It’s back to school time! Are you a teacher or professor getting ready for the upcoming school year? Don’t forget that classroom icebreakers are one of the best ways to get your students to open up and be more engaged. I’ve been teaching students of all ages for well over a decade — for me, it’s clear that icebreakers can make a huge difference! This article will give you some of my favorite recommendations for classroom activities.
Beginning of the School Year? Consider an introduction game.
At the beginning of the school year, sometimes students are very shy and reluctant to speak up. During this time, students may not know each other and may feel uncomfortable. Some icebreakers are especially helpful for getting people to know each other better through fun introduction activities. For example, the Blanket Game can get students to know each others’ names and faces quickly. The famous Two Truths and a Lie can quickly get people to discover amazing things about each other. To build common ground, Unique and Shared can get students to discover what they have in common with others in the room.
Sometimes the simplest icebreakers can be elegant and quick-and-easy. Candy Introductions requires just a couple bags of candy to play. Icebreaker Questions can break the ice with some interesting questions to get students to go beyond the superficial. Once students start sharing about themselves in the classroom, it makes it much easier for them to feel comfortable participating in class activities.
Getting Students to Voice Their Opinions
One of our favorite games to get students to express where they stand on various issues is the Extremes: Where Do You Stand? game, making use of the classroom space itself in a visual way. Four Corners is another good game that takes advantage of the corners of the room.
Are you a classroom teacher? We’d love to hear from you what your favorite icebreakers. Which ones do you find to be most successful? Let us know!