these icebreakers are my go-to's because they are fun easy to incorporate and they get students interacting with each other now let's go break some ice [Music] hey folks alexa broda here welcome back if you're new to my channel i'm a high school english teacher however i did teach middle school for eight years as well i taught language arts i'm excited to present to you video one of my back to school series this one is all about icebreakers a lot of us are thinking about that first day of school that first week of school let's talk about what you can do most likely if you're a secondary teacher students already know ice breakers are coming they don't always have to be so eye-rolling you know what i'm saying good morning class today we're going to get to know each other with some icebreakers are you all ready in all seriousness call them what you want but icebreakers are essential in the beginning of the school year or the beginning of any class because students have a hard time interacting with each other i noticed this especially after all of that remote con instruction inside construction all of that remote instruction after covid9 the number one question i receive is how do i get my students talking and how do i get everybody to participate some of us are very quick to want to jump into our first assessments of the year we're quick to teach our routines we're quick to get reading we're quick to get writing we're quick to want to do so many things but do not underestimate the power of icebreakers and community building activities they should not be done the first day or just the first week this should be a continuous routine of yours do not expect these grand results if your students are not comfortable talking to each other and with students often do not want to speak to each other or allowed because of the fear of being judged as their teachers we need to take this just as seriously as we do teaching the standards in addition to boosting everyone's comfortability with each other icebreakers also increase the momentum and the energy of your class what are you going to do with students who are sleeping and bored hello can anybody answer the question was emily dickinson a male or a female anybody you going to sleep through college too all right let me know how that works out for you i'm going to break my favorite suggestions to you into two categories ones that involve materials and ones that involve no material some of these icebreakers are very quick and they could be used daily or on a weekly basis some of these icebreakers are so much fun students might mistake them for free time but as teachers we are wiser than that we know better we know that we are helping them build positive relationships which is everything asking students to speak in front of the entire class can be social suicide or intensely painful i just don't suggest beginning with that unless it's on a volunteer basis i like to give them things to do in small groups or pairs and i like when they create something together activities that require materials yeah number one i'm starting with a favorite of my favorite it's called an index card tower small groups three to four students all you need for each group are some index cards and something to write with give them a time limit i say 10 minutes is perfect in their groups every time they find something that they have in common they have to write it down one commonality per index card the goal is to build the tallest tower ever when that timer goes off the highest one standing when that timer goes off is the winner and check the cards because some of them cheap number two is bridge building i actually took part in this during a professional development day a couple of years ago and it was a lot of fun i've been doing it with my students ever since yes it's enjoyable yes they get to eat during the process but i also love it because i get to display their bridges when it's all done this works best in groups of three to four you need to provide a lot of straws and a lot of gumdrops you know those little colorful candies that are coated in sugar if they eat them clearly they're not going to win because you need them to build your bridge so there's a little bit of self-discipline in there too i give students 20 minutes to build the sturdiest bridge ever i find that anything less than 20 minutes i'm just adding minutes to the end so 20 is perfect this activity there is no pressure on what they need to talk about they just need to build a bridge together some students are just so shy or reluctant to work with each other for all different reasons and this activity is really there just to show them that they can create something awesome together they can work together and they could have a really good time in the process three colored airplanes this is an activity for the whole class to take part in together give everyone one sheet of construction paper this works with any type of paper but i like construction paper write one interesting fact about themselves on this paper airplane give them a minute to think about it let them write down their fact when they're done they should fold their construction paper into an airplane you might have to model this this is a good opportunity for students who finish very quickly to help those who cannot fold an airplane because there are students who cannot fold airplanes when everybody's done they hold up their airplanes and then they shoot them off all at the same time and everybody tries to grab somebody else's airplane everybody should pick up one airplane read that interesting fact everybody tries to figure out who their airplane belongs to there is so much movement and energy in this activity it's one of the reasons that i love it cautious if you do this with middle schoolers sometimes they can be a little too energetic sixth seventh sometimes eighth graders they're not as laid back as high schoolers are so if you think that they're going to be extra jumpy just lay some ground rules before the blast off activity four two truths and a lie maybe you've tried this before already but you didn't like the way that you delivered it i find this activity to be my go-to when i am teaching how to use laptops or how to use jamboard if you're familiar with jamboard you probably know this is a whole class activity basically everybody logs into jamboard model this first add a sticky note to the jamboard tell two things that are true about yourself and one thing that is a lie make sure your name is on it when everyone is done one by one go to each sticky note and allow classmates to guess if they want to what's true and what's not about that student if students are up to it allow for them to get up and talk about their sticky note all by themselves if they're not into it i suggest read it for them i really try not to force it in the beginning though public speaking is necessary and sometimes they do deserve a little push but that is not my goal in the beginning of the class i suggest modeling this two times just in case one students are not familiar with jamboard and two because i notice a lot of students get stuck i don't know what to say i don't know what to say so by you providing some really good examples of yourself you're gonna give them ideas five how many ways can you use a paperclip i really love this one i actually talked about this one in another vlog of mine ask your students to get into groups of three or four give each group about 20 seconds to decide who their notetaker is going to be i then like to give the notetaker a cute little list type of handout then go around to each group and give someone else in that group a paper clip don't tell them what the paper clip is for just let them look puzzled lastly give them 20 seconds to decide who the brave leader of their group is who is going to read off their list at the end of the activity and that's kind of my favorite part because there's just so much suspense have your five minute timer ready on your board and then ask them the magic question in what ways can you use a paperclip they'll look and go huh but it only takes a few seconds for them to realize that you can actually use a paperclip to do many different things so they can untangle the paperclip and they can pass the paperclip around their group and they learn quickly to keep their voices down because while they're shouting answers and excitement they start to realize that the groups around them hear their answers and they start to quiet down so this is not the loudest activity i like that okay time for part two activities why is my hand up activities that do not require any materials this or that there are a lot of different ways that you could go about the this or that game here's my favorite one it's not really a game it's an activity it's pretty quick and it wakes everyone up okay so i'm going to show you ignore any toys that you see around my house i have kids it's summer break it is what it is create some kind of line in the center of your classroom have your entire class stand as close to the line as possible you might have to move some desks around just do it have a list of questions prepared a long list so that you have plenty to choose from that you could use again and again and pull out at any time summer or fall cardi b nicki minaj hot dogs hamburgers mcdonald's wendy moonlight or sunlight beach or camping you get the idea if you want to step it up a notch when you're done they get the idea see if there is one student there's usually more than one who wants to facilitate the next round of questions let them stand where you're standing and let them provide the this or that questions and you better believe that you're going to participate be a student for five minutes this brings me to my final icebreaker there are so many more icebreakers that i would love to talk about with you but i chose to keep it to the ones that i actually use that work every single time so here's number seven hot or cold yes i just said the hot and cold game i purposely saved this for last so that you didn't turn the video off in the beginning every once in a while i have a class or a large group of students in that class i have to work really really hard to get them to say anything and in those classes this is where the hot and cold game works wonders i always know that i'm going to play this game before i actually play it and i hide something i will already have it hidden for me that object is usually this little it's a green frog his name is wasabi i hide him all around the room he fits in everything if you're comfortable if you know that you are comfortable enough with a student i have even slipped wasabi into another student's book bag that's probably the best work start here and every move they make you say you're getting hotter you're getting warmer you're getting closer to the object you're getting cold you're moving further away you're freezing after that initial round allow that student to select another student in the room who wants to participate and ask them to stand in the hallway for a moment as a class quickly decide where you are going to hide that object next and now the whole class knows where that object is your job is done let them do all the talking and this is the part where some of the students who rarely rarely speak they're smiling sometimes they're yelling hot and cold sometimes they're shaking their head yes they're shaking their head no they're participating i guarantee you that throughout your quarter semester or year with your students they are going to be asking at the end of class to play the hot or cold game and that's it we are done here please don't feel like you need to integrate your icebreaker activities all at once spread them out and continue to spread them out all year long i would really love and appreciate if you shared your favorite icebreaker activities in the comments they'd be useful for me because i love new ideas and they'd be useful for our viewers as well remember to model well and also to participate see you next time i plan to share so many more back to school tips and suggestions with you i hope you enjoy your new students good luck bye