Brownsea Island discs
You’ll need
- Big pieces of card
- Coloured pens or pencils
- Paper plates
Before you begin
- This activity works best if you have a way to play music, for example, a device with an internet connection.
- Try and gather some examples of single or album artwork – you could bring some physical CDs or show screenshots of Spotify or iTunes. A variety is best – how about including some illustrated examples as well as some photographs?
Choose your track
- Everyone should get into small groups.
- Everyone should think of a song or album they really enjoy listening to.
- Everyone should take a paper plate and write their name on the back.
- Everyone should write the song or album they’ve chosen on the front of the paper plate. They should also write what they like about the song or album.
Create your artwork
- The person leading the game should show everyone the examples of the single or album artwork.
- Everyone should fold a big piece of card in half to make a sleeve for their song or album.
- Everyone should decorate their sleeve, so it has artwork. They shouldn’t try to copy the ‘real’ artwork – they should focus on using colours, shapes, and images that remind them of the song, album, or artist. They should chat with their group to test their ideas – do people see what they mean?
Swap discs
- One person in each group should collect up all of the paper plate discs and sleeves into two separate piles. They should swap the piles with someone in another group.
- Each group should work together to try to match the discs with the sleeves.
- Once they’ve finished, everyone should share their answers. The group who created the sleeves should reveal the correct answers.
- Any musicians should compare the songs and albums people chose to the music they play or perform.
Reflection
This activity was all about building friendships. Sharing music can be a great way to bring people together. Did anyone discover any new music they liked through this activity? Sometimes people’s tastes are different, and that’s OK. Did people ever like different things? Was it easy to understand why other people liked the music they chose?
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Music and films
Make sure music and films are age appropriate for the youngest person present.
- Online safety
Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.
Some people may be able to write more clues about their song or album on their paper plate disc, for example, what makes it unique or whether it has a fast or slow tempo. Others may want to focus on how the music makes them feel, or what the lyrics remind them of.
It’s up to you whether groups write the artist or just the song or album name.
Make it accessible
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
If you create digital album artwork using design software, it could count towards the Digital Maker Staged Activity Badge.
Young people could take it in turns to submit some music each week. Everyone could vote on the best to have a ‘song of the week’, or put them together to make a playlist.