The Last Word

Like shiritori only you use the last word of the previous sentence to start the next.

Example:

I woke up this morning --> Morning is my favorite time of day. --> Day after day, I try to learn something....

In this form, it is boring -- the sentences are meaningless. Maybe if you set a theme? Maybe make it a dialogue?

Jokers as Scribes

What should jokers do when groups or teams are up and running in an activity and they are no longer needed? One good role they can play is as scribes for the teams, taking notes on the conversation, documenting their work (in writing, on video, photos), etc.

Other roles:

  • observers, watching the dynamics and process
  • go-fers, getting the groups anything they need, moving furniture, etc.
  • DJ, playing background music

Permutation Game

Learned this from students in my Critical Reading course. They used PPT to run the game.

Jokers take quotes from famous people (thematic quotes are best), scramble the words and write them on the board (or ppt). In teams, players compete to re-write the sentences, one word at a time, in correct order. There is a strict time limit of 2 minutes.

Feel Funky

Working with a group that was already familiar with my Feel Free mantra, I added another term: feel funky. I use them term the way Cornel West uses it, to capture creativity and energy born of the grit and grasp of reality, to suggest the freak and the insubordinate joy of life. Play P-Funk or Sun Ra or Mingus.

Micro-research

Give people a list of [musicians] and ask them to choose one person whose music they do not know. Their task is to find music by that person online, listen to it, choose one and post a link (or the video/audio itself) in the online group with a comment about the music. Players are then asked to listen to each other's chosen music and add their own comments, to which the original poster should reply.

You can add a layer by asking people to research the background of the musical piece or the musician and post a summary. This can be very good practice for simple citation.

The Marshmallow Challenge

You are, I am

In this game, which I learned from Sakiko Ishitsubo, people pair up and take turns closely observing each other, describing what they see. When person A says, "I see you are holding the zipper pull on your jacket." Person B repeats the description, "I am holding the zipper pull on my jacket." In this way each observation is stated and verified. There is no strict sequence, players can shift back and forth as they like. The goal is to observe each other closely, to describe what you see, and to verify the observations.

Me --> You (recognition game)

Haka Variations

Use the haka form to practice the body language of other emotions and attitudes: instead of intimidation, how about love, shame, flattery...?

Use it with language, as a kind of competition -- each side having its players say something in English, different for each player, showing off their language skill and clever ideas.

Use it with sounds, each side taking turns making one sound or word, like my name "Matt." The leaders can coach their teams and tell them which word is next.

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