This is a quick and fun strategy that fosters open dialogue while at the same time offering the opportunity to release the pent-up energy of your group.
I think it’s a wonderful way to reflect on and discuss issues of stress in our lives, especially as the exercise invites people to (metaphorically) release or get rid of their stress in a fun way.
Start by passing out a sheet of paper and a pen to each person.
Then, within an appropriate framing of your choice, ask each person to (privately) write a thought or a response to your question on the paper. Here are a few examples:
- What is one thing that you wish you could remove from your life?
- Describe one behaviour you have observed in this group that you do not think is healthy.
- How could your group get better at [… enter attribute …?]
- If there was one stress in your life that you could eliminate, what would it be?
- Describe a unique quality about one other person in the group.
When ready, ask each person to them unceremoniously crumple their piece of paper. Then, comes the fun part.
Instruct your group to toss their collective crumpled papers (which now look like snowballs) into the air, across the room, whatever. Stray snowballs are permitted to be picked up and tossed right back across the room. Invite lots of movement, noise, whatever, if channelling or releasing pent-up energy is useful to you or your group.
Allow this pandemonium to continue for 20-30 seconds. Have fun, but as described in the Leadership Tips tab, beware the other impacts this part of the exercise may have on your group.
Then, curb the enthusiastic tossing of your group by asking each person to pick up any random snowball and hold onto it, but do not open it (yet.)
Again, perhaps within the context of the framing you opened the exercise with, pose a question to your group. Then, taking turns, ask each person to un-crumple the paper they are holding and read the thought (written on it) to the rest of the group.
Ordinarily, the thoughts which are shared do not belong to the person reading it, which is useful for several reasons. First, this process builds empathy for others. And second, it also provides a random mechanism to share the thoughts of people who feel less comfortable sharing them out loud (or in front of a large group.)
Stop, pause, reflect and discuss this thought, as appropriate, and continue around the group. For example, if your primary focus was to discuss stress, then your facilitation from this point may be to invite your group to discuss how one can identify stress and how to cope with it.
In a sense, the activity up to this point is the warm-up or unofficial start to prepare your group for the primary purpose of the exercise – sharing.
Clearly, there is one element of this exercise as described that could get out of control, so consider what the impact of the tossing may have on the levels of trust and empathy that exist or you have nurtured in your group. If there is a risk the tossing could result in a negative outcome, take a look at the Variations tab for alternative or ‘safer’ options.
There’s something really powerful about writing thoughts down. For most, it helps us to organise our sometimes messy or confused thoughts. For others, it can make what they are thinking more real because it has left their head and appeared on paper in front of them. So, while at first glance the Snowball Toss may appear a frivolous activity, there can be great value to be revealed when appropriately framed.
Note, this exercise does not have to focus on difficult subjects or negative elements. The Snowball Toss is simply a mechanism to invite your group to share in a fun and engaging manner. So, it is equally useful at reflecting on positive attributes as much as it can be a powerful way to lead into more difficult topics.
You could integrate Snowball Toss as part of a well-designed SEL program to develop your group’s ability to manage their emotions, thoughts and behaviours effectively in different situations and to achieve goals.
Specifically, this activity offers ample opportunities to explore and practice the following social & interpersonal skills:
Self-Awareness
- Identifying Emotions
- Linking Feelings, Values & Thoughts
- Identifying Personal, Cultural & Linguistic Assets
- Recognising Strengths, Prejudices & Biases
- Demonstrating Self-Confidence, Honesty & Integrity
- Experiencing Self-Efficacy
Self-Management
- Controlling One’s Emotions
- Identifying & Managing Stress
- Demonstrating Self-Discipline & Self-Motivation
- Setting Personal & Group Goals
Social Awareness
- Taking Other’s Perspectives
- Demonstrating Empathy & Compassion
- Appreciating Diversity
- Respecting Others
Relationship Skills
- Communicate & Listen Effectively
- Build Positive Relationships
- Work Collaboratively
Responsible Decision-Making
- Demonstrating Curiosity & Open-Mindedness
- Promoting Personal & Collective Well-Being
You can learn more about SEL and how it can support character education here.
Mindfulness
As a simple reflection exercise, this activity is ideal for integrating into a program designed to build mindfulness practices. It’s engaging and can be adapted to suit many different program goals. To this end, be sure to (a) frame your reflective question or statement carefully and (b) allow sufficient time for people to reflect.
Accountability
The simple act of writing stuff down not only puts one’s thoughts into existence, but they are more likely to help this person be accountable for them. If this is one of your program objectives, carefully consider how you will word your reflective question or statement to ensure your group will respond with responses that are imbued with “I” and “Me” statements.
Behavioural Norms
The subtleties of this fun reflection strategy will invite your group to interact and engage with each other in a manner that would necessarily speak to the benefits of having developed a set of supportive and healthy behavioural norms in advance. Or, if not, you could focus on any less-than-desired interactions or outcomes to explore what sorts of behaviours your group would prefer to see and commit to in the future. For example, observe the manner in which your group tosses their snowballs at one another. Are these behaviours sourced from a position of fun or malice?
I like this activity as it creates a sense of anonymity which can be useful at times depending on the subject being explored.
This could be really useful in classes as a strategy to ask for either feedback or relevant questions to a subject without singling anyone out. For example. If a student has not quite grasped a concept or a participant had additional questions or thoughts that they might want to bring up or look further into, they could express that and it would be brought up anonymously through the process.
If you needed to have an anonymous vote on an activity or something that could also be a fun way of doing it.
It would be important to frame that the questions were to be relevant and appropriate to the session for example. There would also be the opportunity for the group to one at a time read the comments (so snowballs tossed across the room) or it could be the facilitator who pluck out the comments and then helps moderate the questions. (Basketball shots taken towards a bucket next to facilitator)