Me too
Level 2
Theme G

We are all unique and irreplaceable human beings, sometimes our uniqueness makes us feel proud, sometimes shy or ashamed. Nonetheless, we all share the fact that we are human beings and this makes us feel closer to each other.

Issues addressed

• The differences between people and the things they hold in common.

Aims

• Get to know each other in the group.

• To show that we are all different.

• To show that we are also equal to the others.

Time:30 minutes

Group size: 10-12

Preparation

The same number of chairs as the number of the participants.

Instructions

1. Form a circle in which everybody sits on a chair.

2. Ask each person to think of some personal fact or characteristic that they believe is unique to them and not shared with anybody else in the group.

3. Choose one person to start. They call out what their unique feature is, for example "I have visited Turkey three times".

4. If nobody shares this characteristic the next person calls out their unique characteristic.

5. If somebody else shares that characteristic they must jump up, shout "Me too" and sit on the callers lap. If several people share the same characteristic they sit on each other's laps on top of the caller. Then everybody goes back to sit in their original places and the "caller" must again try to come with a characteristic which is unique to them. When they manage it, it's the turn of the next person round the circle to be the caller.

6. The first round ends when everybody has called out something which differentiates them from the others.

7. Now start the second round. Explain that this round involves searching for the characteristics that are shared by everybody else in the group.

8. Take away one chair and tell the caller to stand in the middle of the circle. They must think of something which they share with the rest of the group. Ask them to call out what it is, for example: "I like music".

9. All those who share it, have to stand up and move to another chair while they shout out: "Me too". The person who stood in the middle also tries to find a chair, so someone else will be left in the middle to be the next caller.

Debriefing and evaluation

Talk about the game and how the players felt and then ask:

• What was easier: finding things which differentiate us from the others, or things we share?

• In real life when do we like or appreciate feeling unique and different and when do we like to feel similar to others?

• Think about the characteristics you chose; the things which separated you in this group, might you have them in common with other people in other groups?

• The things, which were common to everyone in this group, would they be common to everyone in the world?

• In the event that too many physical characteristics are mentioned you can ask:

• What does it mean, the fact that we all have eyes, heart or a stomach?

Tips for the facilitator

This activity must be played fast. You may want to make a rule that participants have only 10 seconds to think. To keep the game going it is important that the number of participants does not exceed 10 or 12. If you are working with larger numbers you may have to create two or three sub groups.

During the second round it is likely that simple statements such as "I have arms or legs" will be suggested several times. You may then choose to ask the players to think of other characteristics or you may prefer to leave it and talk about it in the evaluation.

The activity may also be run without chairs, with people sitting on the floor but it is less comfortable.

It is recommended that you join the group just like another participant.

Suggestions for follow up

Who and what we are is shaped by our experience of life. Different experiences shape people in different ways but we also find that common experiences affect or influence people differently. You can explore how events have shaped the members of your group using 'My story' (page 129)

It can seem that we are facing an information-overload on the Internet and judging what is fact and what is comment is just as hard as with the other media. If you are interested in raising awareness about the implications of the Internet and access to information world-wide, then you may like to do the activity, 'The impact of the Internet' in Compass.