Tent by Phone: Pitch It with Back-to-Back Instructions

An instructor who knows the tent coaches two builders while sitting back-to-back with them; the builders can only do what they hear, and an observer logs any confusing instructions. It builds the precise communication you need on a real campout with wind, time pressure, or poor light.

How to play

1. Groups of four: an instructor with the tent instructions, two builders, and an observer (3 min).
2. Pitching: the instructor sits facing away and guides by voice only. Builders can't ask with gestures or look at the instructions. The observer notes every instruction that causes confusion (8 min).
3. Review by the observer and teacher: fly tension, door facing away from the wind, poles fully seated, and weight on the corners (4 min).
4. Take it down and run a second round with new roles; the new instructor must reuse the wording that worked the first time (7 min).
5. Share-out: the three words or phrases that helped most (3 min).

Rules

• No stakes in the schoolyard: weigh down the corners with water jugs.
• Assemble and bend poles slowly, away from other people's faces.
• Builders can only talk to confirm or ask, not to look at the instructions.
• Each group bags every piece before switching roles.

Variations

Adaptations

• Deaf or hard of hearing: the instructor writes one instruction at a time on a whiteboard.
• Limited mobility: serves as instructor or observer.
• Hesitant students: start as a supported builder before instructing.

Learning goals

• Give precise, ordered instructions without visual support.
• Pitch a dome tent correctly and safely.
• Analyze the quality of the group's communication.

Equipment for a class of 25

• dome tents: 7
• water jugs: 14

Teacher tip

Borrow tents from families, the parent association, or a local Scout troop; freestanding dome tents are all you need. The instructor's typical mistake is naming parts by color instead of by what they do.

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