This excerpt is taken from "Gimme Five," which is more than just a great resource for youth workers. Here you'll find some ideas to get your teen talking.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF GIMME FIVE
This collection of icebreakers and discussion starters will cause your teenagers (and even you) to take a deeper look at who they are and what they believe. They will lighten the mood, stimulate discussions, build community, and get kids wrestling with a variety of issues. Among the more than 550 prompts inside are just plain fun icebreakers--some even a little silly. Others are serious and deal with issues many students and adults face. Either way, they're all perfect for the classroom, home, youth group meetings, small group settings, Sunday school, camps and retreats, long trips in a car or bus, classrooms--and more! You can use the material in Gimme Five anytime, anywhere.
Have fun with these prompts. Change them, play around with them, add details to them. Use them as points of departure and let your imagination run. Try to express what you're thinking and feeling. These icebreakers should be springboards into memories, thoughts, and experiences... Some prompts will cause laughter; some may invoke tears. These phrases will get your students laughing, debating, and thinking--and they'll learn a ton about each other in the process.
Some icebreakers are designed to stretch you, some to push you out of your comfort zone. Some force you to make difficult choices. Don't be afraid of them. Think. Use your creativity. Dream...
It's amazing how often kids respond to icebreakers in ways we never would have predicted. Part of the enjoyment of the icebreakers is discovering the journeys they take to come up with their responses. As you approach each icebreaker, consider possible follow-up questions (I provide a few examples throughout the book). Explore all the possibilities. Brainstorm ways to approach the questions. Ask yourself why you selected them.
If you were in a different time or place, would you still have responded in the same way? Why or why not? What if you were with different people? How might they affect your reactions?
[Here are just a handful of "Gimme Five" prompts you can use on a family road trip, over dinner, or while working in the yard.]
1. Gimme five inappropriate times to laugh hysterically
2. Gimme five flu symptoms
3. Gimme five of your favorite family traditions
4. Gimme five of the worst pets
5. Gimme five of the worst places to have hair on your body
6. Gimme five smells in your grandparents' house
7. Gimme five bands with at least one male and two female members
8. Gimme five TV shows that never should've been cancelled
9. Gimme five ways to serve an egg
10. Gimme five desserts you love
11. Gimme five types of "bad news" stories on TV
FOLLOW-UPS:
What percentage of the news is "bad news"? How do you feel about the amount of bad news on TV? Would you watch more TV news if there were more good news? More bad news? Why do networks report so much bad news?
12. Gimme five names you should never give a dog
13. Gimme five dream jobs
14. Gimme five of the lamest superhero names
15. Gimme five activities with age requirements
16. Gimme five summer jobs you wish you never took
17. Gimme five objects you shouldn't take into the bathtub
18. Gimme five possessions people often forget to pack
19. Gimme five objects that wash up on the beach
20. Gimme five vegetables people plant in their gardens
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Now the chairman of youth ministry department of San Jose Christian College, Les Christie has been asking questions like these during most of his 30-some years in youth ministry. Les speaks to teenage groups, trains youth workers around the world, and is the author or coauthor of 19 books--including another discussion starter from Youth Specialties, "What if...?"
http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=6 *Save 30% off the retail price of "Gimme Five" when you purchase it at the YS Store and use coupon code YPNJE3. This offer expires 7/2/08.
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