Popular Education Tool-Kit #2
The Chain Letter Juventud FACETA, Gloria Teresa Montes Objectives: 1. To focus on a common theme in order to reinforce group skills. 2. To share responsibilities in order to complete a task. 3. To reflect on a group experience in order to better understand its dynamics.
Description of Group: This activity was used by Juventud FACETA during a leadership training. There were 15 youth and adults, females and males, Latin American in origin. It was done in Aldo’s Lake during a weekend camp and participants knew each other with limits. Description of the Activity: The group is divided into small teams 6-10. Each group chooses a leader who then prepares the group for this exercise. The Leader provides the first sentence of the openended story. Then, each member takes a turn and adds a sentence to the story. The story can be of any topic. At the end, the leader of each group read the story to the rest of the group.
Outcomes: The outcome of this exercise is that members work together. The dynamics, and member’s roles may become more apparent to the leader. It can potentially be effective with groups that may need help with development of interpersonal skill
Facilitator’s Notes: It works well because members discover their common knowledge as well as wisdom and life’s experiences. It also challenges those members who are shy and introspected to open up and share with others their knowledge. One suggestion in trying to duplicate this exercise is to let the group members to encourage others rather that the leader or facilitator.