Hello Gardeners!
We've all been there - it's the first day of school or the first day of a new after school club and your teachers asks you and your classmates to do an icebreaker. Icebreakers, in theory, are a great way to get to know your classmates and allow everyone to get comfortable with each other. Sometimes though, they seem to force students to share overly personal information or they don't produce responses that actually help students get to know one another.
A truly effective icebreaker should encourage easy conversation without forcing your students to take a social risk!
1. Would you rather...?
Ask questions that help you get to know a person, rather than out-of-this-world, make believe questions. Try questions like, "Would you rather be outdoors or indoors?", "Would you rather live in the city or in the country?", "Would you rather go to a concert or sporting event?" Asking your classmates these sorts of questions actually help you get to know their ideal environment and may lead to deeper conversation.
2. Gather in groups
Ask students to gather in groups that share similarities - gather with people who are wearing similar shoes, gather with the people who have the same color eyes, gather with people who share your favorite color. This shows your students that no matter how different we are, we all share similarities!
3. Combo Creating
Fold a paper into thirds vertically and have 3 students collaborate on one image! It's a fun way to introduce your students to one another and they can laugh and connect over the results.