Group Juggle

Grade level: Elementary and Secondary
Players: Unlimited
Duration: At least 30 minutes

This is a fun way to get to know each other. It can be used to learn names and develop group cohesiveness.

Instructions for level 1 of difficulty for Group Juggle

  • Arrange participants in a circle, not too close, not too far from one another
  • Include yourself in the circle
  • Explain that you are going to throw a ball to someone - pick someone out and ask their name, then say :
  • "Hi Freddy, my name is James...here you go!" [throw the ball to Freddy]
  • Freddy then says "Thank you James", picks someone and says "Hi X, my name is Freddy...here you go!" [throw]....they say "Thank you, Freddy" and on we go.
  • The challenge is simply to get the ball thrown around to everyone in the circle, and finally back to the facilitator.
Level 2 of difficulty for Group Juggle
  • The facilitator then says, "Right, well done, now let's see if we can do that again - making sure we use the same order, and using each other's names. Remember to say the name of the person you are throwing the ball to, and thank the person, by name, for throwing it to you, OK?"

Note to the facilitator: In level 2, most students will be challenged to remember who to throw the ball to, and the names of their partners! Take it slow; help the group out, so that each person has a successful round.

Level 3 of difficulty for Group Juggle

  • Proceed the same way as for level 2. This time, the objective is to go faster. "Good, so let's see how fast we can do this, OK? Here we go...Hi Freddy, my name is James...." [throw]

Note to the facilitator: Go faster even if students are challenged to remember who to throw the ball to, and the names of their partners! Once again, help the student out or ask the group to help each other.

Level 4 of difficulty for Group Juggle: let’s add energy and enthusiasm!

  • I then say, "That's great, but I think you can do faster than that. Come on; let's see how we can really go..." [I then throw and say the name with energy and enthusiasm to set the tone!]
  • After the first ball has passed through a few hands, I take a 2nd ball out of my pocket (surprise!), and casually, but earnestly say "Hi Freddy...." [throw].
  • By now everyone is so well trained, the 2nd ball will automatically keep going, and there will be a detectable sense of challenge/excitement.
  • After a bit, I introduce a 3rd and 4th ball, up to about 6 balls.
  • Usually I let 4 to 6 balls be juggled for a while (Note that the balls will be coming back again to the facilitator - just keep them going). A group of 12 students can usually handle 4 to 6 balls quite well.
  • Once the group seems competent with 6 balls, I gradually introduce an unmanageable number of balls into the juggle and maybe also weird objects (e.g. kids’plush toys); it gets crazy, fun, out of control, etc. and ends in a hilarious shambles.