Concentric Circles
This is one of our all-time favorites because you can use it with just about any subject matter. If you want to allow people to get to know each other better, use it with some get to know you questions. If you want to get people talking about a certain subject, review material or focus on one topic, you can!
Prior to the activity, develop questions based on your session content or the intent of your activity.
Time Needed: 10 minutes+ (you can make it longer depending on how many questions you have)
Group Size: Any
Materials: Questions you’ve developed
Directions: Ask participants to form two equal circles, one inner, one outer, with circles facing each other. You may form several small-mid sized groups if you have a large group.
Ask participants to introduce themselves to their partner. Explain that you will read the question, give the first person 1 minute to respond and then announce that it’s time to switch and let the second person answer. After each question is answered (twice, once by each partner), have the inner circle rotate by one person. Ask participants to introduce themselves again and ask the next question.
Tips & Variations:
- You may form several small-mid sized groups if you have a large group.
- Have youth leaders create questions for activity.
- Play often, perhaps at the beginning of every session or meeting, and create themes based on session content, season, academic area, etc.