ENHANCING STUDENTS' SELF CONCEPT

I AM
    Players have paper and pencils. On the board the leader writes:
        - I am________
        - I see________
        - I hear _______
        - I smell _______
        - I taste _______
        - I touch _______
        - I feel ________
        - I am ________
· Players then write a poem based on the structure above by filling in the blanks. They can write about their school, neighborhood, home, fantasy selves, or other environments.
Share poems with each other.

BUILDING ENSEMBLE
1-20
Players sit in a circle
The group concentrates intensely on each other. One person in the group will start by saying "1.,, Players must then "sense" which individuals in the group will say "2," then "3," then "4," etc. The purpose is to get to "20" without two or more voices calling out the same number. If at first you don't succeed, keep trying (over a period of days if needed) until the task is accomplished. Depending on the number of people in the group, like 25, some might sense that they are not to speak; some might sense that they are to call out more than one number.
 

GAMES FOR GETTING ACQUAINTED

MNEMONIC NAMES
· Players sit in a circle.
· Each player thinks of a simple gesture or action that relates to him/herself (examples: a bearded man might stroke his beard: someone who loves tennis might swing an imaginary racket). The leader asks for group input and suggestions if a player is "stuck." These are visual mnemonics to help us remember names.
· One person in the circle says his/her name while doing the gesture; everyone in the circle then repeats the gesture and says the name simultaneously. The next person in the circle does the same, then everyone repeats that person's name and gesture, plus the first person's. Continue adding on down the circle, but stop after the 7th-9th person. Start a new sequence with the 8th-10th person and continue for 7-9 more names. Our brains can only hold so much information.
· When everyone in the circle has given their name and gesture, go around the circle non-stop with everyone saying the names and doing the gestures simultaneously.
· Everyone now rearranges him/herself in the circle, and all simultaneously try to repeat the names and gestures in this new order.
 

GAMES FOR PAYING ATTENTION

NON-SEQUITOR
· Players, in pairs, sit next to each other and hold a casual conversation about work, school, family life, etc.
· As the conversation progresses, and at a signal from the leader, each player begins to move in erratic, surrealistic and unexpected ways, making bizarre physical gestures and body actions while holding a naturalistic conversation.
· At the next signal; the conversation continues with bizarre physical actions and now turns into verbal nonsense, replies that have nothing to do with the previous comments, and words strung together in nonsense patterns.
· At the next signal, the conversation returns to normal but with the bizarre physical actions continuing.
· At the final signal, the physical actions return to normal and the conversation comes to a natural end.
 

 GAMES FOR STIMULATING IMAGINATION

TABLEAUX TRANSITIONS (source: Augusto Boal)
Players, in pairs, start an initial tableaux (frozen picture) that depicts a relationship. Example:
one is a baseball pitcher, the other is holding a bat. One partner leaves the tableaux while the other partner remains frozen. The partner who left (the pitcher) examines the frozen partner (holding a bat) and tries to create a new tableaux based on the image by entering the picture in a different way (the former pitcher now places himself in front of the batter, thinking it's an ax and freezes into a look of horror). The other partner leaves the tableaux, looks at the frozen "horror" image, then returns to create a new picture with the partner (holding an imaginary cape across his face to look like Dracula). The tableaux continues back and forth until energies seem exhausted.
Do the same as above, but with 3 people in a tableaux; rotate the individual who leaves and reconfigures the picture.
 

ADD ON GAMES

SENSORY OVERLOAD
· All players stand in a circle.
· The leader establishes a "heartbeat" - a ball passed from person to person around the circle in a consistent pattern and tempo. Emphasize that no matter what happens next, the heartbeat must continuously pass without interruption around the circle.
· The leader now initiates an array of actions with props and distributes them in various directions around the circle. Once a player gets a prop, he/she replicates the action and passes it down to the next player. Have multiple tasks going simultaneously (e.g., sign your name on a clipboard; ring a hand bell; toss a balloon in the air; look through a pair of binoculars; put on a mask and growl). Have as many actions possible to go into "sensory overload." The purpose of the game is to keep as many actions as possible going around the circle while maintaining the integrity and consistency of the "heartbeat."
· As props come to the leader, they can be removed one by one until the "heartbeat" is the only remaining item going around the circle.

STOP AND GO GAMES

THE BEAR OF PORTIERS (source: Augusto Boal)
· The leader is the Bear. He moves like a bear through the woods (the periphery of the room) while other players are moving like animals or humans in a forest around the room. When the bear growls loudly, all players drop to the ground, simulating they're dead. The bear can come up to players, sniff, nudge, growl, do whatever is possible to make the "dead" players laugh or break their concentration. Those that do not stay dead join the leader bear to become a clan.
· The game continues with all moving until the bears growl again. The clan then tries to get others to join them by doing what is possible to make them break their concentration.
Continue until there are no more bears added.

 GAMES FOR FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS

HEAD TRIP  (source: Augusto Boal)
Players are in pairs. Each partner shares with the other whether there are any physical limitations (e.g., a bad back, trick knee). Partners use this information to make certain they do not exceed their partner's physical limitations.
One partner extends his/her hand in front of the partner's face. There should always be about 6" distance between the hand and face. The hand partner slowly moves the hand around the space, in various levels and directions, while the partner moves his/her head in whatever direction is needed to keep the 6" distance consistent throughout. Switch roles after one minute. Then both partners simultaneously lead and follow with hands in front of faces.
Do the same as above but with three people simultaneously leading and following with hands in front of faces.

GAMES OF SPEED AND DEXTERITY

FRUIT BASKET UPSET
All players Sit in chairs in a large circle; one player stands in the center without a chair.
The person in the center calls out some category or description that might apply to some of those seated (examples: "Everyone with brown eyes"; "Everyone who's under 30 years old"; "Anyone who went jogging this morning"; "All women"). If a seated person fits the category or description called out, he/she must get out of the chair and run to another one across the circle vacated by a different person (try to avoid going to a chair recently vacated next to you). The person in the center also tries to run to a vacant chair. The person left standing in the circle with no place to sit calls out the next category or description. Continue until exhausted. A "catch all" category for everyone to vacate and move to a new chair is when someone calls out "Fruit Basket Upset."
Caution players to play safely - no pushing, be careful when you run, etc.