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3 numbers is a great way to get to know people quickly with limited resources. 

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Write three numbers that represent you, e.g. siblings, age, year you move to Hawaii, how many children or grandchildren you have, your favourite number, etc. Ask the students to guess what these numbers might represent about you. After they guess, maybe with a little help, it is their turn. Ask them to write 3 numbers about themselves and either as a whole group or in pairs others guess the answers. It's a great activity when you have limited resources.

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How to Play:

Prepare a list of statements or characteristics, such as “Find someone who has traveled to another country” or “Find someone who likes pizza.”

Students walk around the room and ask each other questions to find someone who fits each description.

The goal is for each student to complete their list by finding different classmates who match the statements.

Example:

"Find someone who plays a musical instrument."

"Find someone who speaks three languages."

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The students would each take turns sharing three things about themselves, and one is false. Then the rest of the class would have to guess which one is the lie. The idea is to learn about each other and people can be surprised at what they think is true and what is actually true.

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Have students write three things about themselves on a piece of paper. Then have them crumble up the paper to resemble a snowball. Let the students have a snowball fight for about one minute. Now everyone grabs one of the snowballs and has to try and find the person who wrote on it. Once they find their partner, they have to bring that person up in front of the class and explain what they learned about their new friend with the three facts written on the piece of paper.

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In this activity, each student sits in his or her chair in a circle. They will need to pass the ball without leaving the chair or hitting the ceiling. The ball will have many question taped on the surface of the ball. The the student catches it, he or she needs to answer one of the questions and then passes the ball to other students.

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This should be a fun and quick game that breaks the ice and helps your class remember each others names. Ask your class to form a circle and say their name. Then, throw a tennis ball to one of your students. They have two seconds to say some one else’s name and throw the ball to them, before it “explodes” and they are out of the game. Continue until only one student remains. If you wanted to add a twist you could extend the "time bomb" a bit and have the students share a fun fact as well.

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In this you have to say 'I went shopping and bought...' you say an item such as an apple. The next person says 'I went shopping and bought an apple and ...' then they say an item. The idea is to remember the list. To add more of a challenge you could do this in alphabetical order!

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So I have done this as part of a group. You have an item in a box and you can feel and shake the box and as a team you ask questions about the item that are answered yes or no and you have to guess the item!

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For this activity I would gather objects that might have something in common, such as objects in the classroom or different types of fruits and veggies. These objects are spread out on a table. Randomly assign people to two teams and these teams stand on either side of the table. As you call out words, students collect the item called out - "Banana!"

The team with the most objects collected at the end is the winning team (and maybe pass out a small prize like a stick of gum). Repeat a few times if there's extra time as this is great vocabulary practice!

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To start off, everyone in the class will stand up in a circle. It starts with one person making a silly sound or movement. For example a student can clap, spin in a circle, whistle, jump, etc. The next person then has to copy the same sound or movement as the last person and then add on their own! This continues around the circle.

I think this is a fun and silly way to start off class and get people comfortable around each other.

I have also played it where you start off with your name and then make the sound or movement. For example, "My name is Faith. My move is *jump*." The next person then says, "That is Faith and her move is *jump*. My name is George and my sound is *whistle*." Each student has to remember all their classmates before them and then add their own!

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Similar to the Introduction Interviews, this game differs in that it is played in a Bingo format. This might be a game for more intermediate English speakers. However, I think there maybe be a way to adjust it to a beginner's level using images.

This game would be set up like normal bingo with students having an individual sheet. On the sheets would be characteristics that someone would have (e.g. someone wearing earrings, someone who owns a dog, etc.). The students would then interview each other for a certain length of time. If the person they are interviewing has a characteristics that matches one on their sheet, they can mark that off. They are free to change partners at anytime. If their partner having majority of characteristics, then great! Mark them all down and holler "BINGO!"

Ultimately it doesn't matter if they get Bingo or not. However, it does cause them to interact and learn interesting facts about each other.

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My idea is to draw an object like a tree, have the students say it and then draw one of their own. Then to add more objects into the picture, as a way to teach vocabulary in a more interactive way.

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You put your students into pairs and ask them to tell their partner 2 truths and a lie the other partner should guess which one is a lie and then they can swap roles.

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Would you rather is a fun and easy icebreaker for all ages! The students can start at their desks. The teacher can ask the question, "Would you rather lose your wallet or your keys?" the students then move to different areas in the room depending on their answer. Then they can discuss their reasonings. For younger children, you could say, "Would you rather have a pet dog or cat?". If you want to make it more interesting, you can have the students come up with the questions themselves! Some questions may be silly but this is a great way to get to know your students and get them talking to one another.

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This activity is very similar to the ribbon one explain in a previous chapter. I did this activity with third graders and they loved it! Sit in a circle and explain that they will take whatever number of toilet paper squares they want. I will take 3 squares and pass the roll to the person sitting on my right. When every one has their desired amount of toilet paper squares (if working with younger students, encourage them not to take the whole roll 😂) you can explain the activity. For each square that the student took, have them tell the class one thing about themselves. If I took 3 squares, I will tell the class three things about myself. I like this activity because all you need is a roll of toilet paper!

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Before the class starts, make signs in each of the four corners of the room that say: never, always, sometimes, a lot.

The students will all stand in the middle of the classroom and the students will be asked statements and then will move to which corner that is most true for them.

Examples of questions to ask:

I listen to music

I like to dance

It can be modified with older students by changing the corners to (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree) and ask questions such as:

Cats are better than dogs

Rice is better than beans

Coffee is better than tea

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Questions in a cup ice breaker that I leaned from Andy and Ethan during my dis last year, and used it multiple times over my outreach.

It a game where you write down questions like; "What is your favorite color" or " Coffee or tea". Questions like that and you put them in cup, then hand the cup around the class or circle, then have the person say their name then read and answer the question. This game was a really good ice breaker for young learners in the States or even overseas.

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In this activity each student gets a bingo card. Each square has a sentence like "Find someone who..." i.e. speaks more than three languages, is from South America, likes to read, etc.. Students have to go around and get signatures from classmates if that question applies to them. They can only get one or two signatures from each classmate so they have to talk to a lot of people. The first student with a bingo or blackout wins.

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Find Someone Who Bingo Cards on Bingo Baker

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Bingo cards about What We Love..., Unit 1 Exam, What We Love..., Bingo!!!, Find Someone Who..., Find Someone Who..., Identity Bingo 2: Electric Boogaloo, Somers Chargers Bingo, What We Love... and Birthday Bingo

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This game is great for larger groups and tends to be a little chaotic and high energy.

Getting started:

Evenly divide into two lines facing each other (easiest to play sitting down). Everyone introduces themselves to the person directly across from them. Then read out a question and start talking!

Discussion: This can go one of two ways;

a) have people discuss a certain topic -maybe a lead in to the lesson- with the person they’re facing for a minute (probably good if you have less confident speakers), or

b) to make sure both sides get a chance to talk (because extraverts will hog the conversation and introverts will let them), have side 1 answer a question about themselves for 30 seconds while side 2 only listens, then switch and have side 2 answer the same question for another 30 seconds while side 1 listens.

Switch!: After time is up and you’ve had your wonderful discussions, everyone moves one spot to the right. Introduce yourself to the new person across from you, start a new topic, and have another conversation. Repeat as many times as you want!

(Variation: for a higher energy group, instead of always moving one seat to the right, call out different instructions like 3 to the left or 2 to the right. This makes people think about where they are going, and gets interesting if someone miscounts.)

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How to Play:

Have students stand up in a circle with chairs behind them. They are given a prompt to "sit down if-" (for example: "sit down if your favorite color is red." "sit down if you are wearing a hat."

There are many different directions this game could go. You could do pet peeves (example: "sit down if no one laughs at your jokes." "Sit down if you hate cleaning the dishes."

Or get to know you questions. (Example: "sit down if you have more then three people in your family."

Last person standing gets to ask the questions on the next round!

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Description:

The first person in the line or circle whispers a word or phrase into the ear of the person sitting or standing to their right. The Game Continues. Players whisper the phrase to their neighbors until it reaches the last player in line.

Goal:

To listen well and speak clearly, while learning each person's name and something they like. Example: I am Mrs. Hernandez and I like to swim.

Instructions:

Getting Started. Players must sit in a circle or stand in a straight line. They need to be close enough that whispering is possible, but not so close that players can hear each other whisper.

Begin the Game. The first person in the line or circle whispers a word or phrase into the ear of the person sitting or standing to their right.

The Game Continues. Players whisper the phrase to their neighbors until it reaches the last player in line.

The Conclusion. The last player says the word or phrase out loud so everyone can hear how much it has changed from the first whisper at the beginning of the circle or line.

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This is just a silly game that gets people moving and interacting and laughing. It's kind of like rock paper scissors.
1. Everyone in class grabs a partner
2. Partners stand back to back
3. Teacher explains the game and has class repeat "Man gets the net (class repeats),
Net gets the gorilla (class repeats), Gorilla gets the man (class repeats), If you tie goodbye (class repeats).
4. Teacher counts out loud to 3
5. Partners turn around after 3 and do the sign for either man, net, or gorilla. (the signs are man-make a fist and put it under chin, net-put one hand on top of your other, gorilla-both hands in front of you like claws
6. You are out if the other person has the sign that gets your sign. (ex. if you do net and partner does man then you are out)
7. Winners of first round find new partners each round until 1 person is the final winner

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You will need: Paper and pen
Preparation: Make a list of everyone's name in the class and print out a copy for each student.
Goal: To get to know each other and find things in common!

The first thing you will need to do is pass out a sheet of paper with a list of every student's (and teacher) names on it. Then, allow everyone to move freely throughout the classroom, introducing themselves and questioning each other until they find one thing that they have in common with everyone on their list. By the end, they will have one thing in common with everyone in the class which can help to create a classroom full of friends!

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My favorite ice breaker of all time is this one with a ball.

You take a ball either a beach ball or a soccer ball (I prefer soccer ball because then you can write a question on each of the hexagons) and fill it with get to know you questions. Then you gather your students in a circle and each person says their name. The teacher chooses someone and says their name then throws the ball to them to get it going. Whatever question their thumb is closest to when they catch it is the question they have to answer. They then choose another student to throw it to and says the other students name before they throw it. This is a great activity to not only just get to know each other better, but to practice names as well.

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I learned this in a professional development. It can be scaffolded for different levels. Students are walking around the room to the music. Once they music stops, they find people near them (you can choose how big you want the groups to be, or it can be partners). Then you have them answer a question. You can provide sentence frames for them if you want. Then once their discussion time is over, have the student share their partner (or one person in their group)'s answer to the question! It's easy and gets them moving so it's less awkward.

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I really like to use this platform where you can find games for online groups. You can find good Icebreaker activities like the one I'm sharing here but there are multiple options not just for icebreakers. This can be a good way to start a class using visual and interactive content.

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This is a new take on an old game. During my time in India we would play this with the kids and they loved it. The Game remains essentially the same all the players, except the first person who is It, sit in a circle. The player who is IT walks around the circle, tapping each player on the head, saying “duck” each time until he decides to tap someone and say “goose.”
That person becomes the goose and runs after It, trying to tag him before It can take his seat. If It successfully reaches the goose’s seat without being tagged, the goose is the new It.
The name of the animals however can be change depending on where you are. In the case of India you may use something like Monkey Monkey Elephant! This game can be played simply for fun or as a get to know you game. For example if someone is tagged before the reach there seat they must say their name and something about themselves before beginning to walk around to choose a new It.

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Name & Thing - This is an adapted version of an icebreaker shared earlier.  Students stand in a circle.  The first person starts by saying their name and acting out one thing they like to do (for example, I would say "My name is Ruth and I like hiking" while pointing to myself and then acting out hiking).  The next person introduces the first person and themself in a similar manner, the third person introduces the first two and themself, and so on (so the last person will have to introduce everyone in the circle).  To take the pressure off individuals, it can be nice to have everyone introduce people the group has already met in unison (so if we are at the fourth person, the whole group introduces the first three students, and then the fourth person introduces themself).
Beach Ball Beginnings - write conversation starters or questions in random locations on a beach ball.  Students will stand in a circle.  The first person, holding the ball, will introduce themself.  They will then read and answer the prompt underneath their right thumb before tossing the ball to someone new.  That person will introduce themself, and then answer the prompt under their right thumb before tossing the ball...and so on.  Once everyone has gone once, change the icebreaker so that students have to say the name of the student they are going to toss the ball to next, rather than students saying their own names.
Buddy Bingo - This requires a little more prep, but is still fun.  Fill bingo grids with fun facts (i.e., wears glasses, is afraid of spiders, plays an instrument), and give students a set amount of time to move around the room with their sheet, finding people for who those statements are true.  When students find someone who matches the statement, they will have that person initial/sign their name to the box.  The first person to get bingo wins!

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This is one of my favorite get-to-know-you and get wiggles out activities. Have student made a circle with their chairs but there is one student without a chair standing in the middle. The student in the middle will make a statement “My name is _____ and I like/dislike/play _______” for example “My name is Morgan and I like watermelon.” Then everyone sitting in the chairs thinks if the statement is also true for them. For this example, do you like watermelon? The middle person or teacher can give a short countdown so people can think about the answer. If yes, then you need to leave your spot and find a new one. If no, then you get to stay in your spot. The middle person can also say “upset the fruit basket” then everyone has to find a new spot!

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This is an example of a list I found in the Fun Activities TESOL book you gave us!

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A list of short phrases/sentences is given to each student (Example: has 1 sister; has a cat; has lived in Argentina). Next the students walk around the classroom interviewing each other to find someone who can answer "yes" to the phrase/sentence. The student who can answer "yes" to that phrase writes their name next to it.

This icebreaker could be used on the first day of class to help students begin to get to know each other; it could also be used at a later time in the class to practice new vocabulary.

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This is super simple and would maybe be best for a beginner class on the first day.  Have all the students write their name on a card/paper and decorate it if they wish.  Place all the names in a basket  and one student draws out a name saying, "Who is 'Jenny' ?"  'Jenny' responds , "I am Jenny" and she draws the next name until all have said their names.
A variation would be to respond "I am Jenny and I...."  ( state something about themselves or answer a question, etc)
I would think having the basket of names on hand might be helpful in other areas of class life also...   forming pairs and groups, deciding who presents first, etc.  (and to help the teacher with name learning in a large class!)

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I found this idea on Pinterest, and I think it would be a fun activity especially for young kids!
Color candy=topic
Each kid can draw one candy (I like M&Ms), and whatever color candy they get is associated with a different topic or question! For example:
If they draw:
Blue= What is your favorite food?
Green= What is your favorite movie?
Red= What do you like to do for fun?
Brown= Whatever you want!
I would definitely like to try this in my class one day! Because I mean, who doesnt like candy? :)

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https://youtu.be/bQebzv8sShE

I found this one , which I really liked.
It´s fun and energizing.

Write 1-10 on a piece of paper,
You need at least 10 people, each person one number

you write any number they need to make without repeating any number.
you can put up a timer of 40 sec

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Easy Icebreaker Activities: The Numbers Game

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I spent years teaching English to kids in a restricted country. We would start most all classes with a song, as the kids would meet with us after school and needed to get some wiggles out. :) When teaching body parts, this song is perfect to introduce the names of the body, before having a sit-down lesson. Later activities in the lesson can more formally teach pronunciation and grammar but, to start with a song can casually intro vocabulary in a "fun, safe, relaxing way" with a few giggles mixed in.

Alternatively, this song can be changed for any vocabulary/ word association that needs to be remembered as an activity later on in the semester... for example:
touch head, say town
touch shoulders, say state
touch knees, say country
touch toes, say continent...

Here's my favorite version of the song, if you have resources for a video

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I would have a very basic and simple Icebreaker to begin my class as many of the students would be older, from war torn countries, and have very limited English.

Materials needed: Map and post it notes. Beverage station - Coffee, tea, juice, water etc.

1. Your name - They would write their name down on a post it.
2. Where are you from - They would stick the post it over the country they are from.
3. What do you like to drink - I would then have them go over to the drink station where they would select a coffee, tea, juice, or water.

It's super simple way to get my students talking and to see where they are from and their culture.

The second day - I'd probably do the same Icebreaker but add on to it. So the 4th question would be favorite food or tv show. Something like that. I'd continue to add to it daily for the first week or so.

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I bet most of you have heard of sharing "highs and lows" before, which simply means sharing a highlight from your day or week and a low or challenge of the day/week. Adding a "buffalo" moment can add a silly and fun spin and help you learn more about people, their personalities, and what they care about. A "buffalo" is simply a random moment from your week. It can be funny, mundane, exciting, or something that made you smile. Sharing highs, lows, and buffaloes is an opportunity to be vulnerable and build community, and can also get people laughing. Regardless, you will learn something about everyone who shares.

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This game only requires one thing: A Ball of String or Yarn.
The first person holds the end piece of the string and shares something about themselves or answers a fun question the teacher asks. When they are finished, they hold their end of string in one hand and throw the ball to another student to share. This continues on until a "spider web" has been formed with the string, showing how are are all connected even with our differences. A fun addition to this icebreaker is to throw a balloon or light ball onto the web after it's been fully formed, and the students together try to keep it from falling to the ground.

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I know my favorite Icebreaker activity from church camp. I would recommend the activity for advanced learners or intermediate learners with more scaffolding. Each students gets a sheet of paper with a bingo raster in the beginnging (see picture above). Then all students are asked to get up and move freely in the room in order to find someone for enough categories to create a bingo. When a student finds someone for a category they have to write their fellow students name into the box. In this way students (and the teacher) aren't only learning fun things about each other but also each others names. In the future (in the week after the game) they have conversation starters regarding different students in their class and how they can get to know them better. Appart from the different topics the same basic rules for bingo apply.
Have fun playing!

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Hand out one playing card to each student with a matching number to another student, If you have an uneven number, you may need to play! Have the students find their match, interview their partner asking 3 questions and then take turns introducing them to the class.

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For this activity you will need to choose a word that no one knows the definition to (I'll attach a link that can help come up with such words). For example lets assume you don't the meaning of the word progger (my spell check doesn't even think its a word haha). Write the word where everyone can see. Then have everyone write what they think is the definition of the word on a paper. You will also write the correct definition on a paper. Collect all of the papers and have the students as a group (you could also do teams and make it competitive) decide which definition is correct. The definition of progger is someone who aimlessly searches or someone searching for clams or oysters:) Have fun!

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This is a fairly simple Icebreaker but a time-tested one. Everyone says two truths and a lie and then the rest of the class guesses what the lie is.
I've always enjoyedthis one.

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This activity gets people talking and moving around! All you will need is 3 pieces of paper per person, pens/pencils, and a bowl.

Start by having each person write on 1 piece of paper a place, on another a noun, and on the last piece of paper an object. Once everyone is done then all the pieces of paper can be folded up and thrown into the bowl.

Everyone will be split into two teams. There will be a total of 3 rounds. Round 1 is explaining the word written on the paper so your team guesses what's on the paper. Round 2 is charades, so the person up can't say anything and can only act out what is written on the paper. Round 3 is when the teammate up can only say 1-word hint. Team members will take turns picking a piece of paper and trying to get their team to guess right before time runs out. Then the bowl will be passed to the other team.

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The next round is played in a similar fashion, with each team having 1-minute to guess as many words or phrases as possible. The team that went second last time will get to go first for this round.

The main difference is that the player reading the paper can only use one word to describe the word or phrase. So, if the word is "Cheeseburger" this time they may use a single word like "McDonalds" to describe it. The team needs to remember the words that were mentioned in the first round and use the "password" as a hint. The teams continue to alternate with 1-minute rounds each, then the pieces of paper are tallied and placed back into the fishbowl.

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How to Play Fishbowl | Fishbowl the Game | Funattic.com

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The next round is played in a similar fashion, with each team having 1-minute to guess as many words or phrases as possible. The team that went second last time will get to go first for this round. The main difference is that the player reading the paper can only use one word to describe the word or phrase.

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This activity is pretty simple and fun to do at the very first meeting. With this activity classmates and the teacher get to know each other and get closer their relationship.

All you need to do is get a ball.

First of all, all students should stand up from their chair and then they can have their own space so they can throw the ball to their classmates.
When the teacher throws a ball to random student and ask " What" Questions such as " What makes you happy?" the person who gets the ball can answer properly and then throw the ball to person who doesn't get the chance. If everyone gets a chance to have the ball and answer their questions you can finish this activity.

Have a list of below questions prepared on the white board so lower leveled kids or adult could get some ideas.
- What is your favorite color?
- What is your favorite hobby?
- Can you describe yourself in 3 words?
- What is your favorite movie?
- Are you a dog person or a cat person?
- What is your favorite song?
- What makes you happy?

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the ball of true icebreaker - Bing images

Ball Game is designed to be used as an icebreaker for a group of strangers who have never met each other. This icebreaker game is perfect for a new class.

How to play: Ask all of the participants to stand in a circle. Make sure they are not too far apart or too close together. Give one person a small ball (tennis balls work well) and ask them to throw it to someone else in the circle. The person who catches it says their name and what is his7her favorite game;  and throws it to another person who does the same. As the ball moves around the circle, everyone in the group gets to learn one another’s name.
There are variations, if you have small groups students can write in the ball the names and her/his favorite game, and you can keep that in the rest of the class.
How to Use the Ball Game as an Icebreaker for Groups (thoughtco.com)

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Find high-quality images, photos, and animated GIFS with Bing Images

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This is a simple ice breaker activity, doesn't need any materials, but just follow the instructions, but i'm sure it will be fun for team building. first we come together as a circle by joining hands. Then first, we have to say what the instructor says and do what he says. Next for 2nd round, say what is opposite to what he says and do what he says and next the final round, say what he says and do what is opposite to what he says. we can start with trial and try again with our team and it will be fun.

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This game sounds so silly and fun!

You start by choosing a word that no one in the class has heard before.
And then you have each student write a definition of what they believe the word means.

Put all of the definitions into a bowl (including the correct definition) and then read them out loud to the class. The students will vote on which one they think is correct and from there they get points if they were correct!

You could even do fun consequences if a team gets the definition wrong.

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In this activity the teacher gives instructions to the class. For example: "Raise your hands!" If, and only if, the teacher says "Simon says" before the command/instruction, the students should obey. If someone follows the instruction when the teacher doesn't say "Simon says" first or doesn't follow the instruction when "Simon says" is being used, they are out of the game. The winner is the last person standing...

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materials: a handout sheet with activities/ different relevant things in boxes and the students to have a pen

The students will go around the classroom asking their classmates questions to see if anything applies to them. When they find something that applies to them, they will write their name in the box. The students will ask the questions and wait for a response.
The game is over when a student has the sheet filled up. The teacher can choose to hand out a prize to the winner or just end the activity.
The teacher can also have the option to bring the class all together and read off the items. As the item on the sheet applies to the students, they can raise their hands. This can be used to help students recognize other people in the room with the same likes and interests.
*If the teacher is feeling jazzy, they can ask some students to share stories about their experiences.

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This game is a great way to move around, practice listening skills, and get to know your class better.

To play this game, you begin by dividing the room in half. You can do so visibly by laying down a piece of tape or string in the center of the classroom.

Next, you would split the students into two groups, having a group on each side of the room.

Then, the teacher would say a "Switch Sides If..." statement. For example:

"Switch sides if you ate breakfast today"

If the student ate breakfast that day then they would switch sides and tell a fellow classmate what they ate that morning.
You can ask silly questions or get more serious, saying statements such as "switch sides if you are nervous today".

With each "switch sides if" statement, you are allowing the students to get their wiggles out by moving around. And some questions may have a followup question of explaining why they switched sides, so either a "who, where, how, or what" response.

Here is a link with some more examples of "Switch Sides If" statements. :)

https://www.clcnwi.com/file_download/inline/89ca4eab-18c7-4e42-8c95-0c3962fad60e

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For this icebreaker game, everyone in the class will get a bingo sheet with different statements or questions in each square such as “I have a pet dog” or “do you like swimming?”. The purpose of this game is to go around and meet other students in the class and have them sign the statement/question you ask them – but only if it applies to them. Each person can only sign someone else’s bingo sheet once. After everyone gets a bingo, students can take turns sharing what they learned about each other from this activity.

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We all know how important personal interaction and tight bonds are in our lives. As much as this is true in family and friends circles, it is also crucial at work. Personal interaction is the foundation on which happiness and successful results are built and taking the time to use get to know each other games or ice breakers can be invaluable for any business or team.

An in-depth study from TINYpulse, an employee engagement company, studied more than 40,000 workers' inputs from more than 300 companies globally. They found a correlation of 0.92 between employee fulfillment and their relationships with colleagues. The correlation between their happiness and relationships to direct bosses was only 0.74. Since you can end up spending more time with coworkers than with your family or partner, it is a topic that deserves much attention.

To everyone, except the most eager & outgoing few, icebreakers are a necessary evil. They are supposed to dissolve awkwardness, but forced icebreaker games often make an event even more tense. It doesn't have to be this way!

Whether you're looking for icebreakers for meetings, workshops or training sessions, we have you covered with everything from fun ice breaker games to more in-depth ice breaker activities. The activities below are primarily designed for live meetings, but if you look for remote activities, we've got you energizers and icebreakers for online meetings, too!

Let's dig in with ice breaker ideas to help you make any workshop, training session or meeting a success!

Purpose of Icebreakers

So how do you avoid creating a frustrating, patronizing ice breaker game that won't make participants feel like they are wasting their time and why should you try?

The benefits of icebreakers far outweigh any negatives. They can take care of introductions in a much more fun way than just simply going around the room and stating what's on your business card. They can make people remember names easier & help start conversations. When done right, icebreakers can quickly build a sense of community, set the tone for the upcoming session & give participants ownership of the learning ahead. They are also a great way for people to share their expectations, and for facilitators to introduce the topic of the day through the game. It helps participants to loosen up, understand each other more and enable better collaboration and networking. Last, but not least, it is a surefire way to energise the group and have everyone focused and ready to go.

Categories of Icebreaker Activities

Below we've collected 45 ice breaker activities that will help you set the right tone for any occasion - from company retreat to conference workshop, from strategy session to new hire onboarding. These icebreakers don't require people to reveal too much personal information too soon and allow room for introverts too.

The best ice breakers are tailored for a particular situation: ice breakers for meetings or team icebreakers often have a different design than workshop ice breakers and finding the right one for your purpose can help them be successful.

We've found these ice breakers incredibly useful & would love to hear about your experiences if you give any of them a try!

In order to help you find what you look for, we grouped them into the following categories:

Ice Breaker Games to Get to Know Each Other

Whenever you have a group of people participating in a meeting, project or event, they need to get to know each other to be comfortable in working together. This does not only mean just memorizing names, but also involves getting the facilitator or leader of the session familiar with the group members. Get to know each other games and team ice breakers are a great way to begin, especially with a new group.

This method is an adaptation of the well-known icebreaker 'Two Truths And A Lie' to create an activity that can be run throughout a day of meeting or workshop. Participants mingle and ask questions from each other while noting the answers on post-its. But everyone includes one lie. The result is that you have a board of interesting facts about all the participants, among them, one lie. Throughout the workshop you can return to these boards for participants to introduce each other and find out what was the lie. This is an engaging technique from the get to know you games category of icebreaker, and it's often useful to have an ongoing get-to-know exercise during a longer session.

Diversity Bingo is one of our favorite group ice breaker games. This game help participants to get information on each other in a fun, competitive way. First, create a bingo card containing a grid of squares with a statement or question in each square that will apply to some members of your group and is in line with the objectives of your class, workshop, or event. After each player gets a bingo card, they mingle around introducing themselves and finding other participants who can sign their cards indicating that a statement applies to him/her. To avoid having people only talk to one or two people and filling up their card, limit the signatures they can give to 1 or 2 per card. When everyone has reached bingo or is super close, you can share something you've learned about each other, yourself and the experience of this ice breaker activity.

Do you have people who come from many different places to your session? If you're looking for fun icebreakers for meetings that are active, Group Map is a good bet! A great way to get to know each other is to have participants place themselves on an imaginary map laid out in the room representing the country according to where they grew up. Ask them to share one internal value they got from that place, and why is that important for them. Encourage people to share a short story if they want. Sharing customs and values from your childhood can create more understanding and help form stronger bonds - a hallmark of a good icebreaker.

A simple and classic ice breaker game. Each employee shares three statements about themselves - two true, and one false. Then, everyone tries to guess which is the lie by asking questions. Try to find out as many details about the statements as possible and watch the speaker's reactions closely. The whole point is to learn facts about your peers while inserting an element of mystery.

This is one of the team icebreakers that helps the group learn about each other and gives both introverts and extroverts an equal chance to reveal themselves and discover others' assumptions. It's been done before, but if you're looking for icebreaker games for work, this is one everyone is sure to know and understand with little preparation time.

Starting a meeting or after a break in a group where participants don't know each other or don't know much about each other

Create groups of 4-5 people, and let them discover what they have in common, along with interesting characteristics that are unique to a person in the group. This icebreaker promotes unity as it gets people to realize that they have more common ground with their peers than they first might realize. Good ice breaker games are great at bringing people together. As people become aware of their own unique characteristics, they can also help people feel empowered to offer the group something unique.

Create groups of 4-5 people, and let them discover what they have in common, along with interesting characteristics that are unique to a person in the group.

The goal of this icebreaker game is to help the participants to get to know each other at the beginning of an event or to help identify their values during the later part of a training session.

Create a 3 x 3 grid for each participant and have them fill in each block with a different personal passion randomly. After the individual work, have everyone walk around the room and compare notes. When they find the same passion listed in both grids, ask them to sign for each other in the appropriate square. The winner is the participant who manages to have other people's signatures on three lines (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal). You can continue the game to have as many winners as you possibly can. Icebreaker games with a degree of competition can be really effective if you want to set that tone for the rest of a workshop or meeting.

This simple game that explores the concepts from these two quotations: "Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you". -Oprah Winfrey."Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they are." -Penelope Lively, novelist

This game is a great way for players to introduce themselves and their colleagues. It's especially fun for people who think they already know each other very well - almost every time there are at least a few surprises! Sometimes these new nuggets of wisdom can have an immediate effect on the employees' relationships, current projects or challenges. Since you have to draw, rather than explain, it serves double duty for topics like problem-solving, creative thinking and innovation. Fun icebreakers for meetings don't get much better than this!

Coat of Arms exercise provides a way for participants to introduce themselves and their colleagues, particularly for groups who think they already know each other very well. Almost invariably participants discover something about their colleagues of which they previously had no idea. Occasionally this revelation has an immediate and direct application to another participant's current project or challenge. Because this activity forces people to use drawings rather than words, it is particularly useful as a dual-purpose introductory exercise in training sessions that deal with such topics as innovation, creativity, and problem-solving.

​Jenga questions

Jenga is the starting point of many fun gatherings. It's a super easy ice breaker activity to explain and pick up & anyone can join any time. You can spice up a regular tower-toppling contest by writing intriguing questions on each block (or as many as you can). When you draw each block, read the question out loud & answer before placing the piece on the top of the tower. This can ignite exciting conversations about everyday topics like favourite downtime activities to more in depth stuff, like career and self development goals. Getting to know you games with an edge or a unique approach can make for fun icebreakers that set a team off on the right foot.

This is a quick ice breaking game where players have to form an orderly line without any discussion, or any verbal cues or help at all. The line is formed by predetermined criteria (like height, or color of each person's eyes etc.). The tasks can get more complicated the more familiar the group is. This icebreaker helps develop team collaboration and non-verbal communication.

Line-Up #hyperisland #energiser

In the short group challenge, participants must organize themselves in a line according to a certain criteria (like height) without speaking. The activity promotes non-verbal communication and teamwork. Simpler versions of the activity can be used in early stages of group development while more complex versions can be used to challenge more established groups.

This fast-paced icebreaker activity allows participants to get acquainted with each other in a meaningful way. Prepare about a quarter more quotes than the number of participants on individual slips of paper. Put the pile in the center of the room. Each participant picks up one quote, then picks a partner and begins to discuss what the quote says to them, if it is meaningful, and how. Then after a minute or so (very short) the facilitator gives a signal and participants switch partners, and may switch quotes as well if they'd like. This can continue for 4-5 rounds for around 15 minutes. Ice breaking at speed is not only fun, but effective. Definitely consider this one as for meeting ice breakers.

Prior to the workshop the facilitator prepares a list of questions which can only be answered with yes or no. These questions should begin with "Have you ever...?" or "Stand up if...". The facilitator reads out the questions or statements one by one. For each statement the participants stand up if they could answer the statement with yes. The questions should be designed to not be discriminatory, intimidating or insulting. Possible topics can be countries visited, dishes, games or sports tried, movies seen etc. This should be quite familiar to people before they attend the meeting or workshop and is quick and easy to understand - ice breaker ideas don't need to be brand new to be effective!

short, fun, energizing team activity

Speed Dating Icebreaker

The goal of this game is to have a succession of very rapid conversations in an extremely short amount of time with as many people as possible. Have people sit in pairs, with colleagues that they don't directly work with on a day-to-day basis. Determine the time limit (say 3 minutes for each conversation) and set a timer. When it starts, each pair has to start speed networking & find out as much professional info about the other as possible. Get to know you games can sometimes be difficult to manage in large groups. Fun icebreakers like this are great in that each time the buzzer goes off, the pair has to split and find a new partner, again looking for people they know the least. When thinking of ice breakers for meetings, consider the value that the swift, deep conversations this ice breaker activity allows.

The key icebreaker is a team building icebreakers favorite and a great exercise to get to know each other in a group or team. Ask the participants to sit in a circle and bring their keys with them. Explain that they will get to know each other through their keys. Ask them that one by one present all the keys they have on their keychain and tell a few sentences about the area the key represents - the city or neighbourhood they live in, the activity it represents (bike or locker key) or the person they received it from.

Usually the facilitator starts the circle so the participants get the feeling how it should be done.

The key ice breaker is a team building favorite and a great exercise to get to know each other in a group or team.

It is easy to understand and set up, can be modified according to the objects participants have, fast way to get info on each other, and surely makes everyone included!

Whose story is it?

Start this ice breaker game by writing your funniest or weirdest story on a small piece of paper. It has to be a true one, no colouring! Then fold the paper up and drop it into a bowl or other container. The facilitator or the person leading the program randomly reads every story & the group has to guess who the writer is. This is a great way to get to know each other and find out new things, even if you've worked together for a long time.

Starting a meeting by defining your personality in a playful manner is a great starter if there are multiple new members to the group or if two or more departments come together on a new project. Team meeting ice breakers that focus on breaking apart traditional group silos among varying teams are well worth the time you spend on them.
This meeting starter from Gamestorming works great because it lets people self-define, gives them a "personality" outside the typical work environment. Additionally, it gives participants quick snapshots of multiple players (since they see many cards as they're being passed around), and it creates memorable visuals that give people conversation pieces as the meeting progresses. Ice breakers for meetings are great for setting the tone and pre-empting some of the work you will do later on - you could even encourage people to list skills or attributes that will be useful in the workshop or meeting.

​Find your pair

Prepare word pairs, like salt and pepper, milk and honey, sail and wind etc on separate pieces of paper. Tape one to each person's back. People then have to walk around and ask closed questions (with a yes or no answer) to find out what their phrase is. Once they find out, they have to find their pair & by continuing to ask questions (these can be open or closed) they have to learn 3 new things about the other. The best icebreakers are often fun icebreakers that encourage people to think in new ways - find your pair is a
great ice breaker game for smaller groups too!

Use this ice breaker activity at, or very near, the start of a course, workshop or meeting where people don't know each other to help get to know everyone's names. Have the group sit in a circle where everyone can see the others. The first person says their name. The next person continues, but after saying their own name, they repeat the first person's name. This continues with each person repeating one more name. Reassure people towards the end that it's ok if they get stuck & encourage the others to jump in to help if anyone is lost.

Use the exercise at, or very near, the start of a course, workshop or meeting where people don't know each other as it helps to learn names of each other

​Toilet Paper Icebreaker

This is one of those ice breaker activities that is most easily prepared - you only need one roll of toilet paper. Pass this around, and have everyone rip off how much they would usually use. Everyone will feel awkward & will not really see the point at the beginning & possibly think you've lost it. When everyone has taken off a few squares, they should count them. The amount they have is how many fun facts they should reveal about themselves. A warning though: this is one of those fun icebreakers for meetings or workshops that is best suited for more lighthearted occasions.

​Show and tell

Group icebreakers are important, even in teams that know each other well. For more established groups, where people are more familiar with each other, it's always good to dedicate a day, or an afternoon for "show and tell". Each team member gets the chance (not all at once of course) to showcase something - an object or a topic that they are interested in. Meeting ice breakers like show and tell should be a mandatory occasion, a part of the group routine, with a Q&A section at the end. Everyone has something they dedicate a little bit more time and attention to, but you always hear about this from the more extroverted people. This habit gives less exhibitionist characters a chance to show this side. It is also a great practice to hone presentation skills and handle the attention & tricky questions. Providing a mentor to look through their presentation and help prepare their speech is also beneficial and can ease nerves.

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Ice Breaker Games to Kick off Meetings

Using ice breakers for meetings is a secret weapon for anyone interesting in effective facilitation. An ice breaker at the start of a meeting is a great way to break monotony, motivate attendee and generally loosen people up. It energises everyone, helping them 'arrive' mentally and leave behind whatever task or thought they were previously working on. They can also help clarify the objectives of the meeting. Here are some meeting ice breakers to help ensure your next team meeting is a success!

​One Word Exercise

Pick a phrase that is central to the topic why you've gathered and have everyone write down or say a word that comes to their mind in relation to it. If you're leading a meeting about planning an upcoming project, ask participants to share one word that they think describes the goal or the processes that are needed. Once everyone has shared their phrases, discuss the results. This ice breaker helps explore different viewpoints about a common challenge, before starting the meeting.

LEGO Metaphors

Each participants gets a set of few LEGO bricks (identical sets to everyone - a few items, around 5-10 bricks per person will suffice). Everyone builds something that relates to the topic of the meeting. Afterwards, everyone gets 30 seconds to explain what their building means (e.g 'My Home', 'Interesting Experiment', 'The coolest computer ever') and how it relates to the topic of the meeting. (Optional: the figures/buildings and the metaphors may be used later on to help discussions around the table.) Remember that icebreaker games for work don't need to sacrifice fun, and some of the best team building icebreakers are creative and allow people to get in touch with their inner child!

Celebrate the wins in your team

An easy icebreaker that will have everyone feeling good before a meeting. Go around a circle and highlight a story - an action, decision or result - that can and should be praised from each team member. Something where they reached beyond their typical responsibilities and excelled. Have everyone acknowledge and thank each other for surpassing expectations. This is a great mood booster - by lifting each other up, the energy just starts to vibrate in the room. Everyone likes to be recognized. Ice breakers for meetings that give people the chance to celebrate success can be key in setting a great tone for the meeting to come.

Meetings can sometimes become useless because attendees come in stressed about the topic and distracted as result. The tension will not allow for solutions to surface & will not contribute to the time being spent productively.

You can reduce this tension by opening with a mindfulness exercise. Good icebreakers help set the mood, and by taking a moment to be mindful, your team can be more productive. Ask people to take a few moments to "check-in" with themselves and write down their worries. The reflection can be led by questions such as what energy level have they arrived with? What have they been doing that day so far / the previous day? What is on their mind that is unrelated to this meeting? Make sure they know that they don't have to share their answers. After everyone is done, they should rip up their answers and discard them. This helps them arrive & identify their state, let go of their worries and have better focus & more empathy towards the others. Team icebreakers that focus on setting the right tone and ask everyone to arrive in the room are some of the best ice breakers out there.

A good way to start a meeting/workshop/training to see how participants are feeling, what might be distractions that they are carrying with themselves into the room and how low/high their energy level is.

Purpose mingle

You can use this at the beginning of each meeting, it's so simple - the mark of many ice breaker activities. At the beginning of each meeting, have people walk around & share with others what they will contribute to that particular session. It's a great way to enhance engagement & help people set goals & hold themselves accountable. It also makes others aware of everyone's intent.

Fun Ice Breaker Games to Support Team Building

Ice breaker games are not only useful at the beginning of meetings or getting to know new people. They are also a great way to support team building, by creating a positive atmosphere, helping people relax and break down barriers. They can reveal new information about colleagues that otherwise you wouldn't discover during your everyday routine. Team icebreakers such as those below are great for enhancing team building and empowering everyone in the group to move forward together.

Let's look at some of the best team building icebreakers

The Four Quadrants one of the tried and true team building icebreakers to break the ice with a group or team. It is super easy to prep for and set up - you only need large sheets of paper (flipcharts or similar) and markers. Have people draw up a 2×2 grid and ask them four questions. They should draw the answers in each quadrant. Afterwards they can show each other their drawings and discuss the creations. The exercise is fun, colorful and visual and can be modified to work with any group and/or topic (just by changing the questions). Questions can cover topics like current challenges, stressors, defining moments, moments of pride, fears, desired outcome for the current gathering etc. Team icebreakers that encourage openness are great for team building and ensuring everyone in a group is heard!

The Four Quadrants is a tried and true team building activity to break the ice with a group or team.

It is EASY to prep for and set up. It can be MODIFIED to work with any group and/or topic (just change the questions). It is FUN, COLORFUL and VISUAL.

Team Jigsaw Puzzle Game

Separate people into same sized teams. Give each a very different jigsaw puzzle (with equal difficulty & number of pieces). Each group has the same amount of time to complete the puzzle.

The secret twist is to switch up a few pieces with the other groups beforehand! Fun icebreakers can help keep a team on their toes and encourage creative thinking - try ice breakers for meetings that include an edge of competitiveness and fun to really liven things up.

The goal is to finish before the others - so they must figure out collectively how to convince other teams to give up pieces they need. This can be through barter, merging or changing teams, donating minutes etc.

This is a longer game, but one that is worth doing, since it encourages teamwork on several levels - internally and externally too.

Two people should sit facing away from each other. One receives a picture of an object or phrase. Without saying directly what they see, they should describe it to their pair without using words that clearly give it away. Their pair has to draw the specific picture.

The game requires two people to sit facing away from each other, where one team member is given a picture of an object or word. Without specifying directly what it is, the other person must describe the image without using words that clearly give away the image. This is a great game to develop verbal communication and remember that icebreaker games for work do not need to reinvent the wheel to be effective.

This is a communication exercise when participants in pairs have to use only verbal communication to help their pair to draw a specific picture. There are several variations of the exercise detailed in the instructions.

Scavenger Hunt

Everyone has great memories from childhood scavenger hunts. It is a no-brainer then to recreate this experience as one of your icebreaker activities for adults. You can do this indoors at the office or outside if the weather is nice. They require a wide range of skills and thinking and diverse personalities to be completed successfully. It is also a great opportunity to mix people into teams who don't typically work together and bring them together with ice breaker games.

Electric Fence Icebreaker

This is a great energiser that requires players to move about as they build an imaginary electric fence. They have to try and cross it without touching it and getting "electrocuted". The fence can be represented by a rope or a shoe string tied between two objects. It should be about waist high. Players can't go under it, this is not limbo dancing! They must also be touching a teammate with at least one hand at all times. This ice breaker activity requires quick brainstorming, problem-solving and negotiating other ideas. Make sure that people who are uncomfortable with physical contact have an option to not participate but still feel involved in the brainstorming part. Inclusive games make for some of the best ice breakers: be sure to bare this in mind when deciding on icebreaker games for work or your next meeting.

The object of this ice breaker game is to introduce event participants to each other by co-creating a mural-sized, visual network of their connections. - great for medium size events where participants come from different organisations. All participants will need a 5×8 index card and access to markers or something similar to draw their avatar. They will also need a substantial wall covered in butcher paper to create the actual network. Once their avatar is ready, they "upload" themselves by sticking their card to the wall. Then they find the people they know and draw lines to make the connections. This is one of our favourite ice breakers for meetings, particularly if those involved in the meeting are distributed in interesting ways.

Ice Breaker Games to Improve Teamwork and Collaboration

Ice breaker games usually all have a strong aspect of teamwork and collaboration as people work together in groups to accomplish a challenge or solve a puzzle. Therefore these team icebreakers can also be used as part of team building events and team development workshops. They are meant to fast-track group familiarity and increase the socialization process in a new or existing environment. With increased social interaction, people naturally learn how to work together more productively - the mood can warm up between colleagues who are normally highly formal with each other. The best ice breakers have the power to strengthen coworker bonds, stimulate better brainstorming sessions, and create an atmosphere of inclusivity.

Here, we've collected ice breaker ideas and fun icebreaker activities to help improve teamwork and collaboration across the board.

In eighteen minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top. It emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, collaboration, innovation and problem solving strategy.

Fun icebreakers for meetings can be hard to find - The Marshmallow Challenge is one of those icebreaker games for work that feels almost like play.

The Marshmallow Challenge was developed by Tom Wujec, who has done the activity with hundreds of groups around the world. Ice breaker ideas that are fun, well designed and have a proven track record are definitely worth a try.

In eighteen minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top.

The Marshmallow Challenge was developed by Tom Wujec, who has done the activity with hundreds of groups around the world. Visit the Marshmallow Challenge website for more information. This version has an extra debriefing question added with sample questions focusing on roles within the team.

This fun activity could be used as an icebreaker both for people who have just met and for already existing teams. Breaking people up into groups, each one needs a fresh egg, some straws, masking tape and other items for creating a package to protect the egg. Using the raw materials provided, the team goal is to build a structure that will support a free falling egg dropped from a predetermined height (e.g. 7 feet) without the egg breaking. Get to know you games with an element of danger are always fun ice breakers for meetings. This is a method that shows and fosters team communication, collaboration and strategic thinking as well.

This is one of those simple ice breaker games you can use to enhance teamwork and problem solving & requires one long, thin, light rod (e.g. a broom handle). Line up people in two rows facing each other. Introduce the Helium Stick and ask participants to hold their index fingers out. Lay the Stick on their fingers & before letting go, have everyone adjust their position so the Stick is horizontal and everyone is touching it. The goal is to lower the Stick to the ground in a way that no one lets go of it at any time. Pinching, grabbing or holding on properly to the Stick is not allowed. If the group makes a mistake, they start from the beginning. With the right group, Helium Stick is one of the most fun icebreakers out there.

Blindfold your seated participants. Take a long string or rope with the ends tied together & place it in everyone's hands. Leave the circle and ask them to form a perfect square from the rope without looking.

When people think they are finished, they can remove their blindfolds to see the result. Ice breakers for meetings don't always include props or blindfolds, but deploying them effectively can make for memorable ice breaker.

Blind Square is one of the icebreaker games you can use to highlight leadership and communication - some people will want to take charge, while others are more comfortable following direction. Also, it can be repeated after the first try to see if they can improve their collaboration.

Blind Square - Rope game #teamwork #communication #teambuilding #team #energiser #thiagi #outdoor
This is an activity that I use in almost every teambuilding session I run-because it delivers results every time. I can take no credit for its invention since it has existed from long before my time, in various forms and with a variety of names (such as Blind Polygon). The activity can be frontloaded to focus on particular issues by changing a few parameters or altering the instructions.

Fun Ice Breaker Games

The best ice breakers have the power to strengthen coworker bonds, stimulate better brainstorming sessions, and create an atmosphere of inclusivity. They're also incredibly fun to play, making them a welcomed break from regular work activities. They break down barriers that might exist between employees & make it easier for people to communicate with one another.

Icebreakers also encourage lighthearted interactions that wouldn't usually take place in the context of a normal workday. When the correct game is chosen, everyone benefits from the energy they bring to any meeting or event. Remember that choosing ice breakers for meetings, even if those meetings are business-critical does not mean that you should discount fun icebreakers.

Here are some ice breaker ideas

This ice breaker activity is a fun one that requires some creativity. It enhances a sense of community because people have to draw the others as a group - not just between the drawers, but the recipients of the portraits too. The outcome is very visual and colourful, the images can be put up in the meeting room. Meeting ice breakers that produce physical results can really help ensure the work of the meeting continues afterwards!

​What is my name

Stick the name of a well-known celebrity or public figure on people's backs. Have players mingle and ask each other questions to find out who they are. This is a light game that initiates easy conversations without forced & awkward small talk. Make sure the figures are generally well recognizable. What is my name is one of those icebreaker games for work that is easy to set-up and get going and is fun for all involved.

This is a warm-up to really get a group energized. It is a game based on the traditional Rock Paper Scissors game but with a twist. The people who lost become fans and have to cheer for the players still in the game. The final is cheered on by a large crowd & the excitement is through the roof! If there are a larger number of people, you can have multiple tournaments. Fun icebreakers don't need to be complicated. Keep your ice breaker simple and ensure everyone can get involved easily.

This is a fun and loud energiser based on the well-known "Rock, Paper, Scissor" game - with a twist: the losing players become the fan of the winners as the winner advances to the next round. This goes on until a final showdown with two large cheering crowds!

It can be played with adults of all levels as well as kids and it always works!

Ice breaker ideas can come from anywhere, and so can great ideas. Create a surprise sentence by saying one word at a time. Give a general topic. The first person in the group says one word to a topic. The next person continues with another word. Eventually, the group creates a whole sentence by each member contributing only one word at a time. The outcome is always unexpected & almost always funny. Make sure people don't say two words when using articles or pronouns.

Creating a sentence relating to a specific topic or problem with each person contributing one word at a time.

Minefield

Set up harmless obstacles in the room you're meeting in. Use squeaky toys, whoopie cushions, bubble wrap and the like. Everyone takes turns going around the course while blindfolded, guided by their teammates. The goal is: help each to navigate through the minefield. Ice breaker games can be as simple as they need to be to start the process of getting a team working together. Have fun whether your ice breaking activities are designed for meetings or workshops by being open to even the most off the wall ice breaker ideas.

This ice breaker helps people ease in a group and brings out their creativity without a lot of effort. Splitting the group into pairs, each pair develops a creative handshake. Once done, the pair splits and each individual partners with another group member. The newly formed pair then teaches each other the original handshakes and together creates a new one. You can break up and pair off people as many times as you want.

The Movie Pitch Icebreaker

Divide players into several groups and have each team come up with an idea for a movie they want to make. They should prepare a pitch within 10 minutes. Once everyone had a chance to tell their idea, all players vote on which idea deserves 'funding'. The winners won't start to make their film, but they should get awarded with either a funny object or some treats. Team icebreakers like this are great if you want to ease people in without referencing the main tasks of the workshop too soon. Remember that ice breakers for meetings can be unrelated to the main discussion depending on your end goal.

For this game, you have to have quick reactions or you'll be eliminated. Have everyone stand in a circle with one person in the middle as the 'sheriff'. They must surprise other players by pointing to them. These people must quickly crouch and those on either side of them have to quickly 'draw' their weapons. If you are too slow, you switch places & become the sheriff. Fun icebreakers where you can come up with many different strategies on how to surprise people like Bang are great for kicking of meetings. It can also help with name-learning and so also falls into the category of getting to know you games, but if you have more than 30 people, it's better to play in parallel groups.

Bang #hyperisland #energiser

Bang is a group game, played in a circle, where participants must react quickly or face elimination. One person stands in the middle of the circle as "the sheriff", pointing at other players who must quickly crouch while those on either side of them quickly "draw". A good activity to generate laughter in a group. It can also help with name-learning for groups getting to know each other.

Share a joke

Have new team mates tell a joke at their first all-hands meeting. This is a great way to encourage people to be vulnerable and also ensures the meetings start on a cheery note. Remember that ice breaking activities needn't be complicated to be effective and when looking for ice breaker ideas, don't discount the simple games - they can often be the best.

This a simple icebreaker activity that energizes participants, and it's also suitable for highlighting spontaneity and teamwork. The activity involves participants standing in a circle and throwing imaginary ball(s) to each other in increasing pace. When throwing the first ball, the person starting should make a special sound that has to be repeated by the catcher upon receiving the ball. Once the ball is being thrown around at a fairly brisk pace, you can introduce another imaginary ball and start throwing it. When the group gets proficient at it, you can have three or four balls in play. Another classic among ice breakers for meetings, Sound Ball deserves your attention.

This a simple icebreaker activity energising participants, also suitable for debriefing learning points towards spontaneity and teamwork. The activity involves participants standing in a circle and throwing imaginary ball(s) to each other in increasing pace.

The No Smiling Icebreaker

This is a seemingly contradictory ice breaker that actually results in lots of smiles. Instruct everyone to keep a straight face and do not smile under ANY circumstance in the first five minutes of the meeting. People turn into children with an instruction like this, and immediately start looking at others, seeing how they cope. The anticipation makes everyone giggly, so after a while they cannot suppress their laughter anymore. We love ice breaker ideas that encourage people to try new things and are surprising too. Some of the best ice breaker games are those that encourage laughter, and the no smiling game is great for that!

Now over to you!

We hope you have found some useful tips for practical and fun ice breaker games and ice breaker ideas in the list above.

Remember that some ice breakers for meetings can scale to the size of your group while others work best with lots of people. Find the best team icebreakers for your specific group and purpose and you can help ensure they are successful! Now we'd love to hear from you.

What are your favourite ice breaker activities? Have you tried any of the methods above? How did you find them? Let us know about your experiences in the comments.

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45 Ice Breaker Games [That Your Team Won't Find Cheesy] | SessionLab

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We all know how important personal interaction and tight bonds are in our lives. As much as this is true in family and friends circles, it is also crucial at work. Personal interaction is the foundation on which happiness and successful results are built and taking the time to use get to know each other games or ice breakers can be invaluable for any business or team.

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We've all played this game with our friends. Or someone has asked us an opinion on something and unconsciously played this game. But it's one you could go around and ask each individual a specific one. Or have all the students answer with a thumbs up or down. And then pick out students and ask them why.

You could ask questions like:
Would you rather...
Jump out of a plane or a helicopter?
Swim in a lake or an ocean?
Go to Europe or North America?
Eat something sweet or salty?

I think it can be helpful with learning new words as well.

This link has some more good ideas
https://www.weareteachers.com/elementary-icebreakers/

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I have almost NO resources here so I have learned to be super resourceful and make a lot of games from few materials. One game I used, was to have students choose a picture and describe the colors, objects or actions that were in the picture. It gave them an opportunity to look through books and choose something they liked and use vocabulary they were learning.

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This activity can be played with any number of players and is similar to some of the ideas discussed earlier in the course. this is one that we have played with our three children on car rides but would be totally appropriate with English language learners.
- First person starts out say, "I am going on a picnic and I am bringing...(insert and item that begins with an "A")
- Second person continues, " I am going on a picnic and I am bringing an(item first person said) and a item that begins with a "B".
- Third person continues, "I am going on a picnic and I am bringing an (first persons item, second persons item and their item beginning with a "C)
- This will continue with each person until you make it through the entire alphabet repeated all items each time.

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*Works best if there are two co-teachers, but also works well for two students to be the "Team Leaders."

- Pass out a small paper of the SAME COLOR to all students.
- Have them write a fact about themselves (preferably in English) without writing their name on the paper.
- Once written, put the piece of paper into a common bowl, cup, hat, etc.
- Have the Team Leaders pull out the piece of papers one at a time and read the slip of paper.
- The Team Leader has 2 guesses to try and guess whose fact they chose! (15-30 seconds per guess)
- If they are correct with either guess, that person JOINS THEIR TEAM! (YAY!)
- If they are incorrect, that person EITHER:
1) joins the other team (Et tu, Brute?)
2) gets their fact and stays teamless (bummer!)

Whichever team is bigger at the end of time wins!

People learn silly facts about each other, people are moving, all students are challenged to write in English, and some are challenged to read in English as well.

Help can, of course, be provided as needed from teachers.

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In this icebreaker game you have a bowl of candies and ask each person to take as many as they would like, don’t eat them yet (and don’t tell them anything else) :)
For each candy they take they need to tell the group something about themselves. Inevitably, you will have one student there who really likes the candy and takes many … you will get to know that student more that day as they tell you many things about them self!
This activity can be modified by using coloured candies and have each colour represent an area/topic that the student can share (ie. green candy - family, red candy - hobby, etc).

Have fun with this idea!

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the only thing you need for this activity asa a roll of toilet paper. Before you explain the activity, you go around with the TP roll and say that everyone can take as much as they think they need. So you always have that person who takes a lot, and you have people that are more caution and take a little. But everyone has to have at least some. Then the game can start. You explain they have to say one word for each piece of toiletpaper. The word has to be something they identify with or represents them. So for example someone that took a lot of toilet paper and has for example 8 pieces. Now this person has to say 8 words that represent him. You can make this even harder for people with a higher level. For example that the next word they those has to start with the last letter of the first word. For example: Music, Coffee, Entertaining, Giraffes.
A great way to get to know each other and also to see how much they already know in english.

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This activity is for more advanced students who have a good grasp of the language but it can spark a lot of conversation and push students to think and ask question of each other.

Sit in a circle and starting with the teacher, state two truths and a lie. For example, I could say, I have six siblings, my favorite food is spaghetti, and I have been to six different countries. Students can guess what the lie is and get to know other students better. This is usually pretty fun and it is easy to come up with ideas. Just continue to go around the circle and encourage students to relax and be creative.

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I really like this one I remember the first day of class as a student. I was scared to reach out to people and that activity made everything so easy.
The students will receive a piece of paper with some sentences describing a person. They'll need to find that person in the classroom.

For example: .... has a bike.
The student will ask around the classroom and write down the name of the person who has a bike.

And that goes to the other sentences he/she need to fill.

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I love using pre-made Mad Libs or I make my own story and help the students practice their nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. It's a great activity for all levels as it is easily adjustable.

First find a Mad Lib that has words your students can understand. Bring it to class and don't share the story with them yet! Ask each student for the word in the blank (i.e. if the blank says you need a noun, ask a student for a noun). Continue to fill in the blanks and when it is finished, have students take turns reading each sentence and enjoy as they make a funny story!

This website has some good options and links to other websites...
https://slimzon.com/free-printable-mad-libs-for-kids-of-all-ages-huge-collection-super-silly/

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure.

Free Printable Mad Libs

Free printable mad libs can be used to reinforce grammar, reading comprehension, and build vocabulary skills in a fun and engaging way. Below you will find a huge selection of fun & super silly mad libs for children, that will help them learn nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Mad Libs To Print

1. offers over 178 free printable mad libs for children including Winter Holiday Mad Libs, Valentines Day Mad Libs, Spring and Summer Holiday Mad Libs, Fall Holiday Mad Libs, School Mad Libs, Birthday Mad Libs, Travel Mad Libs, Animal Mad Libs, Historical Mad Libs, Weather Mad Libs, Star Wars Mad Libs and more!

2. Brightly offers a free mega pack of mad libs for kids when you sign up for their newsletter.

3. MadLibs website also offers a large selection of free printable mad libs PDF including Mad Libs Valentines, Mad Libs Hall Pass, Mad Libs Party Invitations, Mad Libs Fortune Teller, and more.

4. Teachers Pay Teachers is another great resource that offers lots of freebees including printable Mad Libs.

5. Find 14 Free Printable Mad Libs worksheets from Teachnology.

Free Printable Preschool Mad Libs

Preschoolers love mad libs too! Download these mad libs worksheets and these free mad libs for preschoolers and kindergarten age kids.

Free Printable Themed Mad Libs

Mad Libs on the beach Camping Mad Libs Printable Valentine's Day Free Printable Mad Lids Fall Mad Libs Thanksgiving Mad Libs Christmas Mad Libs Winter Mad Libs Printable Father's day Free Printable Mad Libs Printable Mad Libs for High School Students

Mad Libs Online & mad libs generator (Free Resources)

Best Mad Libs Books

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Free Printable Mad Libs For Kids of All Ages (Huge Collection & Super Silly) -

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I found an activity called “Group Therapy” and it sounds like a great option for your older and/or more mature audiences. Maybe good also in more of the refugee settings. The group sits in a circle and shares one at a time. They start with “my name is….. and I am…..” they share something with the group that they have a hard time with in regards to learning English. This can be anything from confidence in their pronunciation to using articles.

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Are you looking for a fun ESL activity for your adults students? Then you'll need to keep on reading for more details about this group therapy activity.

Check out Group Therapy ESL Activity

Skills: Speaking/listening
Materials Required: None
Time: 5-15 minutes (depends on class size, but if too large, put students into groups of 5-6 people)

Group therapy is a fun activity for ESL students. It's not kid-friendly though! In the style of an AA meeting, students sit in a circle if possible and introduce themselves, "My name is _____, and I'm _____." Instead of finishing with ". . . and I'm an alcoholic," finish with a problem they have learning English, such as using articles, the present perfect or imperatives correctly or conjugating verbs. They should then solicit tips and tricks from their classmates.

The teacher should begin by modelling and could give an actual problem they have as a language student. For example, "My name is Jennifer, and I'm never sure how formal or polite to be when speaking Korean to someone I don't know well. Does anyone have any advice for me?"

Teaching Tip for Group Therapy

This is a great first day activity, because it is a not-very-sneaky way to get an idea of what areas of language the students perceive to be more difficult, which you can use to inform your lesson planning for the semester.

You may be tempted to try this out with kids. However, it's not really ideal for them because they often don't really have an idea of what "group therapy" looks like. In addition, they may not have the insight to really explain what their weaknesses in learning a language are. It's certainly an adult-only kind of activity.

Procedure for Group Therapy

1. Before class, arrange the desks in a circle, if possible. If the class is very large, divide students into several large groups.

2. Begin by telling your students that everyone has trouble learning languages, and even those who speak several languages fluently have difficulty with some aspect of any language they learn.

3. Introduce the lesson as "therapy" for them to get counselling for their troubles.

4. Begin with your own example of a problem you have with a foreign language you speak. For example, "My name is Jennifer, and I'm never sure how formal or polite to be when speaking Korean to someone I don't know well. Does anyone have any advice for me?"

5. Go around the circle and give each student a turn to introduce themselves, "My name is _____, and I'm _____." Instead of finishing with ". . . and I'm an alcoholic," finish with a problem they have learning English, such as using articles correctly or conjugating verbs. They should then solicit tips and tricks from their classmates.

Want to Make your Life Easier with Some of These

I know that I sure do. I try to plan my lessons as quickly as possible so I can have more time to go surfing and hiking and the other stuff that I really love! This idea for ESL students is from the book, 39 ESL Icebreakers: For Teenagers and Adults.

My co-author and I have over 20 years of experience in ESL/EFL classrooms and all the activities have been personally tested and approved as awesome! Click the link below to get the book now on Amazon. It'll be lesson planning made easy, guaranteed.

The book is available in both digital and print formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office as a handy reference guide for lesson planning before the beginning of the semester. Or, take a copy with you on your phone or tablet for lesson planning at your favourite coffee shop. Yes, it really is that easy!

How is the Book Organized?

The activities are well-designed to make it very easy for you. They start out with a brief overview of the activity so you can see at a glance whether or not it'll be right for your students. Then, it moves into the detailed step-by-step instructions that start with what you need to do for prep before class, how to explain the activity to your students, and then what the students actually have to do. Finally, don't forget about the handy teaching tips that'll make the activity go even better, and you can also avoid some of the most common problems.

Where Can I Get the Book?

Does it sound like this book is exactly what you need? If you liked this group therapy ice breaker activity, you'll probably love it. Click the link below to learn more about it on Amazon:
39 ESL Icebreakers: For Teenagers and Adults
Have your say about Group Therapy

And, have you tried out this group counselling style activity for ESL/EFL classes? Leave a comment below and share your tips and experiences with us, please.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It'll help other busy teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Teach kids? You may want to check out this password game.

Last update on 2021-08-12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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Group Therapy is a Nice Introduction Activity For ESL/EFL

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Are you looking for a fun ESL activity for your adults students? Then you'll need to keep on reading for more details about this group therapy activity. Skills: Speaking/listening Materials Required: None Time: 5-15 minutes (depends on class size, but if too large, put students into groups of 5-6 people) Group therapy is a fun activity for ESL students.

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1. Blobs and lines

This activity is easy, quick, keeps students moving and talking, plus helps them discover what they have in common. The idea is for students to listen to their teacher’s prompts and organize themselves in a line (for example, in alphabetical order of last name) or in blobs according to something they have in common (birth month).

Try these prompts:

Line up in chronological order of your birthdays

Line up in order of how many siblings you have

Find those who are allergic to the same things as you

Gather with those who have the same colored clothing as you

Line up in alphabetical order of your fathers’ names

Gather in four blobs: those who traveled by car to class, those who traveled by bus, and those who traveled another way

2. This or that

Along the same lines, in this activity students move to a particular side of the room to represent their opinions on a certain topic. To make this icebreaker work, “yes/no”, “true/false”, or “would you rather X or Y” questions are best. (A quick Google search will reveal dozens of sites with icebreaker questions to use or adapt.) Examples are:

True or false (teacher indicates the sides of the room that correspond to each answer): I had breakfast this morning.

Would you rather be invisible for a day or be able to fly for a day?

Yes or no: Do you speak more than three languages?

Tip: If you want to have questions with multiple answers you can assign each to a specific corner of the room.

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What you need: two object that are soft and easy to toss (small ball, stuffed animal, etc)

Have your class stand in a circle. Go around the group and have each person share their name. Once you've done that, you introduce one of your objects to toss. This is an underhand toss to a person in the circle. You will explain that the ball will be tossed to one person, The tosser will say, "Here (catcher name)" and the catcher will respond, "Thanks (Tosser name)" and then the Catcher will toss it on to another person who's name they remember. You must also inform them to remember the person they have thrown it to, because they will need that information later. This will be done until each person has received the object. The teacher is the last to receive the ball back.

Note: No repeats. Don't throw the object to someone who has already had it.

Once the group has successfully done one round. The 2nd round you can introduce two objects. You will throw the first, and then after it has been received by 2 or 3, the teacher may start the 2nd object. The activity is finished once both objects have returned back to the teacher.

There's a YouTube video to help explain further.

Have fun!

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Materials: Pen/pencil and paper

Have each person write to things on a piece of paper that is unique about them. Collect them, mix them, and had them out. Now the students read what is on the paper they received and try to figure out whose paper that is.

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Materials: a template or paper (any size) and something to write with.

Print out or design a page of questions with the goal of sharing about an individual.

Either have the individual answer the questions or fill in the blanks, OR
pair students up and have them ask each other the questions, filling out a page for the other person.

Can include decorations that can be colored (see example below).

These pages can be shared aloud with the class to learn more about each other.

Information such as name, age, favorite things (food, places, color, etc), hobbies, and more is helpful - can be tailored for certain groups (different ages, experiences, skills, etc)

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I like to use a deck of cards called "All About Me, All About You" from a company called SuperDuper Publications. The website is; https://www.superduperinc.com/
I fan out a handful of cards and I use the "pick a card, any card" corny line to begin. Someone takes a card from me and I ask them a question. Then, they pick a card, and I answer the question. You could do this by going around the room, or by answering the same question, once a card is selected. A picture of the card deck is attached.

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Material needed Large Tent Cards or 8 1/2 x11 stock paper folded in half length wise.

Have students print their names on one side of the card and on the other side you have them print what would they would choose as a vanity plate that represents them and why.

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You do not need any materials for this activity.

Have students arrange themselves in a line according to any/all of the following ways:
- Alphabetical order using first name or last name
- Birthdays by month then date
- How many siblings you have

Or you can have them get into groups, rather than form a line.
- Getting into groups with others who have the same eye colour
- Same birthday month
etc.

Follow this link for some other great ideas!

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Every teacher needs a few tricks up their sleeve and a good icebreaker activity is certainly one of them. Whether it's the beginning of a school year with a new group of students, a new student joins you mid-year, or any other occasion - such as you need to prepare the class for teamwork - icebreakers can help you build rapport and a sense of community in your classroom.

While there are tons of icebreakers you can find online, it is important to know that not all of them may be suitable for ESL students. In addition to not knowing people in the classroom, they may be uncomfortable and unwilling to take unnecessary language risks.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing an icebreaker for your ESL classroom:

make sure the activity does not require too much personal information. Most students are not ready to open up on the very first day. In addition, in quite a number of cultures, getting personal in school is not expected. Finally, for a lot of English learners school is already an uncomfortable place, so asking them to stand out right away might defeat the purpose of creating rapport.

make sure the icebreaker you choose for your classroom is at the right proficiency level of your students. That means that for beginners, you may need to use first language support and a lot of repetition and total body response. The activities may be a tad bit limited, too, for beginners, but that is totally fine. The language and tasks will become more sophisticated for the higher levels of English.

make sure the icebreaker is age-appropriate. Sometimes it is hard to gauge what activity to choose, especially when the students are older. The general rule of a little bit of physical activity, an item to pass around and candy work well for all age groups, though*

*just a note about any food in the classroom: be up to date on possible allergies and food-related religious practices of your students.

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many icebreakers to choose from that it would be hard to put them all in one blog post. Since I am writing this article in August, the beginning of a new school year is right around the corner for many teachers and students alike. Therefore, I will focus on getting-to-know-you icebreaker activities that you can use right away!

Icebreakers for beginners
Ball Toss Age level: children-adults
This is quite a popular icebreaker activity that can be easily adapted to your teaching situation. It works well with any level, but it is also one of the few icebreaker activities that true beginners can participate in as well.

Before the class: Write "getting to know you" questions on a beach ball using a dry-erase marker (make sure it dries well before the activity). The questions can be something like "what is your name?", "where are you from?" "how old are you?", etc. (the 5-wh questions).

During the class: demonstrate the game so the students know what the expectation is. Have a student gently toss the ball to you, then read the question that is under your right thumb and answer it aloud. Toss the ball to a student and ask him/her to do the same. The students thus keep going until everyone has gotten a chance to answer their questions.

Note: after you've used this activity for introductions, you can tailor it to meet any other language needs. For example, you may have a running list of questions created by students for their fellow classmates and write them on the ball whenever you need a warm-up activity. You can also review vocabulary in this way by writing down the words and the students providing either a definition or a sentence with the word. You can ask comprehension questions from the reading, etc.
Age level: children-teens
This game could be used as a follow up to the first icebreaker (on a different day) or on its own.

First, teach the students basic phrases of introduction such as "Hello, how are you?" - "I am well, thank you. And you?"; "My name is...", "I am from...", "I like....", "I don't like..." and, of course, "Thank you" and "Goodbye".

At the end of the class, ask the students to bring 3 items in a bag that represent them (or that they like) for the next class. Tell them you will practice the language that they just learned. When the students bring their items, they will introduce themselves, tell where they come from and name the three things they like. They then finish by saying thank you.

Depending on your classroom set up and the students, you could do a variation of this icebreaker where the students do this in pairs or small groups. It is important for the teacher to participate as well - it takes off the tension and builds trust within the class. In addition, if you see that the students feel comfortable with this basic task, you could also instruct them to tell 2-3 sentences about each of their items.
Groups and lines Age level: children - adults
This great icebreaker works well with all levels and allows students to see what they have in common. It is great for beginners because it does not require them to come up with an answer to a question they may not fully understand and they can immediately feel like they belong.

Ask students to line up or group themselves in a particular order.

line up in alphabetical order by your first names/last names/ (or make groups with people whose first/last name starts with the same letter as yours)

line up in order of your birthdays (starting with January 1st and ending with December 31st)

line up in order of how many siblings you have

get together with people who have the same eye color as you

get together with people who were born in the same month/season as you, etc.

You can think of as many prompts as you wish and, of course, tailor them to the age group you are working with.

Note: for absolute beginners, you may need to pre-teach/review what you want them to do (alphabetical order, for example, seasons, etc.)

Icebreakers for intermediate level and up

Once your students have mastered the basics of the English language, the opportunities for even more games open up. Here are three getting to know you icebreakers for those at an intermediate level and up.
Concentric circles Age group: teens - adults
This game allows students to have one-on-one conversations yet meet new people at the same time.

Prepare getting-to-know-you questions ahead of time. Have the students form two circles - one on the outside and the other on the inside. The students in the inside circle face the ones that are on the outside. Ask a question and the students spend 30 seconds to a minute answering it to one another. Then say "switch" and the students move clockwise to a new partner. They can then answer the same question to each other or you can change it to a new one. The game lasts until the students come back full circle to their original partner.

This is a great game for teens and adults because it allows for real-world conversation without the pressure to perform. In addition, it helps the students meet new people in a short amount of time.

Here are a few possible questions you can ask:

Do you play sports? If so, which ones?

Do you play any musical instrument? If so, which one? If not, would you like to learn to learn to play one?

Describe your perfect vacation.

Describe your perfect weekend.

What kind of music do you like?

Where would you like to travel?

and so on.
Four corners Age group: children- adults
This game is an oldie but a goodie - tested by time and works well because it allows your students to practice listening.

Before the class, prepare getting-to-know-you questions and label the corners of your classroom from one to four.

Instruct students to listen for the question and the answer choices and move to the corner that represents their answer choice.

The questions can be about anything but as with all getting-to-know-you icebreakers, it is best to keep general.

Here are a few examples of what you may ask:

Which one of these is your favorite sports? 1. basketball 2. soccer 3. baseball 4. American football

What type of movies do you like? 1. Comedies 2. Dramas 3. Horror 4. Documentaries

If you could learn a new language overnight, which one would you choose? 1. French 2.Spanish 3.English 4.German

What is your favorite season? 1. Spring 2. Summer 3. Fall 4. Winter

Just like the other icebreakers presented here, this one allows the students to see what they have in common with their peers and build a sense of belonging and rapport.
Light debate Age group: children-adults
This activity allows students to express their opinions and get to know others beyond "what's your favorite color".

Write the question that you would like your students to talk about and one that requires the students to take sides on the board. For example: What makes a better pet - cats or dogs? or Would you rather live in a large city or in the countryside? or Should students be required to wear uniforms? etc.

Have the students split themselves into two groups, based on which side they support. Then each student should take turns by saying 2-3 sentences about why they chose that side.

The advantage of this icebreaker game is that the students can practice speaking in front of their peers without the pressure of feeling like they are alone in front of the class; the discussion has the potential to become lively, which allows students to practice English in a real-world situation; and finally, they are able to find those with similar likes and dislikes, which takes the tension off when you are in a new classroom.

Hope you have found this article useful. I know I cannot wait to try them out in my classroom!

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For more icebreaker activities, check out these websites.
ESL Icebreakers - FluentU Icebreakers for Teens Icebreakers for Kids More start-of-the-year activities for kids
What is your favorite icebreaker activity? Share in the comments below!

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6 Fun ESL Icebreaker Activities For a Good Start of the Year

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Every teacher needs a few tricks up their sleeve and a good icebreaker activity is certainly one of them. Whether it's the beginning of a school year with a new group of students, a new student joins you mid-year, or any other occasion - such as you need to prepare the class for teamwork - icebreakers can help you build rapport and a sense of community in your classroom.

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Two people are holding a blanket between two groups. Ones the cover goes done you have to remember the name of the other person on the other side.

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Materials:  1. A quart of  Flat Stones and/or flat pebbles smaller than your hand 2. Rubber cement or super glue or Elmer's glue 3. Cardboard or cardstock any size.
Work Outside or inside at a table.

How To Play or Build:
Divide class into teams of 2 people.  Each team builds a picture by gluing stones to card stock or cardboard.
When finished all people gather at first team. First team shares their names and tells what picture they made. "My name is______. We made____."  Then gather at next team and repeat scenario.  After doing all the teams. Go back to First Team and see if Second Team can say Names and what First Team made. Then Third Team can say Names and what Second Team made. Do this with each Team. First Team can pick any team and  say Names and what that Team made.
Teacher makes first example.  Play peaceful upbeat music during art activity.

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You do not need any materials for this activity

How to Play:
list five things that you would want to have with you on a deserted island and explain why. The students do not have to go in a specific order, but it is recommended that the teacher goes first just as an example.

Here is where I got the idea from! Even though it is made for kids, I think that this would be great for adults too! The description has a handout that the students can use to pick their items from, but you do not have to use it to play this game!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki-mJmfi4R8

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Materials: For this game you don’t need any materials.

On-line OR in person game: This game was an example to use in on-line Zoom classes, but can also be used in person.  If used on-line Zoom, ask participants to use “gallery view”, so everyone can see everyone during this exercise.

HOW TO PLAY:   Ask all participants to stand up. Tell them that you are going to tell them which direction to look. They have to move their head and look in the appropriate direction.

1.     Explain the details. Tell them: When I say, “Up”, you need to look UP at the ceiling (or the sky). When I say, “Down”, you need to look at the floor (or your feet). When I say, “Left”, you need to turn your head to your left. When I say, “Right”, you need to turn your head to the right.

2.     Begin the game. Say the words UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT in a random order and encourage the participants to follow your instructions. Keep giving directions at a fairly rapid pace.

3.     Change the meaning of the words used in the game. After about a minute, give the participants NEW DIRECTIONS:   “Now I am going to make a CHANGE the meaning of the words UP and DOWN.  Starting NOW, Up will mean Down and Down will mean Up. (show them what you mean). So if I  say “Down”, you should look UP at the ceiling. Then when I say “Up”, you should look DOWN at your feet.”  BUT the meaning of the words LEFT and RIGHT remain the SAME—(so remember, for LEFT and RIGHT do NOT change the direction of moving your head).

4.     Begin using the CHANGED meanings in the game: (Before re-starting the game, remind them again that they must remember the NEW meaning of the words UP and DOWN, but keep using the OLD meanings for LEFT and RIGHT). START the game: Call out the four directions in a random order and ask the participants to follow instructions.  (NOTE: You will see many “mistakes” and lots of embarrassed laughter.)  Announce the end of the activity after about another minute.

5.     Debriefing:  Ask the participants how difficult it was to follow instructions when the meanings of words were CHANGED. Ask them to discuss any similar experiences they might have had in their real life.

6.   Learning Points

It is difficult to CHANGE and learn to do something a NEW way without unlearning the OLD way of doing things.

The old way of doing things can interfere with learning a NEW way to do something.

BUT – Always remember – If you keep practicing the NEW way , then little by little, the new way CAN become more “normal” for you!  Don’t give up!

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For Telephone you do not need any materials.

Start off with having your class stand a line. Think of a simple sentence and whisper the statement to the first person in the line.  That first person will then whisper the statement to the next person in line and so on until the end of the line. The last person has to say what they heard out loud to the rest of the class and you would then state the statement that was said to the first person in line and see if the class was correct or not. Play a few rounds but make the statements more crazy/fun with each round that is played.

The written/drawing version of the game would be to have the class sit in a circle and would require a pad of paper for every student and something to write with for every student. The front of the pad would have the student's name and the next page would have a simple noun written. The person has to draw the word and then pass the pad to the next person. The next person has to guess what was drawn and write it on the next page. The pad is passed with alternating from guessing the drawing and the writing the answer, and seeing the word and drawing the word. The pad keeps going until it is passed back to the owner. You can have the students present what went through their pads to the final result. It can be a very funny game most of the time. It can be more challenging when working through nouns with verbs. This option would be better for a smaller group of students.

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Things needed
- something to write with
- something to write on

How to do it
- Everyone begins with the same simple shape or design in the middle of an otherwise blank page (it could be a wavy line or half a circle, etc).
- Everyone draws the rest of the picture in a set time (1-5 minutes suggested). It could end up looking like an abstract piece, scenery, objects, etc.
- Everyone holds up and shares how they drew the rest of the picture starting with 1 thing on their page. There will be many different results and it is a very open ended activity.

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This is a simple but fun game for all the kids to get to know each other quickly.

Things needed
- A ball

How to Set Up and Play

The game set up is quite simple; first, you get all the children to stand in a circle.

The game begins when you throw the ball to a random kid and as a question about them, such as “what is your favourite colour?” The kid answers the question and randomly tosses the ball to another kid and asks a question such as “do you have a pet?”

The next kid who catches the ball answers that question and tosses it to another random kid with a question.

Have a list of questions prepared and read them out to the kids so they can have an idea about what to ask.

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In this creative game, first think of several half-sentences and write each one on the top of its own piece of paper. The half-sentences should be written so that students can easily finish them to start a story, such as:As soon as I woke up…Ana was walking to school when suddenly…The teacher came into class with a…

Alternatively, put these examples on the board and then have students each think of a half-sentence and write it on a piece of paper. Then, collect the papers and mix them up.Students will then work in groups (or you can do this as a whole class). A group is given a paper with a half-sentence at the top and the first person in the group must read the half-sentence out loud, then finish it with whatever they like to continue the story (they will write it down and say it aloud).

Next, the student passes the paper to his or her right and writes another sentence to continue the story.When everyone has had a chance to contribute to the story, a representative of each group can read the completed story to the class. Not only can the stories be very funny, but this icebreaker gets students used to being more spontaneous with English.

I found this idea on bridge.edu. This activity reminded of a fun game I enjoyed in my own childhood; draw a face (any face; human/animal/insect) and fold the paper until only the neck is shown, then hand it to your neighbur who has to draw (the upper part of) a body, then hand it to the next who has to draw the legs, and then then the feet. Once finished, unfold the paper and see what weird creature you've drawn together!

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Have the students sit in a circle,  pass around a bowl with m&m's and ask each student to take three or four colors, depending on the size of the group.
Then you may model for them on how the game works: each m&m's color represents a question that they will answer on their turn. As they share, they get to eat that color candy.

Red -  Something I enjoy
Orange -  Something I want
Yellow - My name and age
Brown - My family members
Green - Somethiinng I dislike
Blue - My favorite food

You can make different types of questions and use this as a warm up activity to do after a summer break or even as a fun way to review subjets taught before.

I saw this icebreaker on Pinterest, and it reminded me of something a friend did before our team meeting started. I loved it, because this helped the shy people to share about themselves and we got to eat some m&m's, hahaha...

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Pick a Color (Introductions Edition) (Sydney)

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Pick a Color (Introductions Edition) (Sydney)

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Hold out a bowl of wrapped candy (or marbles) and have each student close their eyes as they pick one out of the bowl. They have ten seconds to find someone who also has the same color as them. Once in pairs, have them stand back to back. Each color correlates with a subject or question about themselves. They have to answer the question and talk about themselves while their pair tosses the marble into the air. They have to keep talking until their partner drops the marble.

So for example, if Person A gets blue, they have to talk about their favorite foods until their partner drops the marble.

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This activity would encourage people to get up, move around, and mingle! This does not require many supplies, could be easy to quickly set up.
What you need: Four large signs (with whatever paper or sticky notes you may have) for four corners. Label the signs 1, 2, 3, 4 and hang them in four different corners (or on the floor in a square shape if you are outside).
Introduce activity as something we can do to get to know everyone better. This game allows for people to find what they have in common with one another. The instructor/ teacher can read a list of items and people would walk to what corner best describes them. The teacher can also be creative and make questions and have each corner represent a different answer.
FOR EXAMPLE: The teacher could ask "What's your favorite beverage?"
and the teacher can them tell the class that each corner is a different beverage; Go to corner 1 if you like coffee the best; Go to corner 2 if you like tea the best; Go to corner 3 if you like soda the best; Go to corner 4 if you like water the most.
The teacher could ask about favorite colors, snacks, how many kids or family members, favorite super hero, preffered sport or music, and so on.
I believe a teacher can be flexible and create different questions and topics for this game and students could feel encouraged if they don't need to talk at first and will be able to talk to people that relate to them.

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I have a couple to share, both adopted from the activities I have exposed to.
1. Talk simultaneously.
>Pair the class up and let them talk to each other for about a min or two at the same time in English about whatever they want to share.
This one doesn't necessarily a good way to learn about each other, unless you can listen and talk at the same time well.
However, I like this activity because it warms up the students well and they don't need to concern about the mistakes they could make as they talk because the other student is talking at the same time as well. Also it's good for quiet and those who are shy to speak and be heard. And nothing is categorized, so they can talk about whatever they want.

2. Stand in order.
This is quite a popular one as well but I really like it.
> it's just to ask the students to stand in the order of the first letter of their first name or of the career or if it's multinational, can be the first letter of their countries. Or can be in the order of birth month or date.
Categories can be changed.
I love this one as well, as they can strike a conversation naturally.

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For this Icebreaking activity you will need a simple plastic ball and a permanent marker. You will write down introducing questions in each side of the ball, for example:
1. What is your name?
2. How many brothers and sisters do you have?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. What is your favorite food? ...

After you have the ball ready, you throw the ball to the first student, and whatever side the student is facing he/her need to answer that question. Then the student throw the ball to another student and the next student answer the question that is facing him/her. And the game keep going until all the students have played. It is fun, especially for beginner levels.

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This would be for intermediate level students...

Every student will draw another student's name. They will need to find that student and together they need to figure out 2 things that they have in common. They will then introduce their partner to the class and share one thing they have in common and then the other partner introduces the first partner and then shares the second thing they have in common.

This allows them to practice more vocab as they try to find commonalities while getting to know the other person. They would end up getting to know more about this person than just the things they have in common.

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Tell them to answer questions within 30 seconds... The questions could be: 'what are the weirdest thing you saw in a train' or 'what is your favourite fast food franchise and what do you like to order there', 'what's your favorite movie and why'

With this activity people can get to know each other, practice vocabulary and it's fun because it has to be fast and you stop them whenever the 30 seconds is over.

I took it from YouTube this idea!

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How to play!
we need a ball  and speaker.
let them make a circle  and choose one person to hold a ball, and they have to pretend like hot potato in their hand, as music go the  person that hold the ball have to pass to  person next to him, and the person next to him received the ball he have to continue to pass on to other until the music stop. and who ever has the ball he have to tell the class  their name? where they from? how many people in their family? and after that we do repeat it again and again until all student get a chance to tell the class.

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Students will be given a piece for the individual then they have to draw themselves on their own papers and answer these questions:
1. What your name?
My name is_____
2. Where are you from?
I'm from______
3. what is your favorite food?
My favorite food is______
4. If you have a chance to go outside your country, what country do you want to go? Why?
I want to go to_______ Because

Then they have to post their paper on the wall of the classroom.
For the group Activity is everyone has to take the tour around the classroom and they have to present their own Poster.

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Students will be given materials to create a name tag to place on their desks or tables.

Students will then take their paper and fold it in half vertically for it to sit on the student’s desk. Give students time to write their name on the front as well as decorate their name tag to share a little bit about themselves. When students are all finished decorating, have the whole class stand in a circle, and introduce themselves to the class by having them share their names and a little about themselves. You can modify this icebreaker in many ways by having students remember the name of the person beside them or making it a name chain game.
Materials -
Paper
Pens, markers, and Crayons
Stickers

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This activity is easy, quick, keeps students moving and talking, plus helps them discover what they have in common. The idea is for students to listen to their teacher’s prompts and organize themselves in a line (for example, in alphabetical order of last name) or in blobs according to something they have in common (birth month).

Try these prompts:

Line up in chronological order of your birthdays

Line up in order of how many siblings you have

Find those who are allergic to the same things as you

Gather with those who have the same colored clothing as you

Line up in alphabetical order of your fathers’ names

Gather in four blobs: those who traveled by car to class, those who traveled by bus, and those who traveled another way

Note:
This article organized icebreakers into helpful categories (moving activities, mingles, small group speaking activities, & open class speaking activities).

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At the start of a new semester, teachers around the world turn their attention to the very first class. With a new group of students to integrate and make comfortable, icebreakers are an activity that are essential to those first days. But what makes a good activity? Ideally, teachers need icebreakers that are low in social risk, matched to your class's proficiency level, and perhaps just a bit silly. A good activity will encourage bonding, participation, motivation, and allow students to relax both mentally and physically. Of course, it's an added bonus if they can be easily adapted as warm ups or speaking activities during the year. Here are 13 adaptable icebreakers that we love...

Moving activities

1. Blobs and lines

This activity is easy, quick, keeps students moving and talking, plus helps them discover what they have in common. The idea is for students to listen to their teacher's prompts and organize themselves in a line (for example, in alphabetical order of last name) or in blobs according to something they have in common (birth month).

Try these prompts:

Line up in chronological order of your birthdays

Line up in order of how many siblings you have

Find those who are allergic to the same things as you

Gather with those who have the same colored clothing as you

Line up in alphabetical order of your fathers' names

Gather in four blobs: those who traveled by car to class, those who traveled by bus, and those who traveled another way

2. This or that

Along the same lines, in this activity students move to a particular side of the room to represent their opinions on a certain topic. To make this icebreaker work, "yes/no", "true/false", or "would you rather X or Y" questions are best. (A quick Google search will reveal dozens of sites with icebreaker questions to use or adapt.) Examples are:

True or false (teacher indicates the sides of the room that correspond to each answer): I had breakfast this morning.

Would you rather be invisible for a day or be able to fly for a day?

Yes or no: Do you speak more than three languages?

Tip: If you want to have questions with multiple answers you can assign each to a specific corner of the room.
3. Signatures

Ask the students to invent a "signature" movement or sound. It can be extremely simple: a clap, cough, turn in a circle, bow, word, mime, or gesture. Show yours first and go around the class (the students' signatures shouldn't repeat). Then it's time to remember them, beginning with yours and going around the circle again.

Mingles

4. Classmate bingo

An oldie but a goodie. Create bingo cards with prompts for students to use to ask each other questions. The idea is to cross off all the squares. Use simple prompts like those below, or try more complicated ones for higher level classes:

5. Who's in your circle?

Ask your students to draw three cocentric circles on a piece of paper. Give them a topic (food, seasons, sports...) and ask them to write it in the center circle. In the second circle students write "love", in the third "like", and outside the circles "don't like". Under the topic, students individually choose a specific example to focus on (e.g., bananas, spring, tennis). Students then mingle and ask their classmates how they feel about the item they have chosen, writing the students' names in the circles that correspond to their opinions. Repeat with another topic.

Small group speaking activities

6. Toilet paper roll

Produce a roll of toilet paper and ask students to take as many sheets as they like, without telling them why. Once the class has their sheets, reveal that each sheet corresponds to a question their small group will ask them. You can also do this with pieces of candy.

7. Two truths and a lie

Students write down three sentences with information about themselves, however, one must be a lie. Other students then ask them follow-up questions to discover which statement was a lie.

_Tip: This is a great way for teachers to give information about themselves on the first day of class. Ask students to think of follow-up questions in pairs.
_

8. Three things in common

Small groups must identify three things that they have in common with each other - the stranger, the better. Put prompts on the board if you would like, then give students time to talk. Later, students report back and vote on which group has the strangest three things in common.

Open class speaking activities

9. Time bomb name game

This is a fun, quick activity for students to remember each other's name. Ask your class to form a circle and say their name. Then, throw a tennis ball to one of your students. They have two seconds to say some one else's name and throw the ball to them, before it "explodes" and they are out of the game. Continue until only one student remains.

10. Beach ball toss

Before class, write icebreaker questions over a beach ball in permanent marker. Standing in a circle, students throw the ball to each other. When caught, or when the teacher says "stop", the student with the ball must answer the question closest to their left thumb. Repeat until each student has answered at least one question.

11. Candy pass

Give each student a small handful of colored candy (such as Skittles). Tell the class that a question has been assigned to each candy color. Write these on the board, considering having a mix of serious and more humorous questions such as:

Blue: Would you rather be a tiny horse or an enormous chicken? Why?

Red: What is your ideal job and why?

Green: Tell the class about your house and who lives in it.

Yellow: What are three countries you would like to visit and why?

Students are then told to eat all their candy - except for one piece. In this way they can choose the question they will answer.

12. Sit down if...

With the class in a circle the teacher asks a series of quirky yes/no questions. Students sit down if they can answer "yes" and the last student standing is the winner.

13. Speed dating

This activity allows students to talk to a maximum number of classmates in a short time. To begin, have your class form two concentric circles facing each other. Ask an icebreaker question and tell them they have a minute to discuss it. After one minute, the outer circle rotates counter-clockwise one position - and the activity is repeated with another student and another question. Continue until students have returned to their original partners.

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13 fail-safe icebreakers to use in class today ‹ EF Teacher Zone

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At the start of a new semester, teachers around the world turn their attention to the very first class. With a new group of students to integrate and make comfortable, icebreakers are an activity that are essential to those first days. But what makes a good activity?

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On an imaginary map, tell each person to go to where they are 'from'. Place yourself where you are from for relative location. Each shares where they are from and what they like about it. They will laugh when they realize they put africa above russia. haha!

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This game reminds me of the quote given earlier by C.S. Lewis. I have played a similar version of this game before!
Materials: Ball of string/yarn
Instructions:
Everyone stands in a circle and one person holds the ball of yarn. They begin to introduce themselves whilst wrapping the yarn around their fingers/hand- i.e. My name is__ I grew up in__ I studied___. They continue sharing fun facts about themselves until someone else in the circle says "me too!". The person with the yarn then throws the ball of yarn to the person who shouted "me too" (with string still attached to their hand), who will then begin telling facts about themselves. This activity goes on until everyone is connected in "the web". A fun activity to visualise how students from different backgrounds and walks of life are all 'connected' in some way. This was a helpful video below! Same activity, minus the addition of the "fear ball" at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnnV38PXZ-U

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Each person writes five facts about themselves on a piece of paper. Then each person folds their paper into an airplane and flies it into the middle of the room. Each student grabs a plane, reads it, and tries to guess who the student is. Students can help each other guess.

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Many of us have seen over-used or boring icebreakers fall flat, especially during conferences and training.

Whether we're the ones leading them or enduring them.

But when done right, icebreakers are highly effective, help people connect who otherwise might've been too shy to speak, create a welcoming atmosphere and more.

So in this blog post, we'll go over 15 fun, effective ESL icebreakers you can use to get students chatting and improving their English.

Contents

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

1. Paper Airplane You

Level: Upper-beginner +

Skill focus: Writing
Instructions:
1. Have students write three to five facts about themselves on a piece of paper.

2. Next, they fold the paper into a paper airplane. (If you aren't sure how to make one that flies, check out this article on creating the best paper airplanes.)

3. On your count, everyone flies their planes toward the middle of the room. Then students pick up a plane that landed near them.

4. Students take turns reading the facts written on the plane and try to guess whose it was. Let the class help if individuals get stuck.

You can even tailor your students' answers to what you're studying.

For example, if you're doing a sports unit, have students write three sports they like. If you're studying travel, they could write three places they would like to go.

2. Four Corners

Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Listening
Preparation:
Before playing, label the corners of your room one through four. Then brainstorm several get-to-know-you questions.
How to play:
1. Start asking students the questions you've come up with. For example, ask about their favorite sports, their favorite movie genres, their favorite animals, etc.

2. Give the students four answer choices-one for each corner. For example, if you're asking about their favorite animals, you might give them these choices: 1. Dog 2. Cat 3. Fish 4. Bird.

3. Students then move to the corner that represents their answer.

This helps students get to know one another and see what they have in common with other students in your class. And that's a good starting point for chit-chat and/or developing friendships.

3. Say Cheese

Level: Any level

Skill focus: Speaking
Preparation:
1. Gather some small, opaque containers. Like old film canisters (ask at a photo lab-they usually have some they're getting rid of) or plastic Easter eggs.

2. Tape an icebreaker question on the outside of the container. If you need some ideas of questions to ask, look at this list for inspiration.

3. Put a small item inside each container. If you want pairs of students working together, put the same item in each two canisters. If you want groups of three, then put the same item inside each of the three containers.

Good items to put inside the canisters include pennies, cotton balls, popcorn kernels, erasers, etc.
How to play:
1. Give each student a random canister.

2. Tell students not to look in their container but to shake it instead.

3. Using the sound of the canister only, they should find the person/people with the same item in their container.

4. After students find their partners or groups, have each person introduce him/herself and answer the question on the outside of their canister. The other members of the group should also answer each question.

5. To maximize this activity's effectiveness, ensure the items have different questions outside the container. Or keep it simple and put a different question on each canister.

By limiting students to the sound of their item and permitting them to listen only to their own canister, students will have to describe what they hear to find their match, giving them good speaking practice.

Another great aspect of this game is once you set it up, it'll be ready to use anytime you need to fill a few minutes.

And you can change things up whenever you want by putting new questions on the outside of each canister or changing the items inside.

4. Concentric Circles

Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Speaking
Preparation:
Divide your class into two groups. Form two circles in the middle of the room, one inside the other so each person faces one partner.
How to play:
1. Ask an icebreaker question to the class and give students a chance to answer.

2. After one minute, call out, "Rotate!"

3. The inner circle should move one spot clockwise. Students should now be facing a new partner.

4. Call out another icebreaker question and give students a minute to answer before rotating again.

5. Keep going until you run out of time or until students are back facing their first partner.

5. Where Are You From? Where Will You Go?

Level: Any level

Skill focus: Speaking
Preparation:
You'll need a world map for this activity, so grab an empty bulletin board and get one up before you start.
How to play:
1. Give each student two pushpins or straight pins to put on the map.

2. Each person should put one on the map to mark where they're from and another to mark where they would like to go.

3. Once all the pushpins are in place, the class tries to decide who placed each pushpin on the map.

This is a flexible activity that you can adapt to the skill level of your students.

For beginning students, have them ask simple questions for their guesses:
Mario, are you from Italy? Na-An, do you want to go to the Bahamas?
For intermediate students, encourage them to use modals and phrase their guesses as statements:
Mario might be from Italy. Na-An could've marked the Bahamas.
Challenge your advanced students with this activity by requiring them to give reasons for their guesses. For example:
Na-An probably chose the Bahamas because she loves the beach.
6. Cootie Catcher Questions

Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Writing / Speaking
How to play:
1. Have students follow these directions to make a paper cootie catcher.

2. Have them write a get-to-know-you question under each flap (the "fortunes" area).

3. Students pair up and play, answering the questions that they land on.

4. Give each person a chance to run the cootie catcher and to answer a question from their partner's before switching pairs and going another round.

7. Who's in Your Circles?

Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Speaking
How to play:
1. Have each student draw three concentric circles on a blank piece of paper.

2. Pick a topic for the round (favorite food, favorite season, etc.) and have students write it in the center circle.

3. They should label the second circle "Love," the third circle "Like" and the space outside the circles "Don't Like."

4. Each student writes something (say, a food) they love in the innermost circle under the topic.

5. Students start chatting, bringing their papers with them and asking how other students feel about the food they wrote.

6. When a classmate answers, the person should write their classmate's name in the appropriate area of their paper.

7. Play for a few minutes and then start again with another topic-sport, type of music, favorite season, etc.-with a new sheet of paper.

8. After a few rounds, encourage students to discuss common interests with people who share their inner circle on different topics.

8. Two Truths and a Lie

Level: Any level

Skill focus: Speaking / Listening
How to play:
1. Pair students up in groups

2. Each thinks of three statements about themselves-two of them are true and one is a lie.

3. The students tell their three statements to their partner.

4. The partner has to guess which statement is the lie.

5. The students confirm if their partners guessed correctly or not, and they continue to guess until they get it right.

Beginner students can opt for simple phrases like "I'm from [country]," "I like cats," "I'm [number] years old," etc. While intermediate and advanced students can create more complex statements, such as past experiences or future plans.

9. Would You Rather

Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Speaking / Listening
Preparation:
Depending on your students' levels, you may or may not have to prepare for this game.

Lower intermediate students might have trouble thinking of "would you rather" questions, so it's a good idea to have some prepared ahead of time that you can give them.

Advanced and upper-intermediate students should be proficient enough to create their own questions.
How to play:
1. Have students partner up in groups of two.

2. Each student takes a turn asking, "Would you rather..." and giving two options. For example, "Would you rather eat the same food every day or listen to the same song every day?"

3. Once the partner student has answered the question, have them explain why they chose the option they did.

4. The students switch turns and repeat the process.

10. Find Someone Who...

Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Comprehension / Speaking
Preparation:
On a whiteboard or sheet of paper, write 10-15 statements describing experiences.

Examples could be, "Find someone who has a tattoo," "Find someone who is an only child," "Find someone who has never been out of the country before," etc.
How to play:
1. Give students the statements.

2. Explain that they need to find one person who identifies with each of the statements as quickly as possible.

3. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and let the students go around the room asking their classmates questions to match them with the statements.

11. Never Have I Ever

Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Listening / Speaking
How to play:
1. Have students sit or stand in a circle, holding up five fingers.

2. Decide who goes first and the rotation of the circle (i.e., will you take turns going clockwise or counterclockwise?)

3. Each student takes turns creating a "never have I ever" statement, such as "Never have I ever been to Europe."

4. If any student in the circle has done what the person says they never have, they must put a finger down. Once all five fingers are down, the student is out of the game.

5. Whoever is the last to run out of fingers wins.

12. Memory Wall

Level: Upper Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Listening / Speaking / Retention
How to play:
1. Give everyone in the group 2-3 minutes to think of a unique or interesting fact about themselves.

2. Once the time is up, the first person shares their fact.

3. Each student recites the list of the previous students' interesting facts, adding one new fact about themselves at the end. This means the last person tries to recite the entire class's facts plus their own.

With this game, it's very likely that you'll need to allow the other students to help the ones further down the line-which is perfectly fine!

13. Telephone Pictionary

Level: Any level

Skill focus: Writing / Reading
How to play:
1. Take out a sheet of paper and give it to the first student.

2. The first student writes a sentence or phrase at the top of the paper, then passes it to the next student.

3. The next student draws a picture of the first student's phrase, then passes it to the next student.

4. That student writes a sentence describing the picture.

5. Repeat the process until the paper has gone through the whole class.

14. Charades

Level: Any level

Skill focus: Speaking / Comprehension
Preparation:
Before class, prepare enough actions, characters, etc. for each student in the class. You'll be assigning each student something to act out.
How to play:
1. Give each student a piece of paper with their assigned action, item, character, etc. This can be themed to match your recent lessons, such as a sport or animal.

2. Each student takes turns acting out what's on their paper for 60 seconds while the rest of the class tries to guess what their assigned paper was.

3. Have each student take turns acting out their paper for 60 seconds until the whole class has had a turn.

15. Jenga Questions

Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Skill focus: Speaking
Preparation:
Write questions on each Jenga block before class that each of your students will answer. Put them in a box and take them to class.
How to play:
1. Start on one side of the classroom and have the first student pull out a Jenga block randomly from the box.

2. Have the student read the Jenga block question out loud and then answer the question.

3. Once they've answered, continue through the classroom, letting students pull out blocks and answer them one by one until you reach the last student.

What Makes a Good ESL Icebreaker?

Not all icebreakers are created equal. And not all icebreakers are good for ESL students.

Here's what to look for when choosing effective, appropriate icebreakers for your English class:

Don't make students take big social risks with people they barely know. Not everyone is ready to put their personal details out there for the world to see. So good icebreakers don't expect your students to get overly personal with people they don't know. There needs to be a fine line.

Match your students' proficiency level. No one will participate if your icebreaker requires more English input or comprehension than your students can handle. But if it's too easy, they'll get bored quickly. You want your icebreakers to be at your students' language level, not above or below it.

Good icebreakers appeal to students. In other words, they aren't lame. When choosing an icebreaker for your class, keep in mind what they like. A bunch of fifteen-year-olds aren't going to like the same things that business professionals like. You can find general icebreaker dos and don'ts here.

Pro tip: Sometimes, giving the students something to talk about in an icebreaker game can be beneficial. For example, you can choose a video on FluentU-such as a film trailer or mini-documentary-then ask more in-depth questions to spark meaningful discussions about the video topic. Start with some basic questions, such as "What did you think of the video?" or "Do you and your partner agree with the video?" The interactive subtitles and key vocabulary on FluentU will also help improve their listening comprehension.

Getting to know new people in English shouldn't cause anxiety in your students, and it doesn't have to.

With activities that appeal to your students and don't put them in too intimate situations, getting to know one another can become something your students love and look forward to.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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15 ESL Icebreakers to Get Your Students Talking | FluentU English Educator Blog

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Click here to discover 15 unique ESL icebreakers that will get your students chatting in English fast. Explore icebreaker games like Concentric Circles, Jenga Questions, Telephone Pictionary and more. Learn which levels they're best for, how to prepare them and how to play them. Plus, learn what makes an icebreaker effective.

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Name that Face
Split into two groups.  Have a blanket held up between the two groups so that they can't see each other.  Each team positions one person facing the center of the blanket.  On the count of 3, the blanket is dropped, and the two people are suddenly facing each other.  Try to name the other person first!  Repeat the process.  This "game" can come after a game where names are practiced.
Collages
Using pictures from old magazines have each person make a collage that describes something about themselves.  If outside, natural materials (plant, cones, shells, rocks, etc. could be used.)  Ask each person to share with the whole class or ask each student to share with a partner.
My Life is a Pipe Cleaner
Hand out pipe cleaners or if you have colored ones let students select the color they want.  Ask them to bend the pipe cleaner to show how they are feeling about: learning English, living during a pandemic, etc.

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BridgeUniverse - TEFL Blog, News, Tips & Resources

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By Camille Turner
November 26, 2021

Whether teaching in a physical classroom or a virtual one, the first day of English class is crucial for setting the tone for the whole term, so it's important to start with a bang. ESL icebreakers are a great way to accomplish this, and they also get students moving and build confidence. However, icebreakers aren't just for day one! Throughout the term, English students might be coming to class tired after a long day, so you want to get them engaged and energetic, and it might take a little creative ice-breaking to do that! Let's take a look at some of the best ESL icebreakers out there.
If you're new to teaching, you'll want to get initial training and qualification with a TEFL certificate. You can explore our online TEFL courses to get started!
Why should I use ESL icebreakers in class?

First, let's talk about how ESL icebreakers are beneficial in many classroom situations.

Teachers often use them on the first day of class to get students comfortable with one another and to establish a relationship between them and the students.

ESL icebreakers are also a way to build confidence and trust and allow students to see the classroom as a safe space for practicing English, asking questions, and even making mistakes.

Icebreakers are a lot of fun and can also be used to give students a break from more structured class activities.

They can be implemented at the beginning of class or anytime during the lesson to boost energy levels and recapture students' attention.

If you find you have a few extra minutes, icebreakers can also make a good, productive way to fill the time.

Get game and activity ideas for the online classroom by taking a Bridge Micro-credential course.
What makes a good ESL icebreaker?

It's fun!

A good ESL icebreaker is, first and foremost, fun, meaning that it should appeal to your students. One of the main ideas behind icebreakers is to get students out of their shells and make them more comfortable with speaking in class, so you'll need to use an icebreaker that interests them.
Try these fun ESL speaking activities to get students talking.
It's level-appropriate

Make sure that the icebreaker you choose is level-appropriate and that while pushing students to share more, you don't go overboard and make them uncomfortable by asking them to share too much or things that are too personal.

The rules are simple

Additionally, ESL icebreakers that only have a few rules are typically easier to explain to English learners and ensure that you spend less time going over instructions and more time actually conducting the activity.

It's easy to prepare

Finally, a really good icebreaker doesn't require too much preparation and additional materials but rather focuses on oral participation and fun.
These low-prep ESL activities are great for teaching online.
ESL icebreakers for in-person teachers (with adaptations for online teachers)

Each of the following icebreakers requires little to no preparation, is easy to explain, and can be adapted to all levels and ages. These activities promote student talk time and encourage students to become more comfortable with speaking up in class.

A teacher playing ESL icebreaker games from the Bridge Teaching English to Teenagers TEFL/TESOL course

1. Would You Rather... ?

In this game, students think about two scenarios and choose the one they would rather do. The "Would you rather... ?" questions (a variety of which can be found online), can range from goofy to serious, such as:

Would you rather be poor and happy or rich and unhappy?

Would you rather have a missing finger or an extra toe?

Would you rather find your soulmate or find a billion dollars (and never find your soulmate)?

Would you rather eat your favorite meal for every meal for the rest of your life or never be able to eat your favorite meal again?

Would you rather speak all languages fluently or be able to speak to animals?

Would you rather lose your wallet or lose your keys?

You can play this as a whole class or put students in groups and give them a stack of cards with questions, and they take turns asking each other. Either way, following up by asking "Why or why not?" can lead to some fun discussions.

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: You can simply ask your student(s) the questions or you can have your own stack of cards in front of you and draw a card for each student, reading it aloud to the class. Alternatively, you can have student(s) write down their own questions before class and come prepared to ask you or their classmates.

2. Two Truths and a Lie

This can be a good ESL icebreaker for the very first class or as a warm-up later on.

One student thinks of three statements about himself/herself that they will share with the class. Two are true and one is a lie. For example, the student may say something like, "I have five dogs, I've lived in three countries, and I'm a ballet dancer." Then, the other students must guess which statement is a lie and if they can, explain why they think so. At the end, the student will reveal whether the others guessed correctly or incorrectly.

If used on the first day, the teacher can start by demonstrating the game as a good getting-to-know-the-teacher activity!

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: Teachers can easily play this game in a virtual setting by having everyone take turns making statements. Students can either raise their hand when they want to guess which statement is the lie or they can type their guess into the chat box.
Check out these ESL warm-ups for students of all ages.
3. Positive, Negative, Crazy

Write a discussion topic on the board (for example, food, pets, social media, or dating) and then start passing a ball or "hot potato" from student to student. As students pass the hot potato around, they must stop when they hear you say the words positive, negative, or crazy.

When you say, "positive," the student holding the potato must stop and make a positive statement about the topic. For example, If the topic is food, their statement might be "My favorite restaurant is Ichiban Sushi."

If you say "negative," they must make a negative statement about the topic, e.g., "I've never eaten Chinese food!"

And, if you say, "crazy," the sentence they create can be anything they like, such as, "One time I ate a whole pizza myself!"

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: Instead of passing around a ball, you can assign each student a number and then roll a die (either physical or virtual) to see who has to make the next statement. I.e., if the die lands on six, then the student assigned to the number six has to make the positive, negative, or crazy statement.
Strike up a conversation with these TEFL/TESOL discussion questions for adults.

EFL teacher Rachel Cordova working with students online

4. Continue the Story

In this creative game, first think of several half-sentences and write each one on the top of its own piece of paper. The half-sentences should be written so that students can easily finish them to start a story, such as:

As soon as I woke up...

Ana was walking to school when suddenly...

The teacher came into class with a...

Alternatively, put these examples on the board and then have students each think of a half-sentence and write it on a piece of paper. Then, collect the papers and mix them up.

Students will then work in groups (or you can do this as a whole class). A group is given a paper with a half-sentence at the top and the first person in the group must read the half-sentence out loud, then finish it with whatever they like to continue the story (they will write it down and say it aloud). Next, the student passes the paper to his or her right and writes another sentence to continue the story.

When everyone has had a chance to contribute to the story, a representative of each group can read the completed story to the class. Not only can the stories be very funny, but this icebreaker gets students used to being more spontaneous with English.

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: Skip the paper and, instead, simply verbally tell the student(s) the half-sentence they'll be working with. Alternatively, have students prepare a half-sentence before class and then assign the prompts to one another. You could also have them email the sentences to you prior to class, and you could assign them to the other students in class.
Learn about the importance of storytelling in the ESL classroom for young learners.
5. The Hot Seat

This ESL icebreaker is a fun vocabulary guessing game.

Put a chair at the front of the room with its back facing the board; this is the hot seat, and a student volunteer must sit here. Then, write a word on the board (for beginners, tell them the category or theme of words, such as jobs or food - ideally vocabulary they are already studying). Then, the other students try to prompt the hot-seater into guessing what the word is by describing it without saying the actual word (fun with famous people too!).

For example, if you've told your beginner class the category is fruit and the word on the board is pineapple, the students can say things like:

It's a big fruit.

It grows in tropical places.

It's yellow inside.

It has spines.

With guessing games like this one, students are really enthusiastic about trying to get their peers to guess correctly and win the game. The desire to guess takes over, and formerly reserved students forget that they were ever afraid to speak up in English.

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: Choose a student to be the guesser (in the "virtual" hot seat). Then, have them close their eyes as you hold a whiteboard up to the camera with the word written on it. Once the other students have seen the word, hide the whiteboard and have students take turns describing the word to the student who is guessing. Alternatively, if your online software allows it, you could type the word in and send it via chatbox to the students who aren't guessing.
Get more ESL vocabulary games for teaching online and in-person.
6. Open-Ended Questions

Have students each write down an open-ended question on a piece of paper. The questions could be something like "What is your favorite holiday?" or "What kind of movies do you like?"

Students then either fold their papers or crumple them up into balls and drop them in a box as you pass it around. Then, go around the room and have students take turns drawing a paper from the box and answering the question. (Just be sure that students answer questions from their classmates, returning their own papers if they accidentally draw them.)

Ask follow-up questions if time allows.

You can easily tweak this activity for smaller classrooms with fewer students by having them each write three questions that have to be answered. You can also impose a speaking time limit, so students know how long they need to talk.

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: Have students come to class prepared with one or two open-ended questions. They can take turns asking their classmates their questions, or you could ask the students to submit their questions to you ahead of class and you can ask the questions yourself.

An English teacher with BFITS, Thailand

7. One Beep

This is a very simple ESL icebreaker that works well for any age and is a great way to practice English numbers.

Traditionally, students alternate between saying a number and the word "beep" as they go around the room counting. For example, the first student would say, "one," the second would say, "beep," the third would say, "three," the fourth would say, "beep," and so on.

However, you can make this game as complex as you want, such as choosing to insert "beep" for odd or even numbers, on numbers divisible by three, etc. You could also bring it to the next level by creating other sounds or words they have to say for certain numbers. For example, every number divisible by three must be replaced by "beep," and every odd number must be replaced by "boop." For numbers that fall into both categories, you must say both ("beep boop").

Be creative and establish the rules based on your students' level.

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: If playing in the virtual classroom, this game is probably best done with just one student since it's supposed to be a fast-paced game and it might lag online if there are multiple students. The teacher and student can take turns saying the numbers and sounds with one another.
Need more creative TEFL/TESOL activities? Here's how to use pop culture to teach English.
8. Interview and Introduce

This is an easy ESL icebreaker to incorporate on the first day of class (or later on if you feel students could get to know one another better). A benefit of this activity is that it removes the pressure of students introducing themselves at the start of class, which can sometimes cause stress for new students.

Simply break students into pairs and have them interview one another. To help students get started, give them a list of things to find out about their partner, such as where they're from, how many siblings they have, or what their summer plans are for the upcoming year. Then, they will introduce their partners to the rest of the class.

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: Instead of breaking students up into groups, take turns interviewing students yourself. If your classroom platform supports a public discussion forum, you can also assign students a partner and have them complete the interview for homework by using the forum or simply emailing one another the interview questions.

9. Balderdash

This ESL activity, based on the game of the same name, works well for older and more advanced students.

Introduce a strange word that you're sure they've never heard before (ask them to be sure that no one knows it, and make sure nobody looks it up!). Have each student write down a definition that they believe fits the word.

Collect all of the definitions and insert your own-the correct one-into the mix. Read off the definitions and have students vote on which they believe to be the correct one. Give points for students who guess correctly.

For teaching young learners, you could use this same idea to teach new, level-appropriate vocabulary or even to review past words that you've taught them.

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: Have students submit their definitions privately to you via chatbox (i.e., don't let the other students see who sent which definition). Then, read the definitions (adding in yours) randomly. Have students vote on the one they think is correct.

10. Find Someone Who

This activity gets students up and moving around and asking their classmates questions.

Create a list of traits, such as someone who has a birthday in July, someone who owns a cat, someone who has traveled abroad, etc. Then, have the students mingle with one another to find someone who fits each category. They can write down the names of their classmates next to each one to keep track of who fits which trait.

If you add the rule that they can only use someone's name for one category/trait, it will ensure that they get to speak with each of their classmates instead of simply talking to the one person who meets all the requirements.

How to adapt this activity to the virtual classroom: Assign the task as homework and have students use a public discussion forum to ask each other questions and find out which of their classmates fits each trait. They can share their findings in class.

Learn how to engage your older ESL students by taking Bridge's Micro-credential course: Games and Activities for the Online Classroom (Adults).

ESL icebreakers particularly well-suited to online teaching

11. Show and Tell

Ask your student(s) to bring a meaningful object to class and share the story behind it with you and/or their classmates. If your student is a beginner, you can have them describe their object instead. E.g., "It is purple. It is big." If you only have one student, consider asking them to bring in two or three objects total.

To get students comfortable with speaking and sharing, demonstrate the activity with an object of your own first.
Get more ideas for using realia in your classroom.

"Describe a Toy" online activity from the Bridge Micro-credential course: Games and Activities for Teaching Young Learners

12. Scavenger Hunt

This activity works in both the physical and virtual classrooms and gets students up and moving, which is sometimes hard to achieve in an online classroom!

Provide students with a short list (3-5 items) of types of objects they need to find. E.g., something purple, something cold, something that starts with the letter B, something that makes you happy, something that was a gift, etc.

You can then see who can collect the objects from around their house or the classroom the fastest. Have students take turns sharing what items they found. If you're teaching just one student, set a timer for five minutes (or whatever time you choose) and see if they can collect all of the required items before time runs out.

This activity is well suited to younger students and helps energize everyone at the start of class (or awaken everyone if the class starts to get a bit sleepy).
Looking for more ideas? Try these fun ESL games and activities for kids and teens.
13. Roll the Die

This is a great icebreaker activity, but it can also be used to practice pronunciation or review a group of vocabulary words.

Before class, you'll need to create a special die for this icebreaker. You can repurpose a large plush die from a craft store, use a small, square-shaped cardboard box, or get creative here. Print off images that represent a certain action you want students to take, such as saying a word three times, saying it fast, saying it slowly, saying it loudly, whispering it, saying it in a low voice, saying it angrily, etc. For example, a picture of an angry emoji could represent saying the word in an angry voice.

Cut the images out and glue or tape them to each side of your cube. You now have your die!

In class, have your student(s) say a word or set of words that you choose. Roll the die and direct them to follow the instructions shown. This is a fun and silly way to get students out of their shells while helping them practice their English-speaking skills.

ESL icebreakers: An all-around win for the TEFL/TESOL classroom

ESL icebreakers are a great way to boost students' energy, get them excited about the class, and build an atmosphere that makes them feel comfortable. Many icebreakers are also adaptable and can be used in both physical and online classes. While there are tons of icebreakers out there, the best ones are fun and engaging, promote speaking in English, and foster confidence.

Get more fun and engaging TEFL/TESOL games for the online classroom in Bridge's Micro-credentials suite: Teaching English Online Games and Activities.

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13 Easy ESL Icebreakers to Get Your Students Talking

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Whether starting the first day with a bang or re-energizing students throughout the term, ESL icebreakers get students moving, build confidence, and set the tone for the class. We share how to effectively use these ESL icebreakers in your class.

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Its very similar to the icebreakers we did! Basically you get everyone in a circle and you say the words "My name is___ and i'm bringing (favorite food/drink) to the picnic"
As you go around the circle, each new person has to repeat the names of everyone before them and what they're bringing to the picnic!

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It's fairly niche, but if you were teaching a group of people who would benefit from being active, you can modify almost any sport to work for some ESL practice.

If you were playing basketball, everyone takes a shot from 5 different places, everytime you miss, you share something about yourself! If it was football,  every shot on net or steal is a fact.

Quick examples, but you get the idea! :)

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Materials: Just a Role of Toilet Paper

Bring in a roll of toilet paper, and depending on the size of your class, tell the students they can take a certain number of pieces (big classes 1-4, small classes 4-8). Don’t give them any other information except for that.

Once everyone has their paper, tell them that they have to tell the class one thing about themselves for each square of paper that they have. For each sentence, they “throw-away” one square until they’re done.

Alternative: Follow-Up Questions

A way to extend this activity is to set a higher minimum, perhaps 8 or 10 pieces of TP. Then, students can do it in groups of 5 or 6.

The first person tells one thing about themselves and throws away a square of toilet paper. Someone (whoever is fastest) can ask a follow-up question. They also get to throw away a square of toilet paper. The next person in the circle says their statement and so it continues with one follow-up question, etc.

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This is an icebreaker I've used when I meet a new student for the first time in a one-on-one setting. But this works great for partners or small groups as well! Pen, paper, and people is all you need.

Write out the alphabet from A to Z on a paper vertically, like you are about to write a looooong acrostic poem.

Then, take turns from one person to another and write any word or phrase that starts with that letter that relates to you. Keep rotating until you make it to Z!

Example:
Apples (Partner A's snack)
Blue (Partner B's favorite colour)
Canadian (Partner A)
Dominoes (Partner B's game)
...and so on!

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This is an easy ( super fun ) icebreaker game that is great for all ages.

Materials needed:
- 15-20 recycled pop can boxes.
- Wrapping paper to cover the boxes.
- Colorful marker or pen to write questions on each box.

How to play:
After you have wrapped up the pop-can boxes, and set them up in a tower formation. Everyone needs to make a circle around the tower, and each person that removes a "jenga" piece must answer the question on the box that they have removed before they place it back on the top of the tower. If the whole tower falls down on your turn, you have to answer the question on the box that you were holdingwhen it fell AND one other question on a box, chosen by the group!

You can write more advaned questions on each box, or keep them simple too!

Some examples of questions:
How many siblings do you have?
What is your favorite color?
What is your least favorite candy?
What is your dream vacation?

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I am going to connect your favorite video games, graphic novels, manga, books, music, and movies with other things to play, read, listen to, and watch... and you are going to love it.

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This is a simple ice breaker that allows your students to get active and have some fun!
(Best facilitated with a larger group)

How to play:

Divide your class into equal-sized groups, with each group having the name of a fruit. Form a circle with a number of chairs equal to one less than the number of players. The players sit on the chairs facing inward, ensuring that members of each group are evenly distributed around the circle.

One player will be left without a chair, and will stand in the center of the circle.

The player standing in the center calls out one of the fruit names. When this happens, all players in that group must stand up from their seats and move to another seat in the circle. The player in the center must attempt to take one of the free seats while the other players are moving.

A new player will then be left in the center, enabling the game to be repeated. If any player failed to move even though their group's fruit name was called, they are required to move into the center and the player previously in the center sits in their seat.

Instead of stating a fruit name, the player in the center may call "upset the fruit basket”, in which case everybody must move to a different seat.

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Students sit around a table and take turns rolling a die. The number they roll will determine which question they answer to the group.

Additional questions can include:
What is your favourite sport?
How old are you?
What is your favourite song?
Do you have any pets?
How many siblings do you have?
What is your favourite English word?

Resource: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/453526624973124812/

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My favorite icebreaker from this book is "Find Someone Who" on page 11. In this activity, students must interview each other to find out which of their classmates can say "yes" to the items on a list. (See the printable Find Someone Who list on page 26, or make your own.)

About This Resource: This is the little booklet with the quote from C.S. Lewis that I mention in one of the videos. It contains an assortment of activities you can use in your class, including a list of icebreakers and where you can find them in the book on page 10.
-Andy

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Access Google Drive with a Google account (for personal use) or Google Workspace account (for business use).