Add@Me Learning Methods Database (EN)

"This activity works best for small groups or with a large group divided into smaller groups of 4-6 participants. Everyone in the group gets 10 pennies/toothpicks/scrap of papers, etc. 

The first person states something he/she has done (e.g. water skiing).  Everyone else who has done the same thing admits it and puts one object he received before in the middle of the table. 

Then the second person states something (e.g. I have eaten frogs' legs).  Everyone who has done it puts another penny in the center. Continue until someone has run out of pennies.

The group is receiving tasks that are well explained by the vi facilitator (in case the group is bigger than 20 persons, they can be divided in two, this can also make the exercise more competitive). The number of the tasks is 30% less than the number of participants. The time should be limited as less as possible so they can be time pressured.  The facilitator is not helping the group after they receive the tasks but is monitoring them all the time. After the time passes, the members of the group present the outcomes and this leads to a small discussion. 

Example of tasks: 

Drink 0,5 liters of water, 

Find the person with the longest hair, 

Find the person with the shortest hair, 

Find out what is for lunch, 

Write down in one phone the phone numbers of everyone, 

Learn how to say hello in 2 different languages, 

Get to know what is the name of the closest bar, etc… 

Use your imagination to give more tasks to the group. Tasks should be prepared by the facilitator before the activity. In case the facilitator is a person with visual impairment he/she may need the assistance of a support or acompanying person (it can also be one of the participants), to help the facilitator set up.

***Do not mix this exercise with City Challenge.

Participants stand side by side in a line and take turns telling a story about a topic chosen by the vi facilitator. However, each player will only speak one word each turn. For example, player one says, “Once.” Player two says, “upon.” Play three says “a.” Player four says “time.” And so on. Once they get to the end of the line, they begin again at the start of the line. The vi facilitator stops the story when it has reached a satisfying ending.

Remind the participants to always listen so they will be ready. Encourage them to be quick. Tell them to “sell” their word, make it sound important in the story. Don’t be afraid to put in a strange word, if it fits! Try not to have too much of a story planned in your mind, because you will only have one word to get it going. This is a great warm up game to teach participants that they have to work together to reach a goal. Ask each player what he or she originally thought that would happen in the story.

The participants are divided in 2 groups standing in a row one person behind the other ( around 30 cm between them ). All sighted participants are blindfolded. The facilitator gives to the last person in the row a plastic glass with some water. The facilitator instructs each of the lasts participants in the row to carry the glass of water until the beginning of the row, while walking on the right side of their respective row. When the last participant gets at the beginning of its row, the glass should be given to the first participant, who then hands it down by the left side of the row until the last participant in the row. When the glass gets at the end of the row, the game starts again and the last participant should carry it on the right side of the row until the beginning of the row. The activity lasts until the last participants of each row (the person who started the game) gets at the end of the row. 

Both groups should start in the same time. The winner is the group who finishes the task first and has the most water in the glass.

The participants are seated (back to back preferably) while forming two parallel rows holding hands. At the end of each row there is an extra chair where an object (a bottle/toy, etc.) is placed. Sighted participants can be blindfolded. The facilitator chooses the first person from each row who will start the game, by tapping on his or her shoulder. This person squeezes the hand to the next person and so on until the last person in the row receives the “squeeze”. Once the last person in the row receives the “squeeze” he/she can catch the object at the end of the row. The group who wins is the one that caught more times the object at the end of the row.

All participants are blindfolded and are seated around a table or each participant sits to his/her own table. The facilitator explains that they have in front of them various drinks and that they have to serve themselves a glass.

To add a notch, you can leave on the table only one or two large bottles and ask them to look for them at first and share with the others.

All participants are blindfolded and are seated around a table or each participant sits to his/her own table. The facilitator explains that they have in front of them butter/cheese/chocolate cream/etc. and that they have to prepare their own sandwich. 

To add a notch, you can leave on the table only one jar of everything and ask them to look for it first and share and prepare with the others.