In an active-training environment, the participants are as important as the trainer. When participants are called by their names, they feel important. There are a variety of ways to learn others’ names. Some (such as Name-Learning Assignment and Alphabetical Sign-In) are relatively straightforward; others (such as Name Bingo and Do You Know Your Neighbors?) make learning names into a game.
1. Name-learning assignment. Ask participants to learn as many names as possible, either by going up to others and introducing themselves or by reading one another’s name tags. After several minutes, stop the group and ask the participants to cover up or discard name tags, name lists, and the like. Now challenge participants to look around and quiz themselves on the names of others in the class. If desired, repeat the learning and self-quizzing activity as many times as you like. Within ten minutes, it should be possible for participants to learn at least twenty names.
2. Name chain. Ask each participant in turn to share his or her name and the names of the people who have already introduced themselves. For example, the first person to introduce himself or herself need only say his or her name, but the second person is required to give the first person’s name as well as his or her own. As the chain becomes longer, there will be more names to remember; however, the names will by then have been repeated several times. You can make the name chain alliterative by inviting each person to use an adjective before his or her name that begins with the same letter, as in “creative Carol” or “lucky Lee.” The alliterative adjectives help others to remember the participants’ names and often add humor to the activity. Or invite participants to say their names and then accompany them with some physical movement. The movement then becomes a mnemonic aid.
3. Alphabetical sign-in. Pre-mark sheets of flip-chart paper with the letters of the alphabet. Tape the flip-chart paper to walls around the room. Direct participants to sign the sheet containing the first initial of their names and to find others with the same initial. Then instruct the participants to look over the other sheets and attempt to identify as many names and faces as possible.
4. Alphabetical lineup. Invite participants to arrange themselves in alphabetical order by their first names. This task forces participants to find out other names in the group. Or do a “nonverbal name lineup” as a way to review names after participants have introduced themselves in conventional fashion. Ask participants to line up in alphabetical order by their first names without talking to each other.
5. Name bingo. Ask participants to mill around the room and meet one another. As they exchange names, have them write each name anywhere on a blank bingo form you have made for them. Create a 3 x 3 format of squares if the group has fewer than ten people, a 4 x 4 format if the group has sixteen or fewer, and a 5 x 5 format if the group has twenty-five or fewer. Instruct participants to place an “O” on any box not used up after meeting each participant. Then place a copy of everyone’s name in a hat. As the hat is passed around the group, each participant picks a name out of the hat. Everyone places an “X” on the box on their form containing the name picked. Whenever any player obtains bingo (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), he or she yells “Bingo!” Eventually, everyone will get bingo several times.
6. Name tag mix-up. Give each participant the name tag of someone else in the group and ask each person to find the owner of the name tag. Invite participants to circulate until every person receives his or her name tag.
7. Do you know your neighbors? Form a circle and place one participant in the middle. Ask that person to point to someone in the circle and challenge him or her with the question, “Do you know your neighbors?” If the person in the circle can successfully say the name of the people immediately to his or her right and left, the person in the middle stays there and challenges another person in the circle. When a participant fails the neighbor test, he or she replaces the person in the middle. As the game is played, frequently change the positions of the participants in the circle.
8. Personalized name tags. Provide materials so that each participant can develop a name tag that uses any of the following:
9. Name toss. Have group members stand in a circle with one person holding an object that can be easily thrown and caught, such as a ball or a beanbag. The member holding the object says his or her name and tosses the object to another group member. The person catching the object gives his or her name and tosses the object to another group member. Continue the tossing until all participants have introduced themselves. When the final member has been introduced, ask that person to say the name of another group member and then toss the object to that person. The receiver then repeats the name of the person who tossed him or her the object and says the name of another group member before tossing the object to that person.
10. What’s in a name? Have participants introduce themselves and then share any of the following about their names:
1. Name-learning assignment. Ask participants to learn as many names as possible, either by going up to others and introducing themselves or by reading one another’s name tags. After several minutes, stop the group and ask the participants to cover up or discard name tags, name lists, and the like. Now challenge participants to look around and quiz themselves on the names of others in the class. If desired, repeat the learning and self-quizzing activity as many times as you like. Within ten minutes, it should be possible for participants to learn at least twenty names.
2. Name chain. Ask each participant in turn to share his or her name and the names of the people who have already introduced themselves. For example, the first person to introduce himself or herself need only say his or her name, but the second person is required to give the first person’s name as well as his or her own. As the chain becomes longer, there will be more names to remember; however, the names will by then have been repeated several times. You can make the name chain alliterative by inviting each person to use an adjective before his or her name that begins with the same letter, as in “creative Carol” or “lucky Lee.” The alliterative adjectives help others to remember the participants’ names and often add humor to the activity. Or invite participants to say their names and then accompany them with some physical movement. The movement then becomes a mnemonic aid.
3. Alphabetical sign-in. Pre-mark sheets of flip-chart paper with the letters of the alphabet. Tape the flip-chart paper to walls around the room. Direct participants to sign the sheet containing the first initial of their names and to find others with the same initial. Then instruct the participants to look over the other sheets and attempt to identify as many names and faces as possible.
4. Alphabetical lineup. Invite participants to arrange themselves in alphabetical order by their first names. This task forces participants to find out other names in the group. Or do a “nonverbal name lineup” as a way to review names after participants have introduced themselves in conventional fashion. Ask participants to line up in alphabetical order by their first names without talking to each other.
5. Name bingo. Ask participants to mill around the room and meet one another. As they exchange names, have them write each name anywhere on a blank bingo form you have made for them. Create a 3 x 3 format of squares if the group has fewer than ten people, a 4 x 4 format if the group has sixteen or fewer, and a 5 x 5 format if the group has twenty-five or fewer. Instruct participants to place an “O” on any box not used up after meeting each participant. Then place a copy of everyone’s name in a hat. As the hat is passed around the group, each participant picks a name out of the hat. Everyone places an “X” on the box on their form containing the name picked. Whenever any player obtains bingo (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), he or she yells “Bingo!” Eventually, everyone will get bingo several times.
6. Name tag mix-up. Give each participant the name tag of someone else in the group and ask each person to find the owner of the name tag. Invite participants to circulate until every person receives his or her name tag.
7. Do you know your neighbors? Form a circle and place one participant in the middle. Ask that person to point to someone in the circle and challenge him or her with the question, “Do you know your neighbors?” If the person in the circle can successfully say the name of the people immediately to his or her right and left, the person in the middle stays there and challenges another person in the circle. When a participant fails the neighbor test, he or she replaces the person in the middle. As the game is played, frequently change the positions of the participants in the circle.
8. Personalized name tags. Provide materials so that each participant can develop a name tag that uses any of the following:
- Interesting calligraphy
- A personal logo
- A zodiac sign
- An object or animal that symbolizes some personal quality
- A coat of arms
- A collage of magazine cutouts that contain favorite expressions or objects
9. Name toss. Have group members stand in a circle with one person holding an object that can be easily thrown and caught, such as a ball or a beanbag. The member holding the object says his or her name and tosses the object to another group member. The person catching the object gives his or her name and tosses the object to another group member. Continue the tossing until all participants have introduced themselves. When the final member has been introduced, ask that person to say the name of another group member and then toss the object to that person. The receiver then repeats the name of the person who tossed him or her the object and says the name of another group member before tossing the object to that person.
10. What’s in a name? Have participants introduce themselves and then share any of the following about their names:
- What I like or dislike about my name
- Who I was named after
- A nickname that I like or dislike
- The origin of my name
Source : 101 Ways to Make Training Active. Mel Silberman.2005
No comments:
Post a Comment