This community builder comes from “Beyond Icebreakers” by Stanley Pollack. It is an interactive method for breaking larger groups into small groups and can be used to surface group dynamics.
It is a great way to get students into groups – it is simple and only takes about 5 minutes to do.
- Decide how many groups you want and prepare slips of paper for the exercise. For example, if there are 24 people in your group and you want to great 6 groups, prepare slips of paper: four with the number “1”, four with the number “2”, four with the number “3”, four with the number “4”, four with the number “5” and four with the number “6”.
- Give everyone a slip of paper and tell them to keep their number secret.
- Tell the group to mingle and shake hands with each other according to the number on their slips. If your number is 1, you shake your arm once; if your number is 2, you shake your arm twice, etc.
- When two people have the same number, they’ll stop shaking at the same time and realize they are in the same group. Those with the same number should stay together and continue looking for others in their group until all the groups are together.
- This activity should be done without talking.
Processing Suggestions:
- How did it feel to participate in this activity? Why might we do an activity like this in class?
- How do people identify others that they share things with and want to group up with?
- Was this grouping “random”? Explain why or why not.
- Some ways of identifying people are superficial and easy, like the handshake, and some are deeper and harder to figure out.
