ICE BREAKERS AND ACTIVITIES

FOR YOUR STUDENTS

My teacher isn't a Robot!
Write on the blackboard your name,
surrounded
by
words
that
are
answers to questions they should
ask. Write obvious ones and difficult
ones, for them in groups to think
hard and feel the challenge. I usually
do it like this: 25 The Black Cat
Eternal Myriam Green Norway Angel Sara 39 Spaghetti Beautiful 1 It
seems easy, but can you guess everything? Well, 1 means 1 sister.
Myriam is my sister's name. That's easy. But what's 39? t's my shoe
size. Beautiful is my perfume, Green is a colour I hate. Created by
Sara Martn, Spain.
Its your turn
This is a good vocabulary practice. You can use it at any level. Ask
students to pass around a timer with set to beep in 10 seconds. Tell
students they have to come up with 3 words in a given category if the
timer beeps in their hand.
Three things in common
This activity is for the first day of class with students who don't know
each other. It requires no preparation. The students must ask each
other questions until they find three things that they have in
common. They must be things that are not obvious. For example, they
can't say we both have black hair. It is easy to model the activity
interviewing a student until you find three things that they have in
common with you. Maybe choose a student you already know for this
so you don't have to spend too long. Students can repeat this several
times and then report back their findings to partners or the class.
Hangless Hangman
Think up a word that applies to whatever lesson you have in mind. On
the whiteboard, draw spaces corresponding to the letters, just as in
the Hangman game. (For the word "game," for example, you'd draw: _
_ _ _.) Have the class guess at the letters...but instead of drawing a
hanging man when they guess incorrectly, gradually draw a picture of
what the mystery word describes.
Toilet Paper Fiasco
You brought a roll of toilet paper to class, and pulled off a strand.
Then, you told the students that each of them should take as much
toilet paper as they use to go to the bathroom. When everyone was
equipped, I told them all that they had to tell the class one thing

about themselves (in the second language...for me, French) for every
square of toilet paper that they had taken.
Facts and Lies
This is a simple first-day icebreaker that works really well with both
small and large classes: The students think of three sentences, two
are facts and one is a lie. One by one, students introduce themselves
and say their three sentences. The rest of the class has to guess
which one is a lie. It's best for the teacher to go first, not only to
provide an example, but also to let the students know that the
teacher is interested in interacting with them.
Alphabet Soup
This is a great activity for any age and gets people thinking quickly.
It's a good exercise in vocabulary. Have participants/students divided
by table or into small groups. Write the letters of the Alphabet on the
board. Give students a topic and ask them to write a word for every
letter of the alphabet. Time the activity. At the end of the time
allotted, ask each team how far they got (to which letter), and then
go through the alphabet asking each team what they had for each
letter and to hold it up. The team that got the furthest, wins!
Snowball Fight
This game would work with any size. If used for introductions give
each student a piece of paper and ask them to write their name and
three fun things about themselves. Have them crumple the paper into
a snowball. Divide the group into two teams on opposite sides of the
room and let the snowball fight begin! When you call stop, each
student is to pick up the nearest snowball and find the person whose
name is inside. Once everyone has found their snowman or
snowwoman, have them introduce him or her to the rest of the group.
If used for recapping, ask students to write a question regarding the
topic you want to review. Provide each student with several pieces of
paper so there is abundant snow. If you want to make sure certain
issues are covered, add some snowballs of your own. When the
snowball fight is over, each student will pick up a snowball and
answer the question in it. Another variation for grammar review is to
have students do three different snowball fights writing a noun first,
a verb second, and an adjective third. After the third snowball fight
the student writes a sentence using the words on the paper (Used in
the demonstration).
Who, What, Where, When
Size: Whole class Use: Give each student a 3 X 5 index card with a
one-word Wh- question starter written on it. The question starter
should begin either with who,what,where or when. Students
write one question using the question starter. For example, What is
your favorite ice cream flavor? Students mill around the room asking
students their question and recording the answers. Students share
their responses with the class.

Mind Reader
Each student needs a paper and pencil. The teacher says in a dramatic
voice, I am the mind reader! Tell me what I am thinking. She then
instructs the class to write all the items they can in a particular
category. For example, he/she says I am thinking of a kind of car.
What is it? The mind reader writes the name of one car on a paper
which is kept private. Student list all the cars they can think of in a
minute. The mind reader then reveals the name of the car. A student
with the matching answer becomes the next mind reader with a
new category.
Alternative Version of Find Someone Who
This is another variation of an icebreaker found on Daves ESL Caf.
Instead of giving students a pre-made list requesting to Find
someone who, you ask them to write on an index card I want to
find someone in the class who and then complete the sentence.
The students then mill around the room asking their personalized
question to their classmates. This allows the student to determine
what they want to find out about their classmates.
Ten Fingers
Each student takes a turn asking a yes-no question. If the student
cannot answer yes to the question, s/he puts one finger down. The
last student with a finger up wins. Some sample questions may be
Do you have a pet? Are you married? Have you ever been to an
amusement park?
Would You Rather?
Present students with Would you rather questions similar to the
ones below. As a whole class or a small group, students discuss and
then are given the opportunity to make and defend their choice.
Samples: Would you rather have unlimited money or unlimited time?
Would you rather have a new car or new furniture? Would you rather
see a good movie or eat a good dinner? Would you rather be lost in a
jungle or in the desert? Would you rather see the future or change the
past? Would you rather always be cold or always be hot? Would you
rather be invisible or be a mind reader?

Useful links:
http://www.icebreakers.ws/
http://www.eslcafe.com/idea/index.cgi?Ice:Breakers
http://www.eslconversationquestions.com/icebreakers-speaking-activities/