Snowball
Each person can show his opinion about the topic being discussed and then to share his opinion with others. Discussion between more and more people of training/project/program can teach all the participants at the same time to have his own opinion, not dependent from other and to work in pairs, groups and so on.
Target group
- Teenagers (cca. 13 – 18 years)
- Young adults (cca. 17 – 26 years)
- Youth workers
- Teachers
Content
We did this activitiy during a lesson of foreign literature at school. We were discussing the output of Marina Tsvetaeva and Anna Akhmatova. Mainly we focused on two poems called “The twenty first. Monday. Night” (M. T.) and “Hands wrought under the dark veil…” (A. A.). These poems are about the mystery of love. Our class had to compare them regarding the mood of poems, feelings of authors and the main topic of poems.
Materials
Specific Environment
This method can be used everywhere in every circumstances. It is recommended if participants can sit opposite one another.Specific goals
Raising the level of skills that are useful/helpful for youth to their social involvement/participation ( such as self-confidence, leadership, …); Motivation, support and encouraging young people to engage into initiatives groups, Non-Governmental organizations, volunteering, youth councils and other bodies to act socially for the local communities; Advise young people how to identify, diagnose or just name challenges and problems of their social environment; presentation of own opinion to other participants; development of personal opinion, self-presentation, works in pairs and groupsDescription
First the teacher/person in charge presents the topic of training/project etc., and then every person works by himself, thinks about his opinion and makes his conclusions. In the second step participants make pairs and discuss the topic between two persons. Then pairs are being united in groups of 4 people, groups of 4 people in 8 persons-teams and so on.
Outcomes and its measurability
The positive result, if the method was realised in right way, should appear in a bigger self-confidence of each participant. Also it is easier to work in teams and to find a compromise with others.
Project in which the method has been used
We used this activity during lessons in our school.