Icebreakers! To some, they’re a necessary evil. To others, they are the best thing ever. I love facilitating them in my classes, but I hate having them forced upon me. Hello, first staff meeting of the year!
I don’t like putting myself in a socially vulnerable position in a place where I don’t know people and therefore don’t feel safe.
They also feel like a colossal waste of time. It’s the beginning of the year! Quit making me tear off toilet squares and let me get into my room or–even more important–my planning desk.
But, I know we need to do something to build community and get our rah-rah-team thing going. And, when it comes to my classroom, what else are we going to do the first of the year? Nobody’s ready for a full-on lesson. (Especially me!)
And, really, really and truly: I can’t start teaching until I know who I’m teaching.
So, I have scavenged the net and created/adapted a few ice-breakers that begin the work of building community and help us get to know each other while not putting any one student on the spot. They get the right vibe going. AND, they actually teach a little something.
Here are my two favorites.
Tell me: Who are you? (Or…who aren’t you?)
You need to prep by printing out these personality traits vocabulary cards. You will cut them out, and then tape them to student desks.
As students enter, you will instruct them to walk around the room, reading the different cards before taking a seat. They will then choose a word that either describes them perfectly OR is the exact opposite of who they are.
If you have tables for seating or if desks are arranged in groups, you will then have students introduce themselves in their groups, explaining why they are or aren’t the personality trait marked on their desk. Students should then pick a spokesperson from the group to introduce the group members to the class.
If the desks are arranged in rows, you can instead have students turn and talk, introducing themselves to each other. You can then call on volunteers to introduce themselves and their partner.
Either way, you will circulate while students are chatting, and get to know your students.
This is a useful activity because it gets students talking to each other–and they’re actually teaching each other vocabulary words. It also gets them started explaining their thinking: Why did you chose this word? Is there another word that you also considered? Also, it’s more challenging than most ice-breakers, and challenging activities–challenging but not frustratingly hard–really ramp up student engagement.
On day 2, as a follow-up, you will create a gallery walk using these questions. Students are asked to answer 3 of the questions with a sticky note. They can begin with the word “yes” or “no” but then have to justify their answers.
You will then direct students to select a question they found especially intriguing. Be sure to set a max number of students per group. Students will then work in their groups to arrange the answers to the questions and prepare to give an overview of these responses to the class.
Once again, this activity gets students talking to each other and discussing their ideas , which promotes classroom community and elevated discourse. As a bonus, they are not only learning new vocabulary words, but they are doing some solid thinking about the distinctions between the words.
Who’s your G.O.A.T.?
Here’s another non-fluff ice-breaker that encourages discussion and teaches students how to build an argument: What or who is the GREATEST OF ALL TIME?
You will begin by pairing students up. You can do this yourself, or you can ask them to find a person they haven’t spoken to so far today. I pair students up like this throughout the year. Or, if you’ve already done the personality traits vocabulary activity above, you can pass out slips of paper. Half will have a vocabulary word on them. The other half will have the definitions. Students are then tasked with finding their match.
Then, you will give each partnership this handout. Students will follow directions: first brainstorming, then selecting a common G.O.A.T., and lastly preparing an argument to present to the class. Like the activity above, this gets students talking about themselves while also learning important skills–brainstorming, collaboration, and building an argument.
One way to introduce this activity is by creating a list of your own personal G.O.A.T.’s. Mine include Tom Petty, Taco Bell, and Brooklyn 99. Ask students what they notice about the list and what they think all the items have in common before revealing–these are the GREATEST OF ALL TIME! Then, you’ll select one from your list and provide a mini-argument on why Taco Bell is the best thing out there.
Now, you’ve shared about yourself and have modeled the activity.
Both of these activities set the stage for skills they’ll continue to develop all year. They are also fun and do not involve a single square of toilet paper.
Inspire! Middle Grades ELA and Social Studies 