Activities Spelled Out: Role-Plays Part 1
A core (and arguably the most enjoyable) activity we facilitate is our role-plays. Once we’ve explored foundational principles of peer mediation (active listening, conflict styles, peer mediation process roadmap, etc.), we ask students to practice a mediation and infuse other skills they’ve picked up through role-plays.
Role-playing a mediation can be challenging, especially for students who are new to acting, so we provide a fully scripted mediation role-play first. The script gives students a chance to read through the entire mediation process, from agreeing to mediate to signing an agreement among both parties.
Objective:
Students identify each part of the peer mediation roadmap within the scripted role-play; Students familiarize themselves with the full peer mediation process.
Supplies Needed:
4 copies of a full scripted peer mediation role-play (we have “Crush Stealer” available for use)
Activity Directions:
Explain that students will be completing a full mediation in this activity, but emphasize that they will only need to read off the script. Depending on comfort level, encourage students to ad lib, use strong intonation to engage other participants.
Ask for four volunteers, two to play co-mediators and the other two to play the parties in conflict. Pass out the scripts to each volunteer and ask them to read through their parts.
Ask volunteer mediators to seat parties and themselves in what they believe would be best for the mediation (think about power dynamics, possible facial expressions from parties, etc.). The remaining students will sit around the volunteers to observe.
Pause at each step of the peer mediation roadmap and ask students to identify the step and specific language in the script to indicate as such.
After finishing the role-play, celebrate the students who read for the role-play mediation! Then take some time to debrief how the experience was for students who read and for those who observed. At this point, students are likely engaged and excited to act out more scenarios. Stay tuned for our next blog post that’ll guide you through fact-pattern role-plays!
