Picture This! Question Challenge

Before you begin 

• Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples. 
• Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely. 
• Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help. 

Running this activity

1. Begin by explaining that the way we ask questions can completely change how people understand or respond.
2. Give a brief example of closed, open and leading questions.
   
   • Closed: Do you like Scouts? 
   • Open: What do you enjoy most about Scouts?
   • Leading: You enjoy Scouts because of the fun activities, don’t you?
3. Next, give each person a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Ask everyone to draw a picture of their choice. It could be an animal, an object, or a scene. Simple drawings will make the activity easier, while more detailed ones will add an extra challenge for their group.
4. Once everyone has finished, ask them to turn their paper upside down so no one else can see their drawing.
5. Explain that in this activity, one person will become the Leader, and everyone else will try to recreate their picture. However, each round will have a different rule about how they can communicate - that’s where the challenge comes in! 

Round 1 - Free description

1. Ask for one volunteer to be the Leader.
2. The Leader describes their drawing freely, with no restrictions.
3. The group must draw based entirely on the Leader’s description.
4. The group cannot ask any questions.
5. Once the group finishes their drawings, reveal and compare them with the Leader’s original.

Round 2 - Leading questions

1. Ask for a new volunteer to be the Leader.
2. This time, the Leader can only answer leading questions from the group.
3. The group must ask questions that suggest the answer, for example, “The animal has wings, doesn’t it?” or “It’s something you’d find in the kitchen, right?”
4. The Leader can only reply ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
5. Once the group finishes their drawings, reveal and compare them with the Leader’s original.

Round 3 - Open questions

1. Choose a new Leader for this round.
2. The group can ask open questions, questions that encourage longer, more detailed answers.
3. For example: “Can you describe what’s around the main object?” or “What shapes or colours did you use?”
4. The Leader answers freely, but only in response to open questions.
5. Once the group finishes their drawings, reveal and compare them with the Leader’s original.

Round 4 - Closed questions 

1. Select another Leader for the final round.
2. The group can now only ask closed questions, that can be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
3. For example: “Is it an animal?” “Does it have four legs?” “Is it outside?”
4. Once the group finishes their drawings, reveal and compare them with the Leader’s original.

Bring it together

1. Gather everyone back together and talk about what happened across the different rounds.
2. Ask:
   • Which round helped you understand the drawing best?
   • When was it hardest to work out what the picture looked like?
   • What type of questions helped you learn more, and why?
3. Explain that in teaching, leading, or helping others, the types of questions we ask can make a big difference.
4. A good leader or teacher knows how to balance all three — asking open questions to understand others, closed questions to check understanding, and avoiding leading ones that limit someone’s voice.
5. Encourage everyone to think about how they could use this skill next time they’re leading an activity, explaining something new, or helping a younger section learn.