Icebreakers
Icebreakers
Name Games........................................................................................................2
Tennis Ball Toss ............................................................................................2
Yarn Toss ......................................................................................................2
Blanket Drop ..................................................................................................3
Names in Motion............................................................................................3
Icebreakers, community builders ..........................................................................4
Mingle, Mingle, Mingle ...................................................................................4
Five Minutes of Fame ....................................................................................5
Stack Up ........................................................................................................5
Do You Love your Neighbour?.......................................................................6
Human Bingo .................................................................................................6
Question Ball .................................................................................................8
Two Truths and a Lie .....................................................................................8
Boundary Breaking ........................................................................................8
What I Like about Me...................................................................................11
Share Time ..................................................................................................12
Life Map .......................................................................................................12
Talking Positive Behind your Back...............................................................13
Stand Up-Sit Down Exercise........................................................................13
Dyadic Sharing Using Drawing or Writing ....................................................15
Wheel Within A Wheel .................................................................................16
Closure Activities ................................................................................................16
Hot Seat.......................................................................................................17
Mail Box.......................................................................................................17
Symbolic Gifts..............................................................................................17
Becoming.....................................................................................................17
Eye Contact Circle .......................................................................................18
Meaningful Learning ....................................................................................18
Your Last Statement ....................................................................................18
Pipe Cleaner Art ..........................................................................................18
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Name Games
Tennis Ball Toss
Overview
This icebreaker gives participants an opportunity to learn one another’s names in
an active manner.
Yarn Toss
Overview
This icebreaker gives participants an opportunity to learn one another’s names
and goals in an active manner. This also provides opportunity for reflection.
Time required: 20 – 30 minutes
What you need
A large roll of yarn
What you do
1) Have everyone sit in a circle.
2) Give the following instructions:
“I would like each person to state their name as well as one goal they would like
to accomplish during this semester. After you have done so, please wrap a piece
of the yarn around your wrist and toss the ball to a classmate. Please listen to
each person and think of ways that you might help that person reach their goal. I
will begin.”
3) State your name, your goal, wrap the yarn around your wrist and toss the ball
of yarn to a student.
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4) This activity has the potential for great processing. You may want to consider
the following:
As the ball criss-crosses the circle, an intricate pattern of connections is formed
which can be used to process the exercise. An example would be to point out
that the class is a meeting point where our words and actions truly touch one
another even though we see ourselves as separate and different. Or, we are
often more alike than different and that our willingness to stay connected makes
the web of yarn strong. Indeed, the closer the connection, (the fewer the holes)
gives the web a trampoline quality, which allows ideas to be “bounced” on it
without breaking up the group. A few words like this can give even the silliest
activity meaning and make the effort worthwhile.
Blanket Drop
Overview
This is a great activity to get participants to learn each other’s names in an active
and non-threatening manner.
Names in Motion
Overview
This exercise is an energizing and fun way to help your class quickly learn one
another’s names. This exercise helps speed up the process of name recognition,
as participants can associate a name with an action.
Time required: 10-20 minutes
What you do
1) Have the participants stand in a circle.
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2) Start with yourself, to ease any anxiety the participants may have. Call out
your name, and perform an action that goes with the first letter of your name. If
you can’t think of anything, make something up. (ex. My name is Christy, and I
like to Curl my toes!). Encourage them to be creative!
3) Have each new person introduce all of the people who came before him or
her, to better learn everyone’s name. At the end of the exercise, ask for
volunteers who can name everyone in the group. Offer them a small reward if
they can perform this feat!
Variation: Call out your name and perform a dance move of your choice. Then
each new person introduces all of the people who came before him or her
mimicking their dance moves and adds their own dance move. Once everyone
has performed, your class has its own dance performance!
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Five Minutes of Fame
Overview
This activity is designed to allow your participants to get to know the “hidden”
side of one another, the sides they don’t often get to see in a classroom setting.
The end result is a class who has a great respect for one another and their
(sometimes hidden) talents and interests!
Time required: 5 minutes at the beginning of class for each student.
What you need
Sign up sheet for the dates during the semester participants will present. Be sure
to have enough dates for each student in your class. You can always double up
on some days.
What you do
• Explain the ground rules:
a. Each student will prepare a 5-minute presentation on something they are
especially interested in, talented at, or just know a lot about. (A few examples
include musical talent, athletic interest, collections, pictures of hobbies, etc.)
b. They must bring some kind of prop to demonstrate or illustrate their interest.
c. They should entertain questions from the group once they have completed
their brief presentation.
• Pass around the sign-up sheet.
• You might want to remind participants when their presentations are coming up.
• You can also consider doing a Five Minutes of Fame yourself!
Stack Up
Overview
This activity is designed to break down physical personal barriers within a group
while helping the group learn a bit about each other.
Time required: 20 minutes
What you do
1) Arrange seats in a circle so that each participant has one seat.
2) The facilitator stands in the centre of the circle and provides instructions for
the participants.
3) The facilitator will make a statement in the form of “Move _______ seats to the
________ if you ___________.” The first blank should be a number of seats, the
second blank is a direction, and the final blank is a statement. An example would
be “Move two seats to the right if you are wearing glasses.” Most likely, everyone
will not be wearing glasses, and this is where the fun begins.
4) As the group follows the facilitator’s instructions, some people will move and
others will not. Where people find themselves assigned the same seat, they must
share laps for as many people as require that seat. Hence the name “Stack Up”.
5) As the activity continues, questions can become deeper, moving the group to
a new place of comfort with each other.
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Do You Love your Neighbour?
Overview
This activity is designed as an energizing way to learn a bit more about a group
as a whole.
Time required: 15-20 minutes
What you do
1) Arrange seats in a circle, with one less seat than participants. If your
classroom has desks, you can also use sheets of paper placed in a circle on the
floor.
2) The participant without a seat is to stand in the middle of the circle. The
person in the middle of the circle picks someone in the circle and asks him/her,
“Do You Love your Neighbour?” If the person says, “Yes,” everyone, including
the person standing in the middle, must find a new seat that is not on either side
of his/her original seat. If the person answers “No,” he/she must follow it with,
“But, I love everyone who __________________.” For instance, “No, but I love
everyone who wears glasses.”
3) Each seated person that finds the statement true must find a new seat that is
not on either side of his/her original seat, while the person standing must also
find a seat.
4) The person left standing asks a new person, “Do you love your neighbour?”
And, the game starts all over.
It’s always a good idea with this activity to remind the participants to have a good
time, but to also watch out for each other. It kind of takes the fun out of the game
when people collide.
Human Bingo
Overview
This is a great activity to get participants up and moving, and to get them to know
a little more about each other. It is also a great way to begin to understand the
diversity of the class. It’s important to make sure participants mingle for this
exercise: people have a tendency to talk only to one or two people. The purpose
is to talk to as many different people as possible.
Time required: 20 minutes
What you need
Bingo Game boards for each student (need to make these! – see list of
suggested questions below)
A Prize for student who gets the most items
What you do
1) When handing out Bingo sheets, remind participants the purpose is to get to
meet different names. They can only ask each person a question once and must
speak to at least 2 other people before asking the same person again.
2) Pass out Bingo cards face down. Wait until everyone has received a card and
has a writing instrument ready. Start the time when they flip their cards over.
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3) Either they must score as many people as possible – if you are feeling creative
arrange your bingo cards in boxes and you can then play different types of Bingo
(four corners, diagonal, etc.). Participants fill their squares by getting participants
who meet the criteria to initial them.
4) When the winner is announced, have the winner introduce everyone who
initialled one of their squares.
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Question Ball
Overview
This is a great activity to get participants talking and listening.
This breaks down some walls and builds community, as participants reveal more
about themselves, and discuss things important in their lives.
This activity can be used anytime throughout the workshop.
What you need
Large ball (easy to roll) with questions printed on it. – a white soccer ball or an
inflatable beach ball and a marker pen work well.
What you do
1) Have the participants sit in a circle on the floor.
2) Start by holding the ball, stating your name (if early in the workshop), picking a
question, and answering it. When you are finished, roll the ball to someone else
in the circle.
3) When they receive the ball, the question on top is the one they have to answer
(after stating their name).
4) Have this student roll the ball to another class member, etc.
5) If this game is played early in the semester, have the participants call out the
name of the person they are rolling the ball to, to learn names. When the person
receives the ball, have them state their name before answering the question.
Boundary Breaking
Overview
Boundary Breaking is a group interaction experience that encourages community
building. This exercise aims to speed up the process of becoming aware of
others. Questions used encourage more than superficial interaction. This
exercise also encourages and reinforces the skill of listening.
Time required: 1 hour (depending on numbers)
What you need
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Boundary Breaking Questions (included below)
What you do
1) Have the participants sit in a circle, as all persons should be in view of all
group members.
2) Instructions for facilitating this activity follow.
Most participants feel comfortable when people share information about
themselves freely and feel uncomfortable in groups when people refuse to share
information. Over time, classes often develop a sense of community, but with
encouragement, this process can be accelerated.
BOUNDARY BREAKING
Listening is basic to learning. Boundary Breaking practices and reinforces the
skill. Past Workshop participants have reported that the questions provoke
thought, and encourage personal sharing but are not “too personal” to share with
peers.
A peer leader works best as the leader of the exercise. It is important that the
leader also participate fully in the experience.
Setting:
All persons should be in view of all group members. A circle works best.
Sitting in chairs is O.K., while the informality of sitting on the floor works very
well.
Form the circle as tightly as possible. Especially when conducted outdoors, the
sense of privacy may be lost, and answers may be more difficult to hear.
Length:
The game easily keeps participants’ attention for a full hour.
Special instructions to the leader:
Placing name cards in front of participants helps people learn names. The leader
must present a serious face in introducing and conducting Boundary Breaking.
Be especially careful of side conversations and jokes. Don’t be afraid to share
information about yourself.
It is important that the leader encourage participants to give honest answers, to
express sincere feelings, and to respect the thoughts and feelings of others. One
joker will ruin this experience for all. Laughs, funny answers (when truthful and
sincere) are delightful and natural expressions. These can also be defence
mechanisms that hide us from others.
Do not explain the questions. Simply read the question again if asked for an
explanation. Ask participants who speak softly to repeat answers so all can hear.
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5) We are here to listen.
6) We are not here to debate.
7) We are not here to disagree.
8) You may not comment on the answers of others or ask for explanations until
the end.
9) The key word is listen..listen..listen.
10) I will read a question, and the person to my right will answer, then the next
person and the next…until everyone has answered the question. I will then read
another question and the second person to my right will begin. Everyone will
have the opportunity to answer first.
11) Don’t repeat the answers of others unless it is truly what you wished to say.
(If participants say “same as him/her,” ask them to state the answer in their own
words).
12) You may give any answer you wish, but answers must be honest and truthful.
I request your sincere thoughts and feelings.
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Instructions: Answer the next questions as you think about the experience of the
last half hour..
1. What answer (yours or others) surprised you most?
2. Who’s answer do you want to know more about?
3. This group…(complete the sentence)
4. I promise this group…(complete the sentence)
5. How do you feel now?
Leader should thank the group as an ending to this exercise. Groups often
physically relax during the game, and the leader might note the success of the
experience by calling attention to body positions. Invite people to ask questions,
find someone they want to know better, etc. as class ends.
What you do
1) Remind participants to bring their list of weaknesses and strengths to class.
2) Have the participants pair up with someone they don’t know well and introduce
themselves, and decide who is partner A and B.
3) Then instruct the ‘A’ partner, for 60 seconds, to tell their partner, in a
brainstorming fashion, all of the positive attributes about themselves.
4) Encourage the listening partner to use good listening skills: eye contact,
smiles, nods, etc.
5) Time ‘A’ for 60 seconds. Remind participants to start each sentence with ‘what
I like about me is…’
6) Switch partners, repeat the exercise.
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7) Have each partner write a short statement sharing what they have learned
about each other.
Share Time
Overview
Share Time is a great way to open up an issue for discussion. These discussions
can range from topics in the media, to academic topics, to topics relating to any
issues your participants are experiencing, such as troubles with class,
relationships, keeping in touch with hometown friends, etc.
Life Map
Overview
Community building in Workshop deals with getting to know one another. By
allowing your participants to reflect on and report their experience prior to ASU,
not only are you validating their experience, but you are allowing them to present
a history of their experience to their classmates, thus building community.
Time required: 45 minutes to 1 hour
What you need
Long sheets of paper – flip chart paper is best - for each participant
Markers, crayons
Scissors (optional)
Old Magazines (optional)
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What you do
1. Read your participants the following instructions:
“For the next few minutes, reflect on the course of your life. Recall all major and
minor decision points, as well as the chance events that impacted your life.
Visualize your life as a road map with highways, crossroads, intersections,
detours, and dead ends. You may also include traffic lights, bypasses and
mountains. Using the materials given, transfer your mental road map to paper.
Add any information appropriate – dates, time, people, places, circumstances. Be
creative if you wish and add drawings to your map as well as comments.”
2. Hand out materials and let them draw their “life road.”
3. After 10-15 minutes, have participants present their road maps to the
class.
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be both similarities and differences in their backgrounds and in other information
about them. The Stand Up-Sit Down Exercise can help participants see those
similarities and differences so that they can begin to appreciate them.
Participants start to realize what they share with other participants and how they
differ.
What you do
1) Seat your participants in a way that lets them see each other (a closed circle
usually works best).
2) Explain the rules: The purpose of this activity is to identify what we share and
how we differ in other ways through this activity. When I read a category with
which you identify even partially and feel comfortable sharing with the group,
please stand up and then sit down. Some of the categories are light and may
seem humorous and others are more serious. Please stand up and sit down if
you identify with and feel comfortable with sharing the following categories.
3) Read aloud the categories, giving time for the participants to stand and sit
back down.
List of Categories (can also use some/ all of the human bingo questions above)
• Love chocolate
• Brown-eyed
• Have a close family member who is famous
• Engaged
• A soccer player
• Blue-or green-eyed
• Is a runner.
• A parent
• A shopaholic
• Vegetarian
• Married or living with partner
• Care for an elderly or sick parent
• Fluent in language other than English
• Left-handed
• Have a twin
• Born in a country other than ……
etc
Line Dancing
Overview
The following exercise helps promote bonding by helping participants find things
they share in common.
Time required: 4 minutes for each question
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What you need
List of questions (see following page)
What you do
1) Ask participants to arrange themselves along an imaginary line, either along a
side wall or down the middle of the room.
2) Explain the rules: I will ask a question and after the question is asked, I want
you to arrange yourselves single-file along the line you have already formed from
the smallest number or object in your answer (1 being the beginning of the line
and 10 being the end). After you are in the order you want to be in, you will then
count off by twos. The Number 1s will then stand facing the Number 2s. Once
you are facing the other person exchange names and share any information
about the question that was asked. Each person will have two minutes to do this.
After each question you will arrange yourselves in a line according to your
responses to the next question.
3) Read the first question and let the participants arrange themselves. Then
repeat the process.
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List of Questions
• How many brothers and sisters do you have?
• If you could be any animal what would it be?
• How athletic are you?
• How creative are you?
• Do you play a musical instrument? If so, which one?
• How well do you sing?
• Add your own…
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Wheel Within A Wheel
Overview
Wheel within a Wheel is an exercise designed to help participants meet several
other classmates, as well as to build self-esteem and create energy in the
classroom.
Time required: 2 minutes per question
What you need
Self-esteem booster topics (see following page)
What you do
1) Have half your participants form an inner circle in the centre of the room,
facing outward.
2) Have the other half form an outer circle, facing the inner circle.
3) Explain the rules: The inner circle will stay seated (or still if standing)
throughout this exercise. The outer circle will rotate to the right, one person at a
time, for each part of the activity. Each time you get to meet the next person in
front of you, I will give you a topic to discuss with each other. You will have about
two minutes to introduce yourself and share your thoughts on the topic I have
given you, and then you will rotate to the next person.
4) Read the first topic and let the participants begin.
*If circles are too cumbersome for your classroom, you can do the same exercise
by simply asking participants to pair up with a different partner for each topic.
Closure Activities
The final session of the seminar is as important as the start. On the first day you
introduced yourself and your goals, modelled your class format, and sold
participants on the value of the seminar. Now it is time to remind participants of
what they have learned and experienced, of what they have done and how far
they have come. It is time for a powerful closure, one that fits with your class and
personal style, one that sums up or expresses your collective experience. No
single closure is right for every class, but as you prepare for closure you might
want to consider one or more of the activities listed below.
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Hot Seat
This is a sharing activity designed to reinforce a sense of community, mutual
trust, caring, and lasting communications. The instructor sets a serious tone for
this exercise, encouraging everyone to remain involved and be honest in her/his
participation. The class sits in a circle with a chair (swivel chair preferably) in the
center. Each student is then invited to sit in the “Hot Seat.” The person has 60
seconds (longer or shorter if you want) to say anything he or she wants to the
class or any individual in the class. The rest of the class must remain silent and
listen to the comments. Then for 2-3 minutes anyone in the class can say
anything she or he wants to the person in the “Hot Seat” and that person cannot
respond. Extroverts will volunteer first, but eventually even the quietest and most
reserved member of the class will step forward. One interesting twist is to let the
person who leaves the hot seat select the next participant. The experience may
be most powerful for those who wait to the last so don’t let anyone off or hurry
the final participants. It is a powerful closure experience.
Mail Box
This activity involves each student writing a note to all other participants in the
class expressing their thanks, thoughts, or wishes for that person. This takes
about 40 minutes and can be done in conjunction with other closure activities or
evaluations. Encourage participants to read these notes immediately and then
put them away to read later. The final personal expression is a powerful way for
participants to remember each person in the class.
Symbolic Gifts
Each member of the class prepares a fantasy gift (objects, values, people, ideas,
etc.) for everyone in class. They may present these or some tangible symbol of
this gift to others in the class. They may be asked to stand in front of the person
to whom they are giving these symbolic gifts and hold eye contact with them
during the process. This closure activity allows participants to be as creative as
they want. Some prompting and suggestions from the instructor can help get
things going. You may even want to liven it up by creating a mythical “fountain of
gifts” in the center of the room from which these symbolic gifts can be drawn and
delivered.
Becoming
In this closure activity, participants are given paper and pencils and are
instructed to write their first names in large block letters on top of their piece of
paper. Then they are asked to complete the following sentence in as many ways
as they can: “I am becoming a person who…” When everyone has finished,
participants pin their lists to the wall and other participants mill around silently,
reading each other’s sheets, then leave.
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Eye Contact Circle
The group stands in a circle and one member goes around the circle in a clock-
wise direction, establishing eye contact and verbally communicating one-way
with each person. The student returns to his/her place so that each class
member can tell the student something. This design can be sped up by asking
the second person to follow the first person around the circle. Then the third
person will follow the second, and so on.
Meaningful Learning
In this activity, each class member selects one or two meaningful learning
experiences from the workshop and explains why they are so meaningful to
them. This also works standing in a circle and have participants throwing a beach
ball to each other randomly and sharing one experience per catch.
There are numerous ways to organize closure. Many facilitators put several
activities together to achieve the kind of closing they are after. Some combine a
going away party, film, and other activities. Others collect final projects, have a
final exam, administer student evaluations, or use the session for debriefing and
feedback. Whatever approach you are planning, make it as effective and
powerful as your opening day.
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