The Bigger Picture

Topic
- Communication & media
- Strategy & logic
Learning skills
- Cooperation
- Creative thinking
- Communication & expression
Activity type
- Energiser & ice breaker
Materials
- Basic
Age
- 6 - 11 years
- 12 - 14 years
- 15 - 17 years
- 18+ years
5 - 15 minutes
+5 players
Intermediate
Calm
Small (office, pavement)

Contributors

Mobile School

View profile

Make it yourself

Step 1

Search images (1 for each participant)

Search for images online that, together, form a storyline, for example images that start with something big and then gradually zoom in closer. You could, for example, start with an image of outer space, then zoom in closer and closer to Earth, then zoom in to a city, a street, a bus, someone on the bus, his bag, a card in the bag, the stamp on the card,...

Make sure some images include things that could be grouped together, e.g. different vehicles, flowers,...

Step 2

Print the images

Print the images and cut them out, so you can give each participant a piece of paper with an image.

Good job!

A step-by-step guide to play the game

This exercise is especially fun to play with large groups of people.

Give each participant one of the images.

Explain the exercise:

The participants need to arrange the images in a logical sequence by placing them face-down on the floor in a line. They are not allowed to show their images to one another, they can only describe them. They have 15 minutes to complete the task.

Do not put anyone in charge or give any further instructions after this. Let the participants figure it out on their own.

Once in a while, tell the participants how much time they have left.

When the 15 minutes are up, ask the participants to turn the images face up and tell them how many images are out of place.

Give the participants the chance to rearrange the images in the right sequence.

Reflect on the exercise with the group: How did it go? What did they learn from the exercise? How did they come to their solution? Did they get lost in the details (e.g. group all the vehicles together) or did someone think of looking at the bigger picture (the storyline)? What is the advantage of looking at the bigger picture once in a while? etc.

Extra game information

Usually, participants will first start forming small groups of people that have things in common on their images, e.g.: participants with vehicles on their images will form one group. If you notice that the group gets stuck or that nobody is thinking of the bigger picture, you can give them a hint if you want to, but it can be very valuable to give the group the time to figure it out on their own and reflect on the process afterwards.

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