Beach Ball Review

Program Contact

Autumn Britt, 4-H Program Manager
Phone Number509-588-7817 Email Address • autumn.britt@wsu.edu

Adapted from “Beach Ball Review” created by Susan Busler and Nellie Oehler, Oregon State University Extension by Alison White, Extension Regional Specialist, Washington State University, October 2017.

Description

Participants will review parliamentary procedure in a fun and engaging manner. The activity also allows facilitators to assess what participants know about parliamentary procedure.

Materials

You will need:

• An inflated beach ball with different colored panels
• An indoors or outdoors space free of obstacles and large enough to toss the ball
• The list of questions that correspond to the color panels on the beach ball – how many lists will be determined by the number of colors on the beach ball

Procedure

1. Have participants sit or stand in a circle. Explain that they will toss the ball to one another and when they catch it, where their right thumb lands will determine what question they will answer.
2. Decide which method you will use to determine when the ball will stop either as a group or beforehand as the facilitator. You could choose to:
   • toss the ball for a set amount of time
   • toss the ball until the facilitator calls for them to stop
   • toss the ball to one person at a time and stop whenever someone catches it
3. Instruct participants to allow everyone to have a turn before tossing to someone for their second chance to answer a question.

Possible Questions

Open Ended Questions

• What does every motion require in order to move into discussion?
  (a second)
• What wording do you begin each motion with?
  (I move…)
• If you are changing the main motion, you are doing what?
  (amending it)
• Name one of the ways to vote on a motion.
  (hand vote, ballot, secret ballot, rising)
• After a motion is seconded, what does the presiding chair call for next?
  (discussion)
• What is the person who runs the meeting called?
  (president or chair)

Yes/No Questions

• Can you ask for a vote at any time?
  (yes)
• Can you speak without being recognized by the chair?
  (no)
• Can you begin another motion if the previous one has not been tabled or voted on?
  (no)

True/False

• Only elected officials can participate in meeting discussion.
  (false)
• An elected officer has a greater voice in the club than a regular member.
  (false)
• In some cases, a majority rules vote is best and in others consensus is more appropriate.
  (true)
• Once a motion is made, the option to pass or deny the motion cannot be postponed to another meeting or time.
  (false)
• The secretary takes the attendance in a meeting.
  (true)
• The member who seconds a motion does not have to agree with the motion and may, in fact, vote against it.
  (true)
• The presiding chair only votes when a vote is tied.
  (true)

Variations

• If you don’t have a multi-colored beach ball, you can number the panels and create lists based on the numbers.
• Instead of a beach ball, questions can be sorted into numbered lists and chosen by dice rolls.
• Instead of using lists corresponding to colors or numbers, questions can be chosen at random and asked of whomever has the ball when the facilitator calls for the tossing to stop.