Participant choice

The Full Value Contract addresses the group needs; Participate by Choice meets individual needs. In order to feel safe in a community, a person must have control over what they will and will not do.

The concept of Participate by Choice allows each person to be in control of their own level of participation. For example, this means that each person may choose how much personal information to share with the group. The participant may choose to be totally involved—physically and emotionally—in an activity, or choose to participate in some other way.

As facilitators, we must remember to ask ourselves, “Are participants really being given a choice?” Carla Hacker, an elementary school teacher and adventure educator, believes that when students are unable, for physical or emotional reasons, to participate in an activity as it is presented, they should be consulted about how they want to participate. Ask participants how they want to be included, respect their choices, and they will be empowered to make real choices later on. Being included at all costs is not always a choice.

Participate by Choice allows participants to participate in any way they see fit. It does not mean they can walk away from the activity entirely.

Participate by Choice is often introduced towards the beginning of a workshop. It typically follows the introduction and adoption of the Full Value Contract. Simply demonstrating the concept at the beginning of a workshop is not sufficient. It is the facilitator’s duty to ensure that activities and challenges are set up with Participate by Choice in mind and that group members maintain an environment where differing forms of participation are accepted and valued throughout the entire experience. It is important to emphasize participants’ right to choose not just if they want to participate, but how. Sometimes the freedom to say ‘no’ is the most powerful choice of all.

Birdie on a Perch

Time: 5 minutes

Works well with groups of any size (even numbers are ideal)

How to play:

Have players partner up and decide who is the birdie and who is the perch.
To start the game birdies go in the inside circle, perches on outside. Birdies walk one way while perches walk in opposite direction.
When facilitator yells “birdie on a perch” the birdies and perch partners must find each other and birdie jumps on perch’s back (off the ground). If uncomfortable with lifting each other up you can make an alternate formation, such as sitting on their partner’s knee, or having the birdie put 2 fingers on the perch's arm, etc!
Likewise, if facilitator yells perch on a birdie, the perch is now on the birdie

You can make this game competitive by having last pairing to get in formation of bird on perch or perch on birdie is out, and game is repeated until one pairing is left.

You can also revisit this activity throughout the day if you so choose, might be a fun way to get people moving.

Modifications:

No touch: wo fingers can hover "perch" over the partner's hand or forearm
No running: challenge participants to speed-walk

Chicken Stretching

Time: 2-5 minutes

Any number of participants

How to play:

Note: Do not reveal the name of this activity until afterwards! It relies on an element of surprise.

Starting with legs, ask people to try to get their knee to touch their chin. Try each leg alternately. Ask for 10 knee to chin touches. It is not easy, some can do it, and many can't.
Then move on to the arms. One side at a time, stick thumb under armpit and "flap" (don't use this word) it up and do a side stretch. Three times on each side.
Then explain that it’s important to warm up one's vocal cords for group games. Grab the skin around your Adam's apple (demonstrate) and waggle it side to side. Then ask for some guttural noises, as much as possible, then ask for someone animal noises.
Finally, put it all together - demonstrate and encourage - walking around raising knees in air, flapping both arms and making animal noises (at some point start encouraging the chicken noises) and you have a mob of warmed up, feeling silly, kind of outfoxed, intrigued students.

Comfort zone wheelies

Time: 10-15 Minutes

Any number of participants

Props:

Comfort zone wheelies deck

How to play:

Give each participant one comfort zone wheelie and put them into pairs.
Participants will introduce themselves to their partner and ask the question on their comfort zone wheelie.
After both participants have asked their question they will switch cards and find a new partner.
If partipants feel comfortable, they can advance to the next level of questions (green is relatively simple, yellow is deeper, and red are the deepest)

Comfort zone Spectrum

Time: 5-10 Minutes

Any number of participants, for smaller groups consider concentric circles instead

How to play:

Create a spectrum between two objects (tree, fence, prop, faciliator, etc.)
Tell participants you will read out a series of statements and they will move on the spectrum depending on their comfort level.
Designate which side of the spectrum will represent 100% comfort and which side will represent complete discomfort.
Read out the statements. If you would do the statement without hesitation 100% of the time, walk toward one end. If there was no way the participant would be comfortable doing this activity ever, go to the other end.
Assure them that they can be anywhere in between.
Try to aim for between 5-10 prompts (and leave time for debriefing) depending how much time you have

Possible Prompts:

I would go bungee jumping
I would cook a meal for Gordon Ramsey
I would hold a large snake or spider
I would sing for a group of friends

Concentric Circles

Time: 10 minutes

Any number of participants (with larger numbers of participants, it might be easier to do comfort zone spectrum instead)

Props:

Two long ropes

How to play:

Create two circles with rope.
Tell participants you will read out a series of statements and they will move into the circle depending on their comfort level
If you would do the statement without hesitation 100% of the time, walk towards the inner circle. If there is no way the participant would be comfortable doing this activity ever, they would stay on the outside of the circle. If they are somewhere in between, they can stand in the middle circle.
Try to shoot for between 5-10 prompts (and leave time for debriefing) depending how much time you have.

Possible prompts/statements:

I would go sky diving
I would hug a stranger
I would do a math problem in front of a 200 person lecture at the board
I would read a poem I wrote to large group of people

Get Rid of the Paper

Time: 5 minutes

Any number of participants

Props:

Small scraps of paper

How to Play:

Tell all the participants to line up shoulder to shoulder on a line.
Give each participant a piece of paper and tell them they must try to get the piece of paper as far as they can pass the line without stepping over the line.
The participants may only touch one hand to the ground and may not throw the piece of paper.

Knee Tag

Time: 7-10 minutes

Best for groups less than 50, need adequate space for playing tag.

How to play:

Explain that the group will be playing a new version of tag that involves three levels of participation:
1. 1. Safe Zone: In this zone participants cannot be tagged or tag anyone else, they also may not travel. To show participants put hands on knees.
  2. Tagging Zone: Participants can now run to tag others below the shin. Here they must put their hands on their stomachs. You can only travel in this zone.
  3. Needs Support Zone: These are people who have been tagged. When tagged they put their hands straight out to the side.
To get un-tagged and enter the other zones they must get a high five from two different people.
Participants may switch from safe to tagging zone at any time.
Usually participants are not active during the first round, so playing again and inviting participants to go out of their comfort zone will make the game more fun and exciting for everyone including themselves.

Questions to ask: What was your level of participation? Why did you choose to do what you did? Talk about where the participant’s comfort level was throughout.

Primal Scream

Time: 5 minutes

Any number of participants

How to Play: Tell the group that we are all going to let out our emotions to the entire group with a scream. Model by screaming and explain that each person will have to scream on their own and their scream can be any creation they want it to be. Go around the circle.

Variations: Do a group scream at the beginning of activity or the end.

Singing

Time: 5 minutes

Any number of participants

How to play: Explain to the group that they will all start singing in a moment and to think of any song that comes to mind. Give a few seconds to think of one. When ready countdown to start all singing at the same time. All participants sing at same time all different songs.

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