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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

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Icebreakers

Here are some easy games that you can play to introduce your training groups to one another and get them working together easily.

Name: Anagram game
Number of Participants: 6+
Equipment: Post-it note, paper and pen
Time: 15- 20 mins


Steps:


1. Each participant will have a post-it note stuck to their back with a word
between 6-8 letters on it. The trainer will have chosen the word and
they can relate to words to do with the day. The participant will not
know what word is stuck on their back.


2. The participants through conversation with one another will ask e.g.
‘Do I have an E?’ they can only ask each participant this question once.
If there are two letters the same only one can be revealed at a time.


3. As letters are revealed to them the participants will jot them down on
paper with a pen.


4. Once the participant has found out all of the letters they need to work
out what the word is

Name: Circle
Number of Participants: 6+
Equipment: None
Time: 15 mins

Steps:

1. Form a circle facing outwards with half of the group


2. Form a circle around them with the rest of the participants facing
inwards. Each participant should now have someone facing them


3. Give a minute to each pair facing each other to shake hands and find
out 3 memorable facts about each other

4. The outward circle should then move clockwise and the same
introductions take place with their new pair


5. This cycle continues until the members in the outer circle reach their
starting point.

Name: Dominoes
Number of Participants: 12+
Equipment: Dominoes
Time: 10 - 15 mins


Steps:


1. Each participant has one domino.


2. The participants need to work together to form a chain and try to create
the longest one that is possible. They should be using this exercise to
introduce themselves to one another.

Name: Food
Number of Participants: 6+ even numbers
Equipment: Card
Time: 10 – 15 mins


Steps:


1. Give each participant a card with a name of food on it (item of
ingredients), i.e. potato, minced beef, bacon, bread


2. They should then introduce themselves to each other and what food
they are. They should try and work together to create a (spoken) three course meal using the ingredients they have been given.

Name: Snap
Number of Participants: 16+ even numbers
Equipment: Pairs of: cards or pictures or objects
Time: 10 - 20 mins


Steps:


1. Each participant has an identity i.e. a card, picture or object and
someone else in that room is the same as them.


2. The participants need to introduce themselves to one another to try
and find their pair. Once in a pair they ask each other some
introductory questions as set by the trainer


3. Once everyone has found their pair the game can start again until
everyone has been paired up to each participant.

Name: Mime
Number of Participants: 10+ even numbers
Equipment: whistle or buzzer
Time: 15 - 20 mins


Steps:
1. Allow three minutes for the participants to think about a mime that best
describes their role.


2. Participants then walk around the room exchanging names and
shaking hands – this happens for a few exchanges before the whistle is
blown.


3. Each pair on hearing the whistle will exchange names and mime their
role – they can decide who will go first.


4. The participant not miming can take guesses at what the role is and
can ask ‘yes or no’ questions


5. After a minute and a half blow the whistle again and move them on to
the next person to start the cycle again.


6. Continue until either everyone has had a chance to meet each other or
the enthusiasm and energy dips

Name: Self portrait
Number of Participants: 6+
Equipment: Plain A4 paper and pencils
Time: 10 – 15 mins
Steps:


1. Give 5 minutes for the participants to draw a self-portrait using the
hand they don’t usually use to draw. The other participants should not
be able to see each others drawing.


2. Collect in all the portraits. Go through each one getting the group to
guess whose the drawing is.


3. After each artist has been identified ask the artist to share up to 3
memorable facts about themselves.

Name: Parachute Games
Number of Participants: 10+ even numbers
Equipment: Parachute and ball
Time: 5 - 10 mins


Steps:


1. The participants form a circle around the parachute.


2. At the same time each participant picks up the parachute to about his
or her waist height.


3. The participants start to move the parachute up and down. The trainer
will call out things such as ‘people wearing trainers’ or ‘if you have a
red car’. At that point the people who relate to this phrase will let go of
the parachute and run under it swapping places with someone
opposite.


4. You can also throw a ball on to the parachute and score goals by
getting the ball down the hole in the middle.

Name: Odd or even
Number of Participants: 10+
Equipment: Paper
Time: 10 - 15 mins


Steps:


1. Roll up small pieces of paper to make them into little balls. Give each
participant 10 paper balls each


2. Each participant will need to place a number chosen by them of small
balls into their right hand holding them in a clenched fist. This should
be done discretely.


3. The participants then approach each other with the first person saying
‘I am (name), odd or even’. The other participant will guess whether
the participant who asked the question has an odd or even number of
balls in their clenched fist.


4. If they guess correctly they can take one of the small balls of paper
from the other participant.


5. Roles are then reversed and the same procedure takes place. Once
they have both taken their turn to ask the question they move on to
someone else.


6. The game continues until someone has no small paper balls left or you
feel that enough time has been spent.

Name: Human knot
Number of Participants: 5+ even numbers
Equipment: None
Time: 5 - 10 mins


Steps:


1. The participants form a tight circle and puts both hands in the air
towards the middle, so everyone’s hands are touching.


2. Each participant grabs a hand in each of his or her hand.


3. Ask the participants to spread out and they should be in a knot


4. Without releasing their grip they have to untie the knot until they are
back in one big circle.

Name: Spin (name remembering game)
Number of Participants: 10+ even numbers
Equipment: Plastic plate
Time: 5 - 10 mins


Steps:


1. The participants form a circle.


2. In the middle of the circle the trainer begins by spinning the plate on
the floor. He/she then calls a participant’s name to come and takeover
to keep the plate spinning. This participant then calls another
participant’s name and this pattern is carried on until everyone has had
a spin of the plate.


3. A participant is disqualified if they call out an invalid name or if they
cannot remember the name.

Other resources for delivering training events