My assistant, Amanda Williams, and I were thinking of a game that will lead into a discussion about peer pressure. Our discussion evolved into a game that is like an auction game:
Preparation: we printed out pictures of 4 items that are bad of the students, and 3 that are good for them. The former were alcohol, drugs, 50 Cent album and a Hummer. The latter were cell phones, education and a Bible.
First, we tried it with our junior high students. We gave each of them $1,000 worth of play money from the Monopoly game. Then, they were all blindfolded with bandannas. We started the auction by describing the items’ advantages. Actually, we mentioned “good stuff” about the bad items, and some “wrong misconceptions” about the good items. Then, we started the bidding with a certain amount, and the students raised their hands if they are offering the amount. When we’ve got to the highest amount that nobody else would offer, we award the item to the winning bidder.
When the auction is done, they all removed their bandannas and were surprised with the items that they’ve bought. The discussion starts as peer pressure compared to being blind and just hearing the deceiving promises of some things that are being pushed to do, like drugs (your problems will go away) and alcohol (you will have a self-confidence).
When we tried the same game with our senior high, we only gave each of them $500 and they were not blindfolded. They purpose is for them to gang up (build partnerships) and share money to buy items. It shows how young people have the same interests, and also you can see how peer pressure works during the game when some students persuade the others to combine their money to buy certain items. We only award all the items once the auction is over. You can see surprises in their faces.
Just remember to collect the pictures back when the session is over, so parents won’t think that you are promoting drugs and alcohol 🙂