react to the gestures!)
Toilet paper game: Bring a toilet paper roll and ask everybody to take as many pieces of paper as many he/she needs for one day. Then everybody has to say as many things about himself/herself as many papers he/she has.(Things to be said can be modified-things he/she likes, feelings, wishes…) Then you can place the papers on the floor, where a picture can be developed out of them.
Setubal
5 blindfolded persons are placed in a cycle made of a rope. Their job is now to build a square (out of the cycle).
1 Person lies on a table. 6 others shall lift him/her only using two fingers of each hand. First try: Always two persons are standing opposite to each others on both sides of the lying person, 2 in the middle (hip) 2 at the top (shoulders) and 2 on the end (lower leg). They put their fingers (middle finger and forefinger) upright under the body of their “victim”. Then the try to lift it. Normally they will fail. The person on the table is asked to keep firm. Now they do the same again but after having counted one to three the have to blow their breath against each others. During that blowing it is easy possible to lift the person. Just in case: another person should avoid that the head of the lying will be hurt.
One person is pressing his forefingers against each others. Another one standing opposite to him tries to draw them apart holding his wrists. It isn’t allowed to do it by snatches. And you have to move the hands parallel.
Three people have to move from one part of the room to another without loosing contact The person in the middle must keep the contact to a shoe of his neighbours all the time.
Groups of persons (minimum 3) shall stand for some seconds (5) so together, that they need as little place as possible
A group of people is sitting in a cycle with there chairs very close together. Two of the chairs stay free. A person in the middle tries to sit at a free chair, but the others have to change their places to avoid that. They are not allowed to use their hands.
A group of persons makes a very narrow cycle. Then everyone tries to sit on the knees of his backer.
A person is standing on a table. 8 persons are standing pairwise opposite to each others in a narrow row close to the table holding their hands attached. Now the person is dumping down as straight as possible backwards into the arm of the catchers. Be careful and mind your heads!
Take a packet of playing cards. All players are sitting in a cycle. They should have a number which can be divided by four. They count one to four. The numbers relate to the four different colours (spate, heart, …) of the cards (nr. 1 is heard, nr.2 is spate…). The referee turns one card after the other now and says the result. If his colour is called the accordant person has to move to the right and sit there either on his neighbours knees or later on a free place. Only the person an the top can move. The game normally ends, when the first one has reached his place, where he has started the game, or all are fed up.
Walk, run, bend and jump: All group is sitting in a cycle. There is an instructor. He orders movements of all the others with his voice and also shows the right movements himself. Go= flat hands clap the thighs; run=feet run at the place; bend=the body moves in a cycle; jump= you have to stand up and make a movement like you want to jump into the water. Now the difficult is, that the instructor tries to confuse you, while making wrong movements to his orders. You must not follow wrong movements. So listen carefully and be concentrated!
Net of good wishes: All persons sit in cycle. The first person expresses his wish a throws a ball of wool to the person opposite to him holding its start. The next does the same again holding the woollen string. At the end a strong net is built.
Mime the rhyme: “The car of the boss has a hole in his tyre (three times). Let’s mend it, let’s mend it with a chewing-gum” You have to mime first one single word, then two, then… ….. until you will have only sounds and gestures. Gestures will follow.
I’m singing in the rain- another silly game: You all know the famous song. You have to sing this first line twice marching in a cycle, your hand on the shoulders of the person infront of you. This part is repeated after every new order. An instructor is shouting and miming orders which are repeated by all the others. The amount of orders grows after every chorus. Thumbs up, elbows back, knees bend, shoes together, breast in front, bump up, tongue out. Every order is closed with “tsatsitsi tsatsatsitsi tsatsatsitsi tsatsa” shrugging with your hips.
Frohnleiten
Protect an egg, that it is able to stand a fall from 4 to 5 meters using only 6 sheets of paper standard paper size (4 little and 2 big ones), adhesive tape, 2 or 3 straws, a piece of string (0,5 m) and a balloon.
Download a PDF- file here
