Discussion With Roles Activity- Camp Rotation Activity

Students are given ‘roles’ that act as instructions for how other students respond
to them in a discussion. (Suggested roles are provided below.)
Leader note: Who you give the positive and negative roles to is important. (Make
sure a kid who gets "IGNORE ME" is not someone who is always ignored etc.).
You also want to make sure that ALL of your talkative participants are not given
negative roles or the discussion may never really get started.
Give the topic of discussion out early so students can form an opinion on the
topic while instructions are being given out.
Possible Examples:
-Dress code
-Are leaders born that way or can anyone be a leader?
-Do adults discriminate against you because of your age?

Explain to students that they are to relate to the person who is talking only in the
way instructed on the ‘role’ note pinned to that person's forehead.
[Start taping the notes on, (without revealing them to the person they are being
place on), as you give out these instructions]
They are not to make it obvious what is on another student’s note.
This is not a contest to figure out what you have on your note.
The goal is to have as real a discussion as possible.
The teacher will only speak if the discussion is slowing down, don't raise your
hand to talk, just talk as you see appropriate.
Pose the question or discussion topic again and let students discuss...

...The Debrief. (Use your judgment to determine when to stop the discussion).
“Don't look at your note yet, leave it on your head.”
Ask students... Do you think you had something positive or negative on your
forehead? How do you know?
Ask students to guess what their ‘role’ note says then take off/look at the tags.
Ask students with positive comments what they thought of the experience.
[Some will hate it since students would start agreeing with them before they even
say anything... note the importance of being listened to!]
Ask students with negative comments what they thought of the experience... this
is where the real discussion begins...
What did it feel like?
What would it be like if you were treated like that for a whole day?
What about a whole month or a whole school year?
Use specific examples given by students of what it was like to be Ignored
or Disagreed with every time!
Think of a student that this happens to [NO NAMES!]
Does it just happen in class or in the halls to? What would your day be
like?
What if you saw this happening? What would you do?
What if you acted differently? What if you stopped a friend from treating
someone this way?
What if you changed someone's day and made it better ?
Key messages: Words are powerful.
How you treat someone is powerful.
You can make a difference in someone's life.

A great activity to do in order to address some of the above questions is a guided

imagery where students imagine that they are the person you are describing:
Describe a child who is woken up abruptly by a parent on the way out of the
house to go to work. He/she eats alone, is picked on going to school, pushed into
lockers, teased, ignored in class, bullied… etc. Stop your description by lunch.
What would a full day be like? A week? A month? Refer back to students who
may have found just a few minutes of being ignored difficult in the activity.
Roles: Notes to be taped to students’ foreheads

Ignore Me

Agree With Me

Cut Me Off

Encourage
Me

Disagree
With Me
 Paraphrase
Me

Smile and
Nod at Me

Change the
Subject

Wait 4 Seconds
Before you reply
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Support My
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Start your reply With

“Yeah, But…”

Look Away
When I Speak

Tell Me
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Make fun of
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