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Cooperative Games Paradigm: The Circle Not the Triangle

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Many cooperative games are played in circles. I’m including one of my favorites for adam clockwise kids no captionbelow. It’s a classic cooperative game for kids and adults alike.

Even when not physically played in a circular formation, cooperative games are still all about circles. If cooperative games could be symbolized by a geometric shape, it would surely be the circle. In a circle, all points are equal.orange-circle blue-triangleCompare the circle to the triangle. In a triangle, there is one position at the top. Many more   points are below.

When we join together to play a cooperative game, we embody the paradigm of the circle—not the triangle. And that feels GOOD in a world where hierarchical structures abound.

Knotty People

Materials:  None needed

Time Estimate: 15 minutes

Number of Players: 5 or more

Object of the Game: To form a human knot and untie it

Game Category: Active physical game

To Play: Players stand in a small circle. They place their right hands in front of them with their thumbs up, pointing toward the sky. Players use their other hand to knotty-children-art
hold the thumb of anyone else in the circle except players standing immediately beside them to the right or left.

Now, the challenge is to untangle this human knot. Players can turn around, step over anyone, crawl anywhere, or do anything except let go.

With some coordination and focus, most knots can be untangled. If players just cannot do it after 10 minutes or so, they are “Knotty People,” which is okay in this case 😉

If you like the game Twister you’ll love this game!

World Peace Game

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In this game, students create a peaceful community by individuals who catch the spirit of peace from a peaceful leader. The game models the influence of peaceful social leaders—Ghandi, Thich Nhat Hahn, Peace Pilgrim, or Martin Luther King for example. Before the game starts, secretly designate one of your students the Peace Leader. Now, call the group together and explain that the game consists of everyone walking around the room and greeting one another by looking each other in their eyes, shaking hands, and saying ‘Peace be with you.” The only exception is that the Peace Leader will wink when he or she shakes someone’s hand. The person who has been winked at will greet two more people in the usual way then sit down in a calm position with eyes closed, exemplifying peace. As the Peace Leader completes the journey around the room, more and more people will quietly be seated, and the room will gradually manifest the quality of peace.

History’s Heros

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Students stand in a circle. Moving clockwise around the circle, students state their own name and the name of someone from history that they admire. If you are studying a particular historical period, you can ask students to pick their heroes from that period. This is a memory game so each player has to name the players before him and their heroes in order. Helping is allowed when players get stuck. In the next round, every player has a chance to share what they admire about their hero.

Webbing

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Here is a game that makes the interdependence of all the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem very clear. Children stand in a circle. The leader stands within the circle close to the edge with a ball of string. “Who can name a plant that grows in this area?” …Brodiaea…Good. Here, Miss Brodiaea, you hold the end of the string. Is there an animal living around here that might eat Brodiaea?…Rabbits? Ah, a sumptuous meal. Mr. Rabbit, you take hold of the string here. You are connected to Miss Brodiaea by your dependence on her flowers for your lunch. Now, who needs Mr. Rabbit for his lunch?

Continue connecting the children with string as their relationships to the rest of the group emerge. Bring in new elements and connections such as other animals, soil, water, and so on, until the entire circle of children is strung together in a symbol of the web of life.

To demonstrate how each individual is important to the community, take away one member of the web by some plausible means. For example, a fire or a logger kills a tree. When the tree falls, it tugs on the strings it holds. Anyone who feels a tug on the string is in some way affected by the death of the tree. The process continues until every individual is shown to be affected by the destruction of the tree.
[This activity was developed by Joseph Cornell and featured in “Sharing Nature With Children.” Thanks Joseph.]

Investigators

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In biology, play a Forensics game. One team writes up the description of a crime. The description must feature clues that can be investigated through science. For example: Ask that the crime could allow fingerprints to be left behind, lies and a cover-up, and a handkerchief left at the scene. The other team tries to figure out “who dunnit” based on the evidence and what they know about forensic science; for example DNA testing. In a successful game, both the crime and its solution require use of inference, deduction, and skillful reasoning from evidence.

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