Vote from Your Seat

Before the activity, create a series of statements on a topic that will evoke an opinion from participants. For example: Learning is easy. Explain that in this activity the group will be asked to listen to a statement and decide whether they agree or disagree with what is being said. If participants agree, raise an arm/hand high into the air. (It can be useful to model this action.) If participants disagree, they should put their hand/arm down to their side. (It can be useful to model this action.) Explain that participants can choose to vote anywhere between “strongly agree” arms up and “strongly disagree” arms down. (Model a middle or “sometimes” vote.) Explain that each statement will be read twice and then the vote will happen. Ask if there are any questions. Read the first prompt twice, the second time, ask participants to vote from their seat. Once the group has voted, ask participants to keep their hands still and to scan the room to see other responses; then ask everyone to put their hands down. When desired, after any statement, the facilitator can lead a dialogue with the group to reflect on the full group response; reflect in pairs on individual responses; or reflect from different ends of the response continuum on the ideas being explored (an “agree” and a “disagree”).