This document provides guidance for a youth group session on facilitating small groups. The objectives are to evaluate the process of small group facilitation and have participants plan a one-hour group meeting. The session includes activities where participants discuss facilitation styles, plan a mock meeting based on different scenarios, and personally reflect on facilitating groups. Leaders are encouraged to prepare materials in advance and give guidance to help participants of varying experience levels.

1. YOUTH GROUPS:GROUP
DEVELOPMENT FACILITATION
SESSION TWO
LESSON OBJECTIVE
 To evaluate the process of small group facilitation.
 Experience planning an hour group meeting.
SUPPLIES NEEDED
 Enough Group Cubes for one per small group
  Scenarios of group situations
 Participant packets
 Copies of Group Facilitation Guide and Group Planning Form
BEFORE THE MEETING
You will need to prepare enough Group Cubes for each small
group. To do this, you’ll simply need to copy it, cut along the dark
 lines, fold along the lighter lines and tape the edges together.
Also, cut the Group Scenarios into slips to give to each small
group in the Learning Activity A, as well as make a copy of the
Group Facilitation Guide for each small group.
NOTES TO THE LEADER
In this session on group facilitation, participants will give their
input on what they think is helpful to a positive group experience,
as well as plan their own small group meetings.
Also, be sure to inform the participants that there is more
informational resources in their participation packets that may be
helpful in planning and evaluating meetings they lead.
MEETING WARM-UP
GROUP CUBE
10 min. Instruct participants to move into their small groups. Give each
small group a Group Cube. Instruct them to take turns tossing the
cube in the air and answering the question on the cube that lands
on top.
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2. LEARNING ACTIVITIES
A. STYLES OF FACILITATION
10 min. Refer to the “Understanding styles of facilitators” resource (II-B) in
their participant packets. Briefly go over the four different
leadership styles and ask them for personal examples of each.
B. SMALL GROUP SCENARIOS
20 min. Say to the group,
“A large part of a successful group meeting is the
preparation and thoughtfulness that goes into the meeting
beforehand. To be best prepared, it’s important to think
about the big picture, like the goal or purpose of the
meeting, expectations what you hope the group will gain,
etc. But you also have to pay attention to the details, like
space, supplies, meeting agenda, snacks, etc. In your small
groups, we’re going to practice planning meetings.”
Collect the cubes and distribute a different group scenario, as well
as a “Group Facilitation Guide” (II-F) and the “Meeting Outline” (II-
E) for each group. Tell them they have 20 minutes to design a
one-hour group session based on the guidelines from the
scenarios. Encourage them to use the “Group Facilitation Guide”
(II-F) and the “Meeting Outline” (II-E)
After 20 minutes, have them describe their mock session to the
large group.
NOTE: Depending upon the experience participants have planning
and leading groups, they may need more time and/or guidance
with this activity.
If a small group is particularly skilled in the group facilitation area,
you can add the following challenges to their scenarios:
 You have a group member who really struggles with
reading.
 You have a group member who has a broken leg.
 Only four people show up.
 The participants really don’t seem to like the other
facilitator.
C. THE _________ MODEL OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
15 min. (REPLACE TUCKMAN MODEL HERE)
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3. PERSONAL REFLECTION
Referring the group members to their supplemental Personal
5 min. Reflection worksheet about Group Facilitation (II-H), ask the
participants to spend five minutes reflecting on their experiences
by answering the questions. These will not be shared with other
group members.
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