Type: Ensemble Building
Purpose: A fun getting-to-know-you game for the beginning of a new semester…that involves making paper airplanes!
Procedure:
1. Gather the class into a sitting circle.
2. Pass out a piece of paper to each student and a writing utensil.
3. On the piece of paper they must write their name, and two places they would fly to if they could fly anywhere in the world.
4. Then give the class 2-minutes to make their papers into paper airplanes. If they don’t know how to make an airplane, encourage them to ask a neighbor for help (this begins breaking down barriers!) Assure them that the quality of the airplane really doesn’t matter – just do the best they can!
5. When you say Go! and play the music, they should throw their airplane high into the circle. Then tell them to keep picking up other airplanes and throwing them around the circle, until the music stops and all the airplanes are mixed up.
6. When the music stops, they are to pick up one last airplane from someone they don’t know.
7. They should unfold the paper, find the original owner and introduce themselves, and ask why they chose those two specific places to fly to.
8. Back in a standing circle, everyone should introduce the person to the group by reading the name on the plane and telling the group the answers given by that person and the reason behind them.
NOTE: You can replace the question about “where would you fly to?” with any question that you think would help build bonds in your specific program. The great thing about the flying question is that it is a simple, low-stakes question for kids to answer and can lead to an interesting reveal about their personality (and of course the fact that it ties into the airplane theme 🙂
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