Welcoming a group of pupils you’ve never taught and more importantly have never been taught by you can be a nerve-racking prospect.
We say, make it fun!
Here’s a few first day ice breakers and activities which we think are great for lightening the mood and getting the introductions over with.
The blanket game
Get two volunteers to hold up a large blanket. One pupil stands behind the blanket and the other pupils in the class have to guess who’s behind the blanket by asking simple questions. This is great as a get to know you game.
Catch the ball introductions
http://www.icebreakers.ws/small-group/catch-ball-introductions-icebreaker.html
All you’ll need for this activity is a small, soft ball. When introducing this game explain that the ball is a “share an interesting fact ball”. The ball gets passed along and as it does each pupil reveals a fact about them selves. You can make this interesting by asking specific questions or tailoring it to your subject.
Lost on a desert island
I’m sure most people have played this game, the idea is to explain the one item you’d take if you were stranded on a desert island and why. Thsi is a great game for all ages and abilities and acts as a perfect getting to know you game.
You can add to this game by splitting the class into several smaller groups and getting them to combine their desert island possessions and try and improve their chances of survival. If you like you can reward the most creative group with a small prize.
Never have I ever
This is a great ice breaker for larger classes. Get everyone to sit in a circle facing towards each other with all ten fingers placed in front of them on the ground. Go around the circle and one at a time each person says a statement that they’ve never done before such as “Never have I ever eaten a Brussels sprout”. For each statement said each player drops a finger if they have done the statement. The winner is the last person to have any fingers left up. This icebreaker is fun, and a fantastic way of getting to know each other.
