Wordle

Once you have completed all activities and are happy with the community you've built and interests you've learned of, you may want to create a wordle. I created a wordle with all of my students' names as well as interests and other useful information. I use that wordle when creating lesson plans to make the information more relatable to my students.

http://learningon.theloop.school.nz/moodle/course/view.php?id=508

Blind Count Off

Students face away from each other and they have to count as high as they can out loud with only one person saying a number at a time.

*This challenge encourages active listening skills and helps participants build confidence.

http://www.sac.iastate.edu/en/clubs_and_organizations/student_organization_resources/leadership_knowhow/energizer_icebreakers__teambuilders/teambuilders/blind_count_off/

Birthday Lineup

Students line up in a straight line side-by-side. Ask them to get in order of their birthdays (month and day, year isn't necessary). The challenge is they cannot talk at all.

*You'll find they resort to sign language, nudges, someone might try to start leading. You can also adapt this so that a couple of group members are blindfolded to make it more difficult. Variations to this game include: names, shoe sizes, height etc. This exercise is great for improving communication and leadership skills.



http://cchealth.org/tobacco/pdf/activities.pdf

Pair/Group Stand & Human Knot

Pair/Group Stand: Pairs sit back-to-back, arms linked & have to stand up together. When successful make a group of 4 and do the same. To make the exercise more difficult increase the number or add a blindfold to the mix.

Human Knot: Standing in a circle, group members reach across and grab other participant’s hands. The group then tries to unravel the "human knot" by untangling themselves without letting go of each other’s hands.

*This is a great team building activity because everyone has to work together.
http://cchealth.org/tobacco/pdf/activities.pdf

Advisory Corners

Designate four corners in the classroom 1-4. Explain to students you are going to read four statements, then ask them to move to the corner of the room that is closest to the student’s preference. (Note: Halfway between two corners is acceptable - but let them discover this option on their own.) Added twist: Tell each student to focus on another student who they don’t know. After going through the list, find out how many things people have in common with each other.

Round 1
Corner 1: Those who have never been to Legoland
Corner 2: Those who have been to Legoland more than 3 times
Corner 3: Those who have been to Legoland only one time
Corner 4: Those who have been to Legoland 2 times
 Round 2 
Corner 1: Those whose favorite pet is a dog
Corner 2: Those whose favorite pet is a cat
Corner 3: Those whose favorite pet is a reptile, bird, fish, or other
Corner 4: Those whose favorite pet is at their neighbor’s house (they don’t like pets!)

Round 3
Corner 1: Those whose favorite fun thing to do is to go to a movie
Corner 2: Those whose favorite fun thing to do is go shopping
Corner 3: Those whose favorite fun thing to do is to be outdoors - warm or cold weather!
Corner 4: Those whose favorite fun thing to do is to stay home and watch TV or play video games

Round 4 
Corner 1: Those who like football
Corner 2: Those who like basketball
Corner 3: Those who like any other sport           Corner 4: Those who don’t care about sports *You can adapt the statements to apply to your students' interests. You may also write the statements on a big piece of paper and have the students hold the paper while you take a picture so you're able to remember their choices.

http://www.mmsa.info/sites/default/files/Toss%20A%20Name%20Game.pdf

Commonalities

Have each student pair up and find 3 things in common with their partner. The goal is to find things that are more in depth and to get beyond the surface topics.

Examples: We both like football (surface).
We both like the Atlanta Falcons (more in depth).
We both have been to Atlanta to see a game (even more in depth).

Have students (with partners) join with another pair and find 2 things in common with everyone. You cannot use something that was used before. Next, join another foursome to create a group of 8 and find one new thing that everyone in your group has in common.

*This activity gets students up and moving while communicating with their peers to learn of their commonalities.



http://www.group-games.com/team-building/commonalities-and-uniquities.html

Guessing Goals

Students will write on a piece of paper a profession, career, or long term goal they hope to accomplish along with three things they need to focus on in order to reach this goal. Anonymous papers will be collected by teacher, mixed up, and redistributed. Students will then take turns reading papers and matching it with group members.

*This activity allows students and teacher the opportunity to learn more about each other.

https://sao.nd.edu/studentgroups/groupresources/halls/fyo/FunGames.pdf

Would You Rather?

Students are presented with an either/or choice. Once you make your choice, get together with others who made the same choice. You might be asked to explain why you chose what you did. Try these:

Would you rather...

‘ ...be a scientist or an actor ?

‘ ...watch TV or listen to music?

‘ ...be rich or famous?

‘ ...ride a roller coaster or a mechanical bull?

‘ ...have the power to fly or to disappear?

‘ ...live in the city or in the country?

‘ ...drive a truck or a car?

‘ ...be known for your looks or personality?

‘ ...be known for your personality or your intelligence?

‘ ...eat Chick-fil-a or McDonalds?

*You can also write the choices on a big piece of paper and have the group hold the paper while you take a picture so that you are able to remember their choices and refer back when needed.


http://www.jubed.com/youth_ministry/view/Would-you-rather/

All About Me Bag

I bring in a paper bag with 3 - 5 items (i.e. family picture, a picture of my pets, something blue (my favorite color), A Clifford book (my favorite story character), etc.). I stand in the front of the room and take out one item at a time, show it to the class and tell them about myself. I give the children a chance to ask me questions after my share.

Then I give the children a bag and ask them to bring in 3-5 items that tell about them that they would like to share with the class. After each child presents their bag the audience is allowed to ask questions.

*This is a great activity to learn of the child's interests and family life.



http://alove4teaching.blogspot.com/2012/07/all-about-me-bag.html

2 truths and a lie

Two Truths and a Lie is a classic get-to-know-you icebreaker. Students tell two truths and one lie. The object of the activity is to to determine which statement is the false one.

Students may sit in a circle and share their 3 statements while their classmates guess which statement is false. If you want to make it more challenging, you can read the papers anonymously and have the students guess who the statements belong to and then choose which one is false.

*This is a great activity to get to know students and see how well they know one another.



http://adulted.about.com/od/Ice-Breakers-and-Games/tp/Two-Truths-And-A-Lie-Idea-List-No-1.htm