Paper Aeroplanes Review

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Review workshop content and test recall through participant-generated questions exchanged across the room.

Use it when: Use mid-session or right after a meal break to check comprehension and reintroduce physical movement.

Skip it when: Skip in cramped rooms with fragile equipment, or when participants require a quiet, low-stimulus environment.

Group arrangement: Individual writing, two facing lines for throwing, followed by pairs or whole-room response turns

Timing: 15 minutes suggested by UWT to cover writing, folding, active exchange, and answering for up to 24 participants

Materials and tools

• 1 to 2 sheets of blank A4 or standard paper per participant
• 1 pen or marker per participant
• 1 collection box or tray for participants who choose not to throw

Before participants arrive

1. Clear an open central floor space between two opposing walls or rows.
2. Place a paper collection box on a side table for non-throwing participants.
3. Check that the floor is dry and clear of tripping hazards.

Say this to open

Take one sheet of paper and write a clear question about what we covered so far right in the center. Once you finish, fold your sheet into a paper airplane. If you do not want to fold an airplane, crumple it loosely into a paper ball.

How to run it

1. Write review questions 3 minutes

   Distribute paper and pens. Say the opening script. Each participant writes one review question based on session topics in the center of their sheet. Example: 'What is the first step in our intake checklist?' Give a 30-second warning before folding begins.

2. Fold and form lines 2 minutes

   Participants fold their sheet into a paper plane or crumple it into a loose ball. Anyone who prefers not to throw places their paper into the collection box on the side table. Divide the remaining participants into two lines facing each other across the cleared floor. If numbers are odd, line counts can differ by one.

3. Launch and exchange 2 minutes

   The facilitator scatters any papers from the side collection box across the central exchange area. On signal, participants throw their planes or paper balls across the room toward the opposite line. Anyone receiving a landed plane throws it back. Continue the exchange for 60 to 90 seconds until thoroughly mixed, then call stop.

4. Retrieve, answer, and debrief 8 minutes

   Everyone picks up one paper nearest to them and unfolds it. For groups up to 10, each person reads their question and answers aloud. For groups over 10, participants pair up to answer each other's questions. If an odd number remains, form one trio. Reserve the final 2 minutes to ask the room: 'Which retrieved question highlighted a topic we should revisit together?' Take 2 or 3 brief replies.

Debrief questions

• Which retrieved question highlighted a topic we should revisit together?
• What core concept was easiest to write or answer?

Finished output: A series of participant-generated review questions answered aloud, highlighting topics that need clarification.

Remote

This activity requires physical paper throwing in a shared room and cannot run online as designed. For a related remote alternative with a different mechanic, use a shared digital board: each participant posts an anonymous review question card, the facilitator assigns cards to different participants, and individuals read and answer on camera.

Hybrid

Physical paper throwing cannot bridge remote and in-person spaces. If part of the group is remote, run the related digital board alternative for everyone: all participants submit questions to the shared board, the facilitator redistributes them, and participants take turns answering in the room or on mic.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may crumple paper into a ball rather than folding an airplane.
• Participants who prefer not to throw can place their folded paper into a collection box on a side table; the facilitator adds these into the exchange zone.
• Anyone may pass on answering their retrieved paper by asking a peer to help, passing to a volunteer, or trading with a spare paper from the floor.

If the session gets stuck

A participant retrieves the question they wrote originally.

Instruct them to swap papers immediately with a neighbor or take another paper from the floor.

An unreadable or inaccurate question is retrieved.

Invite the reader to restate the general topic as best they can, or allow them to draw an extra paper from the floor.

Terms used here

• A4 paper: Standard office printer paper measuring 210 by 297 millimeters, equivalent to US Letter paper.