These activities are designed to make people feel comfortable with each other at the beginning of the semester. Many of them incorporate ways of introducing people to one another and of getting to know things about each other in an open, friendly manner. Usually, the desired pieces of information are easily shared items such as everyone’s hometown, likes and dislikes, position in the family, or favorite ice cream.
For example, have each student pick from a pile of objects or from pictures in a magazine that which best represents himself or herself. Then have each one tell the group why he or she made this particular choice.
Here are the procedures for some classic ice breakers.
NAME TAGS
For this activity you need 4″ x 6″ cards, masking tape, and magic makers or pens. Select three or four volunteers and have the students tell the volunteer the name that they wish to be called in class. After everyone has a name tag (the leaders should also wear one), you should explain that the name tags are a good way to get to know each other and can carry other information beside the name. Any agreed-upon additional information can be added in each corner.
- One place where each student would like to live
- One possession that each is proud of
- One thing that each is good at doing
- One famous living person that each would like to be
- One historical person that each would like to be
- Five things ending in “ing” that each one values
- Five things ending in “able” that describe each one
The class can then be divided into pairs and discuss what information has been written on person’s card. The reflective thinking that will take place during this discussion is of value all by itself.
INTERVIEWING/REPORTING
This is a variation of the name-tag game and another good ice breaker for a first or second meeting.
- Pair off the group and have the pairs interview each other for about five minutes. Try to find out as much about the other person as possible (family, hobbies, likes and dislikes, etc.).
- Now, have each person in the pair introduce the other to the entire group.
It’s a good way to start off small relationships between people when they discover their similarities and differences. You can also adapt this to use as a role-playing situation.
THE M&M GAME
This is a multipurpose activity. It has been used by many first year seminars as an ice breaker in the first meeting of the group, and it can also serve as a group-development exercise when used as a means of facilitating a “what happened this week?” segment of the seminar session.
In the past, the “M&M Game” has been played a number of ways. Here are a couple of examples.
- Pass around a bag of M&Ms and tell everyone to take a handful. No munching
before the game starts. Go around the room, and for each M&M a person has, he or she must tell something about himself or herself. To his/her surprise, the chocolate lover ends up revealing the most. - Pass the bag around and have everyone take a handful. Then designate a topic for each color: green for your personal life, yellow for school, brown for your roommate, et cetera. Go around the room and ask people to choose an M&M and then either say anything about that topic or the best/worst thing related to that topic which happened to them during the week.
It goes without saying that you can come up with your own applications as well. Use your imagination!
AUTOGRAPH SHEET
This is another good activity for early in the life of the group. Here are some examples:
- Develop a sheet with various traits on it and make copies for each student. The objective is to find a person in the group who fits one of the descriptions and get that person’s autograph next to the trait. When developing the list, be creative, but include traits pertinent to the group. Each person may sign each sheet only once.
- After everyone has filled their autograph sheets, you can wrap up by commenting on the results (i.e. who knows how to salsa).
Here are some examples:
Likes the color orange:_____________
Speaks another language:___________
Knows how to salsa:_______________
Has been a camp counselor:__________
COMIC STRIP CHAOS
This is another great game to get students connecting with others in class. It also works well as a creative way to break the class up into smaller groups.
- Print out a comic strip and cut apart each frame. Put them into a large container and mix them up. Be sure there is the same number of frames as students in your class
- Each student picks one comic frame out of the container. After the entire group has chosen one, tell them to search for others with the same comic strip sequence. Once they have found everyone in their group, they must sit down together, arranging themselves so that the sequence of frames is in the correct order.
WHO AM I?
For this activity you will need one sticky note per person. On each note write the name of a different celebrity, political figure, cartoon character, book character, etc. Place a sticky note on the back (or forehead) of each participant. The participants are to figure out who they are, but can only do so by seeking out other participants and asking yes/no questions. Once you have guessed your identity, move the sticky note to your chest and you become a “consultant” who gives clues to those still trying to figure out their identities.
PAIRS GAME
Make up pairs of objects or people that go together (salt and pepper, Bonnie and Clyde). Give each person a card with one of the group or pairs on it. The pairs must find their match.
PAPER BAG SKITS
First split your group into teams consisting of three to six members. Give each team a paper bag filled with assorted objects. These can be almost anything, i.e. a wooden spoon, a screw, a bar of soap, a key chain, etc . . . The object of the game is to present a skit using all of the props provided. The props may be used as they would be in normal life, or they may be imaginatively employed. Give each group a topic to base their skit on. When all the skits have been planned and rehearsed they are performed for the amusement of all.
MOVIE BALL GAME
Everyone stands in a circle and bounces a ball to somebody else, and has a five second limit to do so. But before bouncing the ball they must say a name of a movie. When somebody repeats a movie name, they are out of the game. In another variation, the person who passes the ball says the name of the person to whom they are throwing. The goal is to go around the circle without passing to the same person twice.