This may include but is not limited to having designated duties for different team members – timekeeper, summary person, questioner, reader, etc. With a young team, try to come up with different “roles” or jobs for each to have responsibility during the Instant Challenge. Please don’t assign these roles, but to describe them and discuss with the group who they think would be good at this role or like to try it? If more than one person, you can have TWO in a category – can’t hurt. If nobody volunteers, have them draw “roles” from slips of paper for a few times and see if they find an area they are comfortable. Or if they’ve chosen roles and it doesn’t seem to mesh, that’s the time to insist everyone try a new role.

Possible Roles and Responsibilities:

1. The Rule Person – This person reads the Instant Challenge and throughout the working time is the person who refers back to the written challenge to be sure they are solving as directed and following rules. Many an Instant Challenges has run aground when a team has an amusing presentation, but talks in a nonverbal, or touches the tape that can’t be touched, or changes the item that “can’t be changed.” The rule person keeps the focus on what is allowed.
2. The Points Person – This person makes sure the team is getting the most points possible. Example: If the challenge said 10 points for a skit and 50 points for each creative costume, the rule person would remind the team that costumes were important, point-wise. Especially if they got stuck writing a skit and forgot to dress up! –Yes, rule person and points person might seem redundant, but you WANT two kids checking the rules and paper and points throughout, so there are two slightly different roles that overlap.
3. The Timekeeper – This role can take two forms. One – The designated Timekeeper’s role is to continually ask the appraiser how much time is left in the challenge. This is generally used with younger teams where watches are harder to use. Two – This person must have a watch and must get used to checking it and telling the team when they are half-way through, or have a minute left, whatever is appropriate. You can always have two Timekeepers, each one tracking the time both ways.  REMEMBER: If you are using your own watch/device it will ALWAYS be the Appraisers timer that is the official time. Make sure there are no bells, ringers, alarms etc. armed on the device the team is using. This needs to be a verbal countdown by the team member.
   
4. The Laughmeters – Often more than one person volunteers for this, but this is a job to be sure that the skit or whatever is funny (assuming it is supposed to be funny) and suggests quirky actions, character voices, funny lines and whatever else tickles their fancy. While we tell Appraisers that “kid humor” is different than “adult humor” it’s best to remind team members that if your grandma wouldn’t find it funny…. most likely the Appraisers won’t either.
5. The Brainstorm Facilitator – This is the moderator of the group, who makes sure that everybody is participating and encourages the less-outgoing kids to speak up, and asks the babbling kids to “hold that thought” while another idea is heard. This person makes sure that there is some order to the teamwork and participation; if several people want to talk, this person identifies people in turn to speak, so that everyone gets a turn. This team member is a future diplomat!
6. The “What If?” Person – If you don’t use up all your kids with jobs above doubling up, add a “what if?” person. This person listens to the first two ideas and then says “what if…” and adds on or changes one of the ideas. Even if they don’t do this in a meet, this is great practice for thinking outside the box. There can be more than one “what if?” person. Example: Someone says the skit can be animals in a zoo. The “what if?” person says, “or what if it can be animals on a farm?” or “what if?” person says “what if it was an ANT farm?” and so on…..

Hearing:

Another factor to keep in mind is that in Instant Challenge the Appraisers must be able to hear a team’s brainstorming in order to accurately score them on team work. Remind your team not to whisper when they are brainstorming. This is not the time to pretend you’re in the library. Practice Idea: Have one of the team members try sitting away from the team while they brainstorm. Afterwards, discuss as a team if the team member sitting out could hear everything.

Time:

It’s hard for even adults to know how long 2 minutes is or how much they might get done in that length of time. Practice Idea: Using a stopwatch have the team sit in a circle, ask them to raise their hand when they think two minutes is up. Don’t call out time until everyone has raised their hand. Is it longer than you think or shorter? What about 5 minutes? Use a practice Instant Challenge and talk through what can the team can do while the clock is running.

The Scene: Your team has been hired by a crazy movie producer to create three different story lines for an up coming movie. The producer feels the prop you’ve been given is his lucky charm and must be a part of each story. Somehow your team must find a way to add this prop into each story in a different way. Hopefully, the crazy movie producer will love one of your story lines and hire you to write his next box office hit!

Time: You will have 5 minutes to use your ImagiNation to create the three different stories and 4 minutes to present the three stories to the Appraisers.

Materials:

• one object (choice of the team manager)
• paper and pencil for story planning

Scoring: (100 points possible)

1. Up to 10 points for the creativity of each story  (30 points maximum)
2. Up to 10 points for creative use of the prop in each story  (30 points maximum)
3. Up to 20 points for the creativity of your performance
4. Up to 20 points for how well your team works together

Debriefing the Challenge: (for the team manger to use with the teams after their performance)

Time:

• Did your team use the time wisely?
• Did you finish everything you wanted to present?
• What could have been a better use of your time?

The Story:

• Did each of your 3 stories have a beginning, middle and an end?
• How creative were your stories?
• How could they have been more creative?

Acting:

• How creative was your acting?
• Did your story have characters?
• How did you portray your characters?
• If the answer is “no” why not?

The Prop:

• Was your prop used creatively?
• Did you use it three different ways?
• How could you have used it differently?

Teamwork:

• Did your team work well together?
• Was every team members ideas listened to?
• Did every team member participate in the challenge?

The Points:

• Did your read over the scoring section of the challenge?
• Where were the most point available?
• Where could you have picked up more points?

After the team has had an opportunity to debrief the challenge have them do it again. This time have them use the same stories/prop and the ideas they came up with during the debrief. Do the challenge again using a new prop and all new stories. Debrief again after each time the team does the challenge.

Time: You will have 5 minutes to use your imagination to create the STORY, and 2 minutes to give your PRESENTATION to the Appraisers.

The Scene: Your team members are famous garbologists. A garbologist is someone who studies people and their culture by looking at what those people have thrown away. The objects you have been given represent what has been found as buried garbage. Prepare a presentation showing who these people were, where they lived, and what they were like. Give your presentation to the Appraisers.

Materials:

• plastic container and lid
• paper sack
• twist tie
• gum wrapper
• aluminum foil
• envelope
• paper tube

Scoring: You will receive
A. Up to 25 points for the creative description of the people and culture
B. Up to 25 points for how you incorporate the objects in your description
C. Up to 25 points for the creativity of your performance
D. Up to 25 points for how well your team works together