Ice breakers and wow factor

[keeleydee]

hi all, ive not been on here for sometime, hope everyone had a good summer?? break... lucky for me i was in south africa and even in our winter there it was 27 deg xx

i desperately need some good icebreakers and wow factor stuff for start of the new college year now, has anyone heard of a good book or can anyone suggest any good icebreakers that they use or that they have had used on them.

any ideas gratefully accepted x

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

The worst thing that happens to me whenever I start any course...is when you have to introduce yourself and talk about yourself to everybody...its such a cruel thing to do! The teachers are used to standing in front of an audience talking so i dont think they understand how terrifying this is for some people....I also find it a little de-meaning(cant think of right word) but its like be treated like a child and saying your incapable of making friends with people yourself! lol for me personally I hate having to do it but its not so bad if its a really small group...but if its a large group lik eit usually is at colleges....god i just want the earth to swollow me up....thinking about it now is making me break out in a sweat lmao

one teacher i had did an ice breaker game and it was so much better...it was funny and made us feel immediately more relaxed....i cant remember what the game was now but it was like a party game, so i would say any kind of party game is a good ice breaker if you feel you must have an ice-breaker....but I would like to say that on one hand ice breakers are good...but on the other hand...people are perfectly capable of making friends by themselves!

 

[Bagpuss]

I lady i know had a very important interview ahead and was very nervous....when it came round they asked her what she had done to prepare herself for the interview....to lighten the mood she replied that she had had her hair done and painted her nails....:lol:....she never got the job....so maybe not a good idea...PMSL

 

[tonilee]

WHen I teach if we really need and introduction (some classes are more chatty than others iykwim) I get them to say the following

Name, Age, any three things in life that you love....and 3 things you would put in room 101,

I then get them to work in pairs, give them 5 mins to chat and then each student has to introduce their "partner" to the class......

The 5 mins is too long so they end up chatting anyway...introducing someone else is less intimidating I think and everyone remembers more somehow!! its a great way to get chatting!

 

[nicky's nails]

I agree with lee, when we were at college we had to pair up into partners talk about ourselves for 5 mins and then introduce each other, as you say , its less intimidating talking about someone else, we didnt get up infront of class, just sat in our seats (very informal) and we'd completed the name age and 3 things about ourselves in 1 minute, so all of us gabbed away for 4 mins to each other, so we all made at least one friend straightaway

good luck hun

and wb, thought i hadnt noticed you around for a while xxxxxx

 

[karmajules]

My favorite two icebreakers were getting students into pairs, asking them to share something quirky or unusual about themselves. After a couple of mins they share the exchange with the rest of the class, and expand a little on the story. eg. setting fire to the curtains at Brownies, Great grandmother was a circus freak, or even eat a packet of jelly tots everyday!

My other fav is give them a list a little like:-

I love to see......
I love the taste........
I love the sound........
I love the smell........
I love the touch of..........

When they read them out, some are beautiful - almost like poetry. It works well in a smaller class at the begining and a large one after a couple of weeks. On two of the courses I have taught, the learners have asked to do it another week!

Good luck, enjoy. I am not teaching at the moment and I really miss it.

 

[wardo]

I also hit icebreakers so I try to do things a little different with my classes.
I send them all off as a class to chat to each other, they have to find one thing they share with each other then come back and let me know what they found out. Its a great way of remember names as you can put a fact to a face. I normally have to tell them to stop chatting in the end and get on with it! I also do 2 truths a and a lie. Everyone has to give 3 facts about them sevles and everyone has to guess the lie. If all else fails bring out the boppit!! younger stundents love this. Oh and anything with sweets lol, like a mini quiz

 

[DollBird]

When I started college (a long time ago...) a good icebreaker for us was to stand in a circle and throw a ball around. As you threw it to someone you shouted their name. Made us learn each others names quick and relax more :biggrin:

 

[Gilly T]

There's a few I like but this one is really good.....

split into pairs and each tells the other three things about themselves, 2 true and 1 false. the other notes them down. Come back to group and each person has a go and tells what the three things are about the other and the rest of group has to guess which 1 is false... excellent when people throw in things like 'kissed a famous footballer' or some other wayout things... good laugh and really relaxes people. :biggrin:

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

but why do you have to do all this??? why cant you just let people make their own way instead of embarrassing the hell out of them!!! lol

 

[dellaznailz]

One of the many icebreakers I have used is 'speed dating'

Set up seats facing each other and let them chat for one minute each and then get them to move . It adds to the fun if you use a whistle or bell. Include yourself too so you get to know your students. When all have chatted the last one they paired with get to be each others model for the first practical! hth

Have lots more icebreakers if you want to pm me:hug:

 

[wardo]

oh I like that one! puts a new edge on the one way I make them find facts about each other. I like to use new ones all the time I hate the ones when I was at college and had to tell everyone about myself, I dread doing that.

 

[Gilly T]

One of the many icebreakers I have used is 'speed dating'

Set up seats facing each other and let them chat for one minute each and then get them to move . It adds to the fun if you use a whistle or bell. Include yourself too so you get to know your students. When all have chatted the last one they paired with get to be each others model for the first practical! hth

Have lots more icebreakers if you want to pm me:hug:

I have used this in a staff conference workshop and the only problem with it was anyone who was quieter or a little shy, never said anything and the chatterboxes said everything so in some cases it didn't help get to know people. not a criticism as I loved it, just found it didn't do what was intended for some people imo :biggrin:

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

One of the many icebreakers I have used is 'speed dating'

Set up seats facing each other and let them chat for one minute each and then get them to move . It adds to the fun if you use a whistle or bell. Include yourself too so you get to know your students. When all have chatted the last one they paired with get to be each others model for the first practical! hth

Have lots more icebreakers if you want to pm me:hug:

Thats a good one...id be happy to do that...it also has the pairs bonus...that can be embarrassing too when your told to get into pairs!! lol god the amount of times ive ended up being the dreaded odd number as well...then you get told to join someones elses group! ahhhhhhhh