Icebreakers
Some new, and not so new, activities you can use to help build a relationship-centered environment in your classroom. Try them out!
Zoom
A group tries to create a unified story from a set of sequential pictures. The pictures are randomly ordered and handed out. Each student has a picture but cannot show it to others. Instead, the student must explain the picture and, through communication, the group must assemble the story. This icebreaker takes patience and an effort to understand another's perspective.
Two Truths & a Lie
People write down two truths about themselves and a lie. They then introduce the three "facts" to the rest of the group; the group attempts to guess which one is not true. This icebreaker provides opportunities to share trivia about themselves in a game-like fashion.
Categories
Categories is a fun, interactive get-to-know-you activity. After you give a category that is interest or experience based, ask the class to organise themselves into smaller, like groups. For example, have them self-divide into favorite type of music, favorite color, favorite book, favorite food, most recent travels, number of siblings, etc. Students can learn a bit more about their classmates, and you can quickly glimpse how they self-identify.
Group Juggle
In this icebreaker, students pass a beanbag or ball to each other in a sequence, using each person's name. The icebreaker provides a fun way to learn/solidify names in a playful, kinesthetic manner. It can be also extended to "warp speed" for an added challenge.
Human Scavenger Hunt
In the human scavenger hunt, students have to find a person in the class who matches each description. They can use each person only once. This ice breaker is good for mingling and learning about student interests, history, etc. (The teacher can participate too.)
SAMPLE:
Find a person in the class who…
1. Was born in February
2. Is an only child
3. Loves country music
4. Walks to school
5. Speaks more than one language
6. Likes to go camping
7. Has a tattoo
8. Plays an instrument
9. Was born outside of the state
10. Plays on a sports team
11. Has met someone famous
12. Is wearing the same color that you have on today
13. Likes to sing
14. Has had braces
15. Has been to more than 2 continents
16. Has more than 700 Facebook friends
17. Has a sibling at this school
18. Has a cat
19. Is the oldest child
20. Went somewhere outside of the state during summer break
21. Likes to cook
22. Had a job over the summer
23. Has seen all the Twilight movies
24. Has a Twitter account and tweets regularly
25. Has green eyes
SAMPLE:
Find a person in the class who…
1. Was born in February
2. Is an only child
3. Loves country music
4. Walks to school
5. Speaks more than one language
6. Likes to go camping
7. Has a tattoo
8. Plays an instrument
9. Was born outside of the state
10. Plays on a sports team
11. Has met someone famous
12. Is wearing the same color that you have on today
13. Likes to sing
14. Has had braces
15. Has been to more than 2 continents
16. Has more than 700 Facebook friends
17. Has a sibling at this school
18. Has a cat
19. Is the oldest child
20. Went somewhere outside of the state during summer break
21. Likes to cook
22. Had a job over the summer
23. Has seen all the Twilight movies
24. Has a Twitter account and tweets regularly
25. Has green eyes
| i_have_a_friend_who.doc |
Three Things
This icebreaker is a great way to start of a series of classes or to fill time before the bell. Have students write four lines about themselves on a 3 X 5 card. The lines should be as follows:
1) something that is true about you and also true about most--if not everyone--in the class,
2) something that is true about you and true about half the people in the class,
3) something that is true about you and only you.
4) your name
Throw all the cards, folded, into a box and have the class stand up. Have a student choose a card and read the lines one at a time; students must sit down as soon as the line does not apply to them. Ideally, by the time the student reads line 3, there should only be one student standing. Allow the others in the class to ask this student questions. This icebreaker can help establish commonalities between students, as well as highlight ways that they are unique.
1) something that is true about you and also true about most--if not everyone--in the class,
2) something that is true about you and true about half the people in the class,
3) something that is true about you and only you.
4) your name
Throw all the cards, folded, into a box and have the class stand up. Have a student choose a card and read the lines one at a time; students must sit down as soon as the line does not apply to them. Ideally, by the time the student reads line 3, there should only be one student standing. Allow the others in the class to ask this student questions. This icebreaker can help establish commonalities between students, as well as highlight ways that they are unique.
TP Surprise
For the more adventurous teacher the TP Surprise is a fun start to class. The teacher welcomes students at the door while holding a roll of toilet paper. They instruct students to take as many sheets as they need refusing to explain the purpose. Once class begins, students are instructed to write one interesting thing about themselves on each sheet. When students are finished, they introduce themselves by reading their TP. Variation: Students write one thing they hope or expect to learn in the course this year on each sheet.
Take A Stand
The purpose of this question is for students to get a feel about their peers' positions on various matters. Unless you make the survey aspect of the exercise clear, students may think it is ridiculous despite their enjoyment of the physical activity.
The teacher puts one long line of tape down the center of the room, pushing desks out of the way so that students can stand on either side of the tape. The teacher reads statement with "either-or" answers such as, "I prefer night or day," "Democrats or Republicans," "lizards or snakes." Statements can range from silly trivia to serious content.
After hearing each statement, students agreeing with the first response move to one side of the classroom and those agreeing with the second, to the other. Undecided or middle-of-the-roaders, straddle the line.
The teacher puts one long line of tape down the center of the room, pushing desks out of the way so that students can stand on either side of the tape. The teacher reads statement with "either-or" answers such as, "I prefer night or day," "Democrats or Republicans," "lizards or snakes." Statements can range from silly trivia to serious content.
After hearing each statement, students agreeing with the first response move to one side of the classroom and those agreeing with the second, to the other. Undecided or middle-of-the-roaders, straddle the line.
Interviews
Have students form pairs and then have each partner interview the other for two minutes. Give students a few topics to begin with by either announcing or posting a list on the board. Then, bring the pairs back together and have each student introduce their partner to the rest of the students by giving them information they learned in the interviews.
(Note: Keep it short and interesting. The interview should provide just some glimpses into the students. The majority of the time should be spent introducing the students, not in the interview stage.)
(Note: Keep it short and interesting. The interview should provide just some glimpses into the students. The majority of the time should be spent introducing the students, not in the interview stage.)
