Objective: Establish co-operation and communication between group members. Props: 4-6 plastic or paper plates, many small wrapped candies, tape or string to mark areas on the floor. Step by step instructions
  1. Start the activity by dividing the group into small groups (approximately 4 participants per group).
  2. On the floor, use string or tape to mark the borders of multiple different “countries.”
  3. Each group should have one country as their “home country” and a different country as their “target,” marked with an X. In each home country, place a flimsy plastic or paper plate with a pile of small wrapped candies (or other objects) balanced on it.
  4. Tell the groups that the borders on the floor represent two different countries: one is your own country, and the other is a country recently ravaged by natural disaster (you can choose an appropriate example from current events to make the illustration more relevant). Because of the disaster, thousands of people are without food, and your group has the resources to send provisions using an amazing flying plate.
  5. The teams must raise the plate off the floor using only the very tips of their pointer fingers, and safely carry the plate – without dropping the provisions balanced on it! – to the country in need.
  6. The rules are that every member of the small group must have the tip (no more than 1 centimeter!) of both pointer fingers under the edge of the plate at all times. The two fingers must be in permanent contact with the plate during travel.
  7. So, the goal of the team is to take the plate from the floor and to move it from their country to the suffering neighbor country, placing it on the X marked there without dropping any provisions. (The places of departure and the destinations should be different for the teams to avoid overlapping on the route.)
  8. The teams should start at the same time and have 10 minutes to finish the task. If the plate or any provisions fall, or if any team member loses contact with the plate for even a second, the team must start again.
Debrief
  1. What were the tasks given in this activity? What difficulties did you encounter?
  2. What motivated you to complete the exercise?
  3. Do you think you could have accomplished this task alone? Why or why not?
  4. Why do you think it is important for everyone to know that his / her contribution matters?