Get to Know You Activities High School
SEE THE END OF THIS Mail FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON DOING THESE ICEBREAKERS REMOTELY.
Nosotros're coming upward fast on the commencement of some other school year. That means a new batch of students to become to know, students who need to exist made comfortable in your classroom, and who need to get to know each other. It'southward essential to start building relationships with your students right from the kickoff.
And how to achieve this? Icebreakers.
The Trouble with Most Icebreakers
I planned to create a dainty big post with dozens of icebreaker ideas you could choose from. I would scour the Internet for the very all-time activities and games and shop links to them here for your reference. The trouble is that then many of the ones I've found are problematic for one of these reasons:
- They require students to take massive social risks with people they barely know. Then many of the icebreakers I institute asked students to publicly share some kind of personal information. For the icebreaker to actually work, students would need to share something interesting and dissimilar nigh themselves, something that makes them stand out. But to most kids—especially once they get into the middle and high school range—beingness different is the worst thing you can be. Then what many students ultimately practise is share something condom and boring, something similar "I like soccer," just so the game moves on to the next person. The result? No one really gets to know anyone.
- They don't actually facilitate familiarity. Also many icebreakers consist of questions like this: "If you could be an animal, what animal would you be?" Unless you have a ridiculously deep and creative kid who is going to say something like, "I would be a mongoose, because a mongoose can kill venomous snakes, and I have a way of standing upwardly to bullies even though I'g pocket-sized," you lot're generally going to go a lot of cat-cat-dog-domestic dog-fish, et cetera. Unless of course you lot force inventiveness on them by insisting that no animals can be repeated, thereby making the poor kids attempt to come upwardly with some stinking animal that somehow represents the to the lowest degree embarrassing aspect of their personality and isn't a repeat of anyone else's creature. I'm annoyed just writing most information technology, and I repeat: No one actually gets to know anyone.
- They are cheesy. The icebreaker I take been subjected to most oft is the "Name Game," where you lot have to add a word to your proper name that starts with the same letter of the alphabet as your name AND tells something about y'all. Guh. Because my name starts with a J, I have ever hated this game, because jazzy doesn't take annihilation to do with me. Neither doesjelly or jalopy or joyful. Once you've chosen your word, people have to go around the circle repeating the newly enhanced names of the classmates who came before them in line. This ways having to listen toJammin' Jenn over and over, my eyes rolling, my grimace deepening. One year I just rebelled and picked a different letter; I retrieve I called myself something like Indoor Jenn, due to my aversion to the outdoors. That felt better.
So I have scrapped my plan to curate good icebreakers from the Internet. Instead, I'g going to share my three favorites with you.
Iii Icebreakers that Don't Suck
In my ain classrooms, with eye school, high schoolhouse, and college students, I have played all three of these games with corking success. What I like most all of them is that they get students talking, merely require very fiddling social risk. Each activity supplies students with real topics to talk almost, topics that actually help students get to know each other, without forcing anyone to reveal anything too personal.
Each of these will likely audio familiar to you, although the names may not be exactly what you've known them as. I should add that I take no credit for inventing these games. I have no idea where I picked them upwards, merely they are not original to me.
Blobs and Lines
In this icebreaker, students are prompted to either line up in some particular order (by altogether, for instance) or gather in "blobs" based on something they have in common (similar shoes, for case). What's not bad about this game is that it helps students quickly discover things they have in common. It'south also ridiculously piece of cake: Students don't have to come up up with annihilation clever, and they can respond to every question without thinking besides hard virtually information technology. This game keeps students moving and talking, and it builds a sense of belonging and community in your classroom.
Here are some sample prompts you can use for this game:
- Line upward in alphabetical order by your start names.
- Line up in alphabetical order by your final names.
- Gather with people who have the same favorite video game equally you.
- Line upwards in society of your birthdays, from January ane through December 31.
- Line up in society of how many languages you lot speak.
- Gather into three blobs: Those who have LOTS of chores at home, those who have A FEW chores at domicile, and those who take NO chores at home.
- Assemble with people who have the same favorite season as you.
Concentric Circles
This icebreaker has students suit themselves in an inside circumvolve and an outside circumvolve, the inside facing out, forming pairs. Pairs hash out their answers to a getting-to-know-you question, then rotate for the next question, forming a new partnership. This game gives students the chance to take lots of i-on-one conversations with many of their classmates and helps them quickly feel more at home in your class.
The possibilities for questions in this kind of configuration are endless; be certain to use more open-concluded questions that tin get students talking, rather than those that just inquire for a yes or no answer. Hither are some sample questions:
- Do yous play whatever sports? If so, which ones?
- Do you consider yourself shy or approachable? Why?
- What was the last movie yous saw? Did yous like it?
- Draw your perfect dinner.
- What would you do with a million dollars?
- What is one matter you're practiced at?
This or That
This icebreaker has students informally debate on light topics such equally "Which animal makes a amend pet…dog or cat?" Students have to choose a position, then physically move to the side of the room that most closely represents their opinion—one side means dogs, the other side means cats—and so talk nigh why they chose that spot. This game has always been a HUGE hit with any group I've always taught: It builds student conviction with talking in front of their peers, it helps students speedily find kindred spirits, and it's besides just a lot of fun.
Sample questions for This or That:
- Would you rather live in the state or the city?
- Should all students be required to larn a 2d language?
- Which is worse: bad breath or body odor?
- Would y'all rather be indoors or outdoors?
- Which is improve: Playing sports or watching sports?
- Would you rather travel every single day or never go out dwelling house?
Want These Games Ready-Fabricated?
I have created beautiful, animated PowerPoint versions of each of these games, plus a bundle of all three. The files work on Windows and Os X platforms, and they are all editable, then y'all tin add together or change questions someday you like.
What Nigh Remote Learning?
These instructions outline how to play these games using PowerPoint or Google Slides for the questions and Zoom for videoconferencing. If you are using different software yous can probably nevertheless adapt the process to your ain platforms.
IF YOU ARE Instruction IN PERSON, students will likely take to exist socially distanced and can't play these games as they would pre-COVID. My recommendation is that yous create an Avatar Classroom on a Google Slide, then take students "move" around with their Avatars, simply still talk from their desks. You could as well just follow the remote instructions above and have everyone plugged into devices so they could talk in breakout rooms, etc. It may seem to defeat the purpose of being in school together, but students tin can still look across the room at each other while participating — I think it would exist pretty fun.
Don't leave empty-handed!
Join my mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration — in quick, seize with teeth-sized packages — all geared toward making your teaching more constructive and fun. To cheers, I'll send you a free copy of my new due east-booklet, 20 Means to Cutting Your Grading Time in Half. I look frontward to getting to know yous better!
Source: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/classroom-icebreakers/
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