Diversity Bingo
This game helps participants to get information on each other in a fun, competitive way.
Cultural Diversity Bingo o Students have to interact with other students in the class so they can sign off on their Bingo Squares o The same person should not sign the Bingo Sheet more than twice o After Bingo has been called, spend some time discussing the significance of the squares. In Diversity Bingo, students move around the room to find other students who fit the categories on the Diversity Bingo Card. Although five spaces in a row is a traditional bingo, challenge your students to cover all of the squares on their card, getting to know as many of the students in the class as possible.
Goal
Help participants ti get to know each other with a fast paced fun activity.
Attachments
Materials
Instructions
Set Up
Create a master 'bingo' card and make enough copies for each participant.The bingo card should contain a grid of squares each containing a statement or question that will apply to some members of your group and is in line with the objectives of your class, workshop, or event.
Directions
Hand out the bingo cards and instruct participants to mingle around introducing themselves and finding other participants who can sign their cards indicating that a statement applies to him/her e.g. if one of the squares says 'speaks more than one language' and you asked me if that applied, I would sign that square on your card. Typically it is best to limit the number of squares any one person can sign on each card, e.g. no one can sign more than 1 or 2 per card, to encourage people to mingle with more people in order to fill their card.
Diversity Bingo Game
Alternatives
Alternative Goals: You can set the goal that everyone should try to fill their card in the time allotted (recommended since this encourages the most discussion and collaboration), or you can choose to offer a prize to the person/people who finish first (encourages more competition and less discussion) or in typical bingo fashion, you can have the person who finishes a row first yell out 'Bingo!' and win a prize (allows for least amount of discussion, but also requires the least amount of time).
Alternative Content: This can be adapted for almost any content so be creative e.g. squares can contain math problems, trivia questions, or personal statements such as 'has lived in 2 or more countries,' 'doesn't have a profile on myspace or facebook,' or 'has stood up for someone else's rights.'
Debrief
- Share something you learned about one of the other participants.
- Which squares were easy to fill? Which were hard?
- Share something you learned about yourself during this activity.
