Spool of String



Objective(s) & Context

  1. Help participants feel at ease within the group.

  2. Share some information about the participants with the group.

  3. Offer participants of a newly formed group an opportunity to get to know each other, relax, and have some fun.

 

Duration

Depends on the number of participants

Anticipate approximately 2 minutes per participant:

10 participants: 20 minutes

20 participants: 40 minutes

 

Group Size

10–40

 

Age Group

7 +

 

Skills

Sharing, Communication, Listening

 

Format(s) & Technique(s)

Large group, game

 

Materials

Spool of string

Pair of scissors

Flip chart

Markers

 

Facilitation Tips

  • If there are more than 20 people in the group, it is more efficient to have facilitators cut the pieces of string in advance and then have each participant select a piece of string from a bag/hat/sack/envelope.

  • For younger groups, cut shorter pieces of string, in case they feel too much pressure to talk a lot (unless they are a chatty group).

  • Suggestions for what information they can share:

    • Favourite music

    • How many places they have lived

    • How many siblings they have

    • Favourite movie

 

Popular Education Prompts

  • Getting to know each other is an important building block for moving forward as a group.

  • This workshop highlights individual and common experiences of the participants.

 

Leading the Activity: Steps to Take

 

Preparation:

  1. Prepare pieces of string in advance if necessary.

 

Workshop:

  1. Ask participants to sit together in a circle.

  2. Pass around the spool of string and scissors.

  3. Ask participants to cut as much string as they think they need for themselves and then pass it on to the next person.

  4. Once everyone has a piece of string, ask them to wrap it around their own pointer finger.

  5. Explain that they will speak about themselves for as long as it takes them to unravel the string from their finger. It’s more fun if you wait to tell everyone about this until AFTER they have their piece of string.

  6. As the facilitator, you can lead with a demonstration of how the game works and then continue around the circle in one direction.

 

Debrief

  • What did we learn about each other?

  • What are the group’s impressions of the activity?

 

Success Indicators

Participants are:

  • Talking and laughing with the group

  • Sharing more about themselves with the group

  • Starting to feel at ease / more comfortable with the group

 

Source: North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Gender Specific Resource Manual: http://www.ncdjjdp.org/community_programs/gsm/groupwork/icebreakers.html