Energizers
These energize to help promote fun and interaction and help participants to get to know each other. They also help motivate people to stay focused and continue learning after a break. These suggested energizers could be used during a break or in late afternoon to keep participants alert. Here is a list of the energizers provided in this document:
1. Relay Race
2. Simon Says
3. A-Z scavenger list
4. Stretching
5. Knots
6. Finding your Animal
7. Yell and run
8. Move it buddy!
9. Lucky Penny
10. Shoulder rubs
1. Relay Race
g Break participants into even teams, depending on the number of participants you have.
g Have each group cluster in different parts of the room.
g Ask for a volunteer for each group and have the volunteers meet the trainer outside or in the other room.
g Inform volunteers that this is a relay race and each of them are representing their team and also that they are competing with one another.
g Tell the volunteers that they will perform four separate runs and between each run, you will be reading a list of 5 items that you want in their hand.
g Share with volunteers that you will only read the list once and that their team needs to help them gather the requested items on the list.
g Share that the first volunteer to bring back all five items per run is the winner.
g Here are some suggestions:
LIST 1: Picture of a loved one LIST 2: Shoe
Credit card Cell phone
Keys Lipstick
Jacket $1.00 bill
Blue marker Ring
Give the wining team a nice prize.
2. Simon Says “Native Style”
g Instruct all participants to move to the room where you have a large open space.
g Ask participants if they have played “Simon Says”?
g Tell participants that they will be playing this game, but with a Native twist.
g Share that you will be instructing them to do 5 various movements. Share that if you do not have a partner that fits the description they have to sit down.
g Begin by saying “Simon says – sweep your Hogan”
g Have everyone move around sweeping their traditional native home; i.e.; Hogan, Kiva, sandwich home, teepee, etc….
g Then the trainer will yell out the four different scenarios as follows (these do not have to be in sequences):
g Braid someone’s hair: two people get together, one person pretending to braid the other person’s hair.
g Making Indian Bread: Three people get together, one person put their wrist criss-cross and wiggle their fingers as fire, the second person put their hands on top of the fire with their palms facing up and flat as the pan, and the third person pretending to pat out the bread and putting it in the pan.
g Stand in line for Indian Tacos: Four people get together in a single line with their hands and palms facing up, pretending to wait for their tacos.
g Round Dance: Five people get together in a circle and pretending to round dance.
g The last two people remaining stand back to back to play paper, rock, scissors but using the following substitutes:
- Princess: Turns around standing with praying hands
- Warrior: Turns around with a bow & arrow
- Bear: Turns around and growls in an attack position
g The Princess cancels out the warrior; the warrior cancels out the bear; and the bear cancels out the princess.
g The winner gets a prize!
3. A-Z scavenger list
g Divide participants into even teams, depending on the number of participants.
g Give each team a blank flipchart and a maker
g Have each team designate a writer
g Instruct the group that they need to find objects for each letter in the alphabet (A-Z).
g The first group to get all 26 letters represented wins.
4. Stretching
g Instruct participants to stand in a circle.
g Tell participants that each person needs to lead us in a stretching exercise.
g Each person suggests a different way to stretch (reach arms overhead, wiggle toes, etc.) Everyone else much follow along, until everyone has suggested a stretch.
5. Knots
g Arrange participants into 2-3 groups of 6-12 individuals (again, it depends on the number of participants).
g Ask each circle to stand shoulder-to-shoulder facing the center of the circle.
g Then instruct them to raise their right hand and take one other persons hand across them.
g Then instruct them to take their other hand and take another person’s hand.
g Ask. “ do you think that it is possible to undo this human knot?”
g Next encourage the group to try to undo themselves by working together and staying connected.
g At the end, participants should be in a circle, some facing in and others facing out.
6. Finding your animal
g Trainer will need to prepare this activity in advance.
g Depending on the number of participants, you will need to get slips of paper and write an animal that makes an obvious noise. Create three to seven slips for each animal.
g In random order, give each slip of paper to participants and instruct them to find the people in the room who have the same animal as them without talking. Encourage people to make the animal noise.
g Give them a few minutes.
g They should make sounds and gestures that let them know what animals they are.
g Once they find each person in their group, they should continue around until they find all the monkeys, dogs, cows, pigs, etc…
7. Yell and run
g Tape blank pieces of paper on the floor in a circle for the number of participants you have in the room.
g Tell participants that the person in the middle of the circle will yell out a description that may fit all or some of the participants.
g Share that if the description fits you (the participants) they need to move to a different square.
g The lone person who didn’t find a square has to go to the center of the circle and think of a new description.
g The trainer should start the activity by standing in the middle of the circle and yell out a description, i.e. “Everyone who brushed their teeth this morning,” “Anyone wearing eyeglasses”, “Anyone who like the Rolling Stones”….
8. Move it buddy!
g Make a circle of the chairs, having one less chair than there are participants.
g Everyone is seated, with one person sitting in the middle of the circle.
g Everyone is given 30 seconds to learn the first, middle and last name of the people seated to their left and right.
g The person in the middle then approaches any person seated, points to him/her and says “left“ or “right” and counts to five.
g The person pointed to must give the full name of each person to his or her left or right before the counter reaches 5 seconds.
g Tell participants that failure to do so results in that person moving to the middle, while the other person sits down.
g Tell participants that if someone yells “switch” at any point in time, everyone must change chairs.
9. Lucky penny
g Ask each person to take out a penny or a coin out of his or her pocket and look at the date.
g Tell participants that you would like for them to recall a spectacular event that happen that year.
g Go around the room and have each person share.
10. Shoulder Rubs
g Ask participants to stand in a circle, shoulder to shoulder.
g Have everyone turn to the right and say, “do I have permission to touch you?”
g If they say “yes” slowly put your hands on their shoulder and begin to massage.
g The trainer will lead the exercise by instructing the participant to rub their shoulders and back.
g If a participant does not want to engage, have them sit out.
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Created and complied by Vickie K. Oldman for First Nations Development Institute’s InvestNative Project.