Ice Breakers + Activities

Weekly Topics | Ice Breakers | Resources

 

Ice Breaker Considerations

Take the temperature of your class. Are they high energy? Quiet? Where can you push them and where is their comfort level? In the first few weeks, try not to put students on the spot, but rather have them talk with a partner first about their answer THEN share with the class.

 

Tier 1: Better for early weeks

Pair share: have students pair up and introduce themselves to each other. Name, hometown, major, and a question. Then have them introduce themselves to the class as each other.

Highs and Lows: also known as “rose/bud/thorn”. What is good for you this week, what is a pain for you, and what is blooming or you are looking forward to. Can also do “high, low, buffalo” (new, something you learned) Question ideas: https://conversationstartersworld.com/250-conversation-starters/ 

Name Plate Intros: Students are in pairs. They introduce themselves with their name and three things about them. They switch name plates with their partner. Then that person takes the nameplate and finds someone else to introduce their partner and their three interesting facts to. Pairs switch three times so everyone ends up with a different name plate than how they started. Students re-take seats and introduce the nameplate and the three facts of their final partner (at this point the facts are likely wrong and confused and it’s usually funny/fun when the actual student has to correct them and do their own intro). Good for week one or later

Commonalities: Put students in pairs and have them find the most interesting thing they have in common. Have them share it out in the large group. Then put them in groups of four. Have them find the most interesting thing that new group has in common. Share it out in the large group. Double group size each time until the whole class has to find something they have in common.

Starburst Questions: Split students into small groups (3-5). Pass a bag of Starburst around and have each person take 2-3. Do not let them eat them (yet)! Once everyone has one, reveal what the colors mean: red = share your favorite movie, yellow = a pet peeve of yours, orange = something fun you did over the weekend, and pink = favorite food. (You can change the categories to be anything you like). Have them share their Starburst “facts” in small groups. After everyone has shared, they can eat their candy. (Starbursts can be any candy that has many colors)

Link: One person stands and gives an intro (Name, hometown, major and then talks about themself freely…hobbies, likes/dislikes, etc). When someone in the group has something in common with something they’ve said, they get up and link arms with the person speaking. Only one person links at a time. They declare the thing that they had in common and then do their intro and then begin talking about themselves until someone else comes up with something in common with them. The activity continues until all group members are “Linked.” (actually linking arms optional)

Group Juggling: Have participants stand in a circle. The leader tosses a ball to the person across the circle saying his/her name, then puts their hands behind their back. This repeats until everyone has been tossed the ball and had their name said. The leader throws the ball again to the same person, and everyone must throw the ball in the same pattern as the first time, calling out the person’s name and throwing the ball. Each time the ball returns to the leader another ball is added in. Continue adding balls and see how far the group can get without messing up. This can be tried nonverbally if everyone knows each other’s names, and other objects in addition to balls may be used. You can time your group and try to break your record.

The Great Wind Blows: This is a fun version of the classic “musical chairs.” Students are seated in chairs or standing in large circle. One chair/space is taken away so there is one person left standing/without a space. This person stands in the middle of the group and says, “The great wind blows for everyone who…” then calls out an attribute, personal trait, experience, etc. All who share this characteristic must find a new chair/space other than the chair immediately next to you. (Eg. “The great wind blows for everyone who’s wearing a white shirt.” Then all people in white shirts find a new space) Whoever is left with no spot in the circle moves to the center and calls out the next attribute. 

Line Up Competition: Break your class into teams of 4-6. Have them line up in order of various categories. Whichever team lines up most quickly (and correctly) gets the point for that category. Come up with other categories and play until you have a clear winning team.

  • Alphabetical by major
  • Distance born from this classroom (shortest to longest)
  • Number of siblings
  • Favorite musical artist alphabetically
  • On campus residence west to east

Versus/Hot Take: Come up with a list of fun controversial topics (pineapple on pizza, drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth, country music, etc). Designate half of the room as “pro” and half of the room as “anti.” Read a topic, then have students move to the side they agree with. Have students talk amongst themselves, then have one representative from each side argue for the superiority of their opinion.

Four Corners: each corner of the room is an option and students go to where their answer is i.e. which is the best season? Fall vs. Winter vs. Summer vs. Spring. They can talk in a small group and then share some ideas out to the whole class.Good for week one or later, just make sure you give them a chance to pair/share or talk in a small group before you try to get them to share in front of the whole class

Tier 2: Better when students know each other

Name Roulette: Have the group form 2 concentric circles, one inside the other. Set the circles up so one person from each circle is physically standing back to back to one member from the other circle. Place a marker on the ground (in line with the circles) to serve as a “spot.” Both circles start moving in opposite directions. Eventually, the instructor will call “stop.” The people on the spot turn around and face each other. The person who names the other first wins that round and the “loser” joins the other circle.

Laser Names: Students sit or stand in a circle. Instructor or Peer Mentor calls out a student’s name. That student ducks and the students on either side of them “laser finger” the remaining student. Whoever lasers first wins and the other student is out. (this is a way for students to learn each others’ names bc they have to anticipate who is ducking in order to laser the right person). 

Cultural Touchstone: The week before (don’t do this activity until week 2 at earliest), assign students to bring something that represents a significant part of their life prior to BU. Have the Peer Mentor and Instructor share theirs as an example. This could be a family photo, a souvenir from an impactful experience, a certificate of completion of something important, etc. Have everyone share their item. (Consider breaking this up over a series of classes to save time. Or put them in small groups to share). 

Rock Paper Scissors Train: All the players find a partner and play rock paper scissors. Whoever loses must put their hands on the shoulder of the winner, forming a train (or just stand behind them; no touching needed) The front person of that train leads their train to another train and the front people of each train play against each other. The train that loses attaches to the back of the winning train. This continues until only one train remains. Good for week two or later, especially with an energetic class.

Grocery Store: Think family feud style speed competition. Students form 2 equal lines. Instructor stands at head of the two lines and says, “I’m going to the grocery store and looking for something that starts with the letter… *says a letter*.” The students at the head of each line must come up with a grocery store item that starts with that letter. Whoever says it first “wins.” The losing student  returns to their seat and the winner goes to the back of their line. The game ends when there is only one line remaining. 

Continuum: You can use a physical continuum to introduce any topic or to just get them engaged.Make one side of the room “Agree” and one side “Disagree”. Students can line up based on their answer anywhere from agree to disagree or somewhere in the middle. Consider topic-based prompts. Once students are lined up, have them share their answers and why with a partner  and then have a few brave students share out loud before asking the next prompt.

    • I have gotten involved at BU
    • I’ve attended BU events (good for getting involved week)
    • I feel comfortable taking the T
    • I have explored the city (good intros for Boston week)
    • I am getting enough sleep
    • I procrastinate (good intros for time management week)

Pictionary: Make it BU themed, Boston themed, or theme it based on that week’s topic (Time Management, Stress Management, etc).

Padlet: You can make a “board” and ask students a question such as “How are you feeling about midterms?” “How are things going with your roommate?”, etc and they can respond via images/gifs/words and then share out.

Scavenger Hunts: Break your class into groups of 4-5 students. Give them 15-20 minutes to complete as much of the George Sherman Union or 100 Bay State Rd Scavenger Hunt as possible. When time is up, have them share their answers/selfies to the class and award a winner (this activity would work in other class session as well)

More resources: