What’s on your Plate?

Purpose

• The purpose of this activity is for participants to learn more personal information about their group members.
• This exercise asks participants to share their responsibilities, interests, etc. with which they are currently involved.

Facilitation Instructions

• Write on the plate all of the activities, responsibilities, interests, etc. with you they are currently involved. You may write them randomly or divide the plate into wedges to reflect the various items.
• Ask the participants to designate certain things about the items written on the plate.
• Check an item that energizes you
• Put a happy face next to an item you really enjoy
• Put a clock beside an item that takes up a lot of your time
• Star an item that you wish you could spend more time doing
• Put an X beside an item you would prefer to do without
• Each person can share “what’s on your plate” with the small group. Allow time for groups to interact and discuss the symbols they put besides certain items.
• If time permits, allow group members to tell the large group interesting things they learned about each other as a small group. For example, a group may find that they all put a star beside of family and realized that they had in common a desire to spend more time with their families.

Products Generated

• A visual representation of the activities and responsibilities that matter most to participants

Time/Commitment Needed

• Icebreaker / Warm up activity

Reference

Student Connection Activities & Icebreakers

Facilitation Notes

• The line between activities/obligations/responsibilities “on your plate” and “who you are as a person” can be a little blurry. Be sure to be clear about parameters and goals of the activity.
• Buffet/dinner party: choose as many plates as you want for different categories of your life (e.g. UW, personal life, work)
• It is also possible to share in a larger group (6-8), but may be worth asking participants to pick a few highlights, rather than describing the whole plate
• To facilitate in person, bring paper plates and writing implementations (preferably with colors)