Day 3: Icebreakers
At this point, students have met some of their classmates by working in small groups, but I want to foster a stronger whole-class community.
Here are some I'm loving:
"What Would You Do?" Small Group/Whole Class Discussion Starters
These thought-provoking questions are terrific to learn more about the values of your students. These are geared toward the higher grades, and I use these prior to teaching my students how to write a credo and a "This I Believe" essay!
Hexagonal Thinking Paired Activity
Hexagonal thinking really lends itself well to partnered work, and this activity invites students to make surprising connections between school and teenage life-related words. This leads well into journaling or whole-class discussion.
"Would You Rather?" Small Group Icebreaker
A classic for a reason, this game offers lighthearted and funny choices for students to debate and discuss.
Conversation Jenga Small Group Icebreaker
Playing a physical game while talking helps take some of the social pressure off of your students' minds, but still offers fun and interesting topics for discussion.
To extend any of these, you can have students write a journal reflecting over a classmate's response that they connected to or agreed/disagreed with.
In addition, name games are an awesome way to learn each other's names quickly and get a good laugh while doing it! Here's a great master list of many different name games you can use.
Keep an eye out for our next post on Day 4: About Me Slides and Student Survey!
Did you miss Day 1 or Day 2? Click here to check them out!
Also, if you'd like more icebreaker ideas, check out 5 Low and No-prep Icebreakers for the First day of School!
Stay weird!
~Jamie
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