The first few days of a new school year can be a turbulent time for students and teachers alike. You may be meeting a whole new class, and that class is meeting you. Classroom icebreakers are a great way to set the stage for a successful semester! They allow teachers to get to know students better, they help students develop friendships, and they help alleviate those first-day jitters.
Goal Sharing Clouds
Give students a few minutes to plan ahead for this activity. Ask them to think about their goals or hopes for the school year and write down or draw them on a sheet of white construction paper. Then, seat students in a circle and have them take turns sharing their goals with the group. Cut out their written or illustrated goals in the shape of clouds and hang them from the ceiling, where kids can refer to them for inspiration throughout the year.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Combine an art lesson with an icebreaker in this fun activity. Have kids draw a picture of their favorite thing they did over the summer. It could be a fishing trip, a family vacation, or a visit from grandma. No writing is allowed, and no names are on the paper. Collect the drawings, shuffle the stack, and hand the pictures out randomly. Have each child describe to the class what they think the picture is about. Then, the artist will say whether the guesser was correct and tell the class more about the special event depicted.
Solve the Puzzle
This activity is a variation of TeachHub’s Meet Your Match icebreaker game. Take a picture of the whole class, print it out on card stock, then cut it into a puzzle with as many pieces as there are students. Give each student a puzzle piece and have them go around the room to find whose piece fits into their piece. For each person they talk to, they have to share one unique thing about themselves. When they get a match, they have to remember what their partner shared and tell that fact to the next person they try to match with.
Icebreaker activities are fun for kids and a useful tool for teachers. They may even help identify which students will work well together. Check out some more meaningful activities for back to school and start your school year off right!
What are some of your favorite classroom icebreakers? Share below in the comments!
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