Communication Worksheet
Some approaches to exploring how we communicate
BIRTHDAY LINE-UP
Aim: To explore ways of communicating non-verbally.
Clear a space the length of the classroom, ask all students to stand side by side. Students
must obey the following rules:
· There is to be complete silence during the game.
· No words are to be spoken and lip signals are not allowed.
· Pens and paper are forbidden.
Instructions
In total silence the group must arrange themselves by birth dates starting with January 1st
and finishing with Dec. 31st.
January is at the door and December is at the far corner.
When playing the game, the students must move up and down the line until they are
confident that they are in the right place.
When the group think that they are finished, the person nearest the door ie. January, calls
out their birth date and so on until December.
The game ends when the students are all in the correct order.
How did you communicate?
Unpacking the game
List the ways you communicated?
Did you agree on ways of communicating?
What problems emerged during the game?
How did you feel when you were trying to communicate with so many people without
talking?
What did you learn by playing the game?
Compile a list of the different ways of communicating? (Think of people, our bodies,
animals, the earth…)
EXPLORING GESTURES
Aim: To explore ways of communicating non-verbally
Activity
Divide the class into pairs – A and B
Give A a copy of the following
A. Communicate each of these feelings to your partner using gestures, body language
and signs. After each feeling ask your partner to guess what you are communicating.
Ø Angry
Ø Delighted
Ø Nervous
Ø Tired
Ø Hot
When A has finished, distribute the following to B:
B. Communicate each of these feelings to your partner using gestures, body language and
signs. After each feeling ask your partner to guess what you are communicating.
Ø In pain
Ø Amused
Ø Shy
Ø Shocked
Ø Embarrassed
When the exercise has been completed invite each pair to discuss the following:
· What was the easiest thing about that exercise? Why?
· What was the most difficult thing about that exercise? Why?
Take general feedback to allow the students to arrive at their own statement about the
nature of communication.
Do as a photocopiable sheet
A. Communicate each of these feelings to your partner using gestures, body language
and signs. After each feeling ask your partner to guess what you are communicating.
Ø Angry
Ø Delighted
Ø Nervous
Ø Tired
Ø Hot
B. Communicate each of these feelings to your partner using gestures, body language and
signs. After each feeling ask your partner to guess what you are communicating.
Ø In pain
Ø Amused
Ø Shy
Ø Shocked
Ø Embarrassed