Party Time

Party Time

The aim is to allow the students to practise their improvisational skills and give them an understanding of how associations and sudden inputs can form the foundation of fantastic ideas.

1. The students are asked to pair up with someone who shares the same shoe size as them – or those which are close in size (labelled Student A and Student B). The teacher informs the students that they must plan the annual party in pairs e.g., a summer party or Christmas party.
2. The teacher hands out the word or picture cards and tells them NOT look at the cards they are given. If they do this, they must be given new cards.

• If they are given word cards, they get one each.
• If it is a picture card, they are given four each.

3. The teacher then demonstrates how the students can begin to plan the party using the cards:

• Student A must use the word written at the top of the word card, or the picture illustration, in the party.
• Student B then links Students A’s idea to the word/picture they were given
• The process continues until all cards are used.

4. The students work with one word/picture at a time and may not peek at the other cards to see what else they will have to implement.
5. The students link all the ideas together as they appear to create the annual party.
6. After seven to ten minutes the teacher stops the activity and asks the students to present their ideas for the party.
7. The teacher may ask the students if they wish to share their ideas to the class on what a good party would be like. More ideas are shared which may energise and motivate the students to create their party.

In this activity, the students are given the opportunity to release their imagination to plan the annual party together “Yes and…” are important questions for all the exercises in the ideation element of the Atom Model. Students should choose the type of party that is relevant to the context e.g., the time of year or where you are.
This activity could be done using online tools such as Padlet, virtual whiteboard and breakout rooms in Teams/Zoom.