Spider Web

• A large ball of yarn or string

• A large, open space

1. Utilizing the large, open space that was selected for the activity, have students form a circle.

2. Each student will need to identify one unique fact about themselves, such as: 

   1. 1. 1. 1. 1. • A distinctive like or dislike of theirs

                  • Somewhere unique that they’ve been

                  • A special talent that they have

3. Once all students have come up with a unique fact, have one student start with the end of the yarn. They will share their name and their fact with the group. 

4. Then, continuing to hold onto the end of the length of yarn, they will roll or toss the ball of yarn to someone else, who will then share their name and unique fact.

5. Continue this process until everyone has shared and passed the yarn. As each person holds their part of the yarn, a “spider web” should be created in the center of the circle.

6. To debrief the activity, ask students to reflect on what the web might represent. Consider using the following questions for discussion:

   1. 1. 1. 1. 1. • How does this activity represent our class?

                  • How are we all connected together?

7. After instructing a few students to drop their part of the yarn, ask the final debrief question:

   1. 1. 1. 1. 1. • What happens when one person isn’t pulling their own weight?

8. Close the activity with further debrief, either verbal or written, using a few of the questions from the Stage 1 Debrief Prompts.

To increase rigor:

• To increase rigor, use a thick rope instead of yarn or string and end the activity by having one student lay in the middle of the string, with the rest of the class lifting that student three inches off of the ground. Finally, have students analyze how this serves as an analogy for being part of a community.