Divide Students into Groups of Three

Divide students into groups of three. Assign each student one of the following roles without letting the other members know what the roles are: One person is assigned the role of explaining what they did on the weekend, another is assigned the role of interrupting the other by saying, "What? I don't understand." or "I'm sorry." The third group member is the observer and should be prepared to report back to the others (and the whole group if you prefer) on the success of the communication within the group. Allow students to role play for 2 minutes and then ask the groups to discuss the process. Reassign the roles within the group. One person has to describe the classroom without using any nouns. The second person is to participate as a listener and ask questions and respond naturally. The observer should be prepared to report on the interaction. Let the role play run for about two minutes and then ask the groups to discuss the process. Lead a class discussion about the exercise focusing on their feelings, frustrations, and the techniques they used to repair and indicate breakdown.