10 Fun Icebreakers for the Beginning of the Year

Everyone loves a good icebreaker—it’s a great way to get to know other people and help people feel relaxed in stressful situations, such as the first day of a new school year.

Here are a few icebreakers and some variations to the icebreakers to try during the first week of school to build a good sense of community in your classroom that will last throughout the year!

Try These 10 Awesome Ideas to Kick off Your School Year

1. 1

   Name Chain Games

   By far and away the best way to learn and retain student names is to do a name chain game to start off the class. You can vary the specifics to fit the needs of your particular class, but my class usually goes like this: the first student says 1) his or her name, 2) his or her home country, 3) one interesting fact about himself or herself, and 4) his or her favorite English word. The next student must then repeat all of the information about himself or herself and then say the name and favorite English word of the preceding student. The third student introduces himself or herself and then says the names and favorite English words of the preceding two students, and so on until the last student. For a challenge, tell the last student not to write anything down! As the teacher, you can also go last instead and impress the class with your knowledge of their names while simultaneously making the last student feel better. Make sure you quiz your students throughout the week to see if they can remember everyone’s names and favorite words. I’ve also made a practice vocabulary quiz using each of their favorite English words before which is a great way to transition them into your testing style.
   Variation: Instead of having students say their favorite English word, have them choose a word that starts with the same letter as their name, a favorite city, favorite food, etc... the options are endless!
2. 2

   New Year’s Resolutions

   Your students may familiar with this popular tradition in January, but a new school year should bring about new resolutions for students and teachers alike.Have students partner up with each other and discuss what goals they have for themselves for the school year. Encourage them to be specific with the things they would like to accomplish and what they want to be different. Make sure that you as the teacher make some resolutions too!
   Variation: While students are talking together, have them create a poster of their resolutions. Display the posters around the room to help students remember their goals throughout the term.
3. 3

   Name That Person

   Another great activity to get to your students to know each other a little better is a guessing game. Pass out small pieces of paper or notecards to each student and tell them to write down two facts about themselves on the card without writing their name on them. Collect the cards in a basket and mix them up before redistributing them to the students. Students take turn reading out the facts from the note card and the other students guess which person wrote the card.
   Variation: Instead of writing them down on notecards, have them discuss their facts with a partner. After groups have had some time to discuss, come back together as a whole class. The partners will take turns sharing facts and the rest of the class has to guess which partner the fact is about! Give a point to the partners who guess the facts correctly and a point to the partners who are able to fool the class.
4. 4

   Would You Rather....

   Line students up in two lines with each line facing each other. Tell them to come up with creative “Would you rather...” questions to ask their partners, such as “Would you rather eat pizza for the rest of your life or chocolate?”; “Would you rather be a ballerina or a florist?” etc... Give them a few examples to prompt them and see what kinds of creative questions they come up with. This will help to pique their creativity and get to know their new classmates. After a short time, have one of the lines move down so students will get to meet everyone in the other line.
   Variation: In a large circle as a whole class, have Student A pose a would you rather question for Student B to answer. To make things even more interesting, have Student B answer for a different student. For example, Student A might ask “Student B, do you think student C would rather have a crocodile or a zebra for a pet?” The students will then guess for their classmate; be sure to have Student C answer to see who close Student B was!
5. 5

   Find Objects to Describe Me ....

   A classic get to know you activity is to have students go through their backpacks, folders, pockets, etc... and find 3 or 4 things that they feel describe them very well.Students then need to describe their objects and why they chose them as their defining objects. Put students into pairs to share their objects or share as a whole class so that way everyone can hear about their new classmates!
   Variation: Send students around the building with cameras (phones work nicely these days) and take a picture of something in the building that they think defines them or could describe them.
6. 6

   Word Association

   A great speaking activity that helps to loosen up nervous students on the first day is a word association game. One student says a word (choose a category like travel if you wish to narrow things down) and the next person must say a word associated with that word; the next student says a word associated with that word, and so on. If another student challenges the association, the student must justify how those words are related. Make it a competition to see who can get the most points if you want to add a little friendly rivalry in the mix.
   Variation: To make things more challenging or adapt this activity for a higher level class, put extra restrictions such as the word you say must begin with the last letter of the word the previous student said. For example, if Student A says “Japan,” Student B might say “ninja.”
7. 7

   Who Am I?

   A great way to mix students up to arrange them into groups or just get them speaking to one another is to put nametags on the back of the students of famous people, teachers, movie characters etc... Make sure that these people will be well known by all of your students. Students must walk around with their nametag on their back that they cannot see and ask questions to their classmates about who they are.
   Variation: If you wait a few days and do this activity on the 2nd or 3rd day of class, you can put a classmates’ name on their back and their peers will have to know that classmate well enough to describe him or her to the student. This is a great way to review names!
8. 8

   Picture Story-Telling

   To get some of the more creative students included, give each student a blank piece of paper. Tell them to draw a picture of an event that happened to them recently, for example, a vacation they took, or a graduation ceremony etc... There can be no words on the paper. Put the students into pairs and have the partners guess what went the event was based on just looking at the picture.
   Variation: Before putting students into pairs, collect the students’ pictures and randomly redistribute them to different students. The students will then have to describe to the class what is going on in the picture. When they finish, ask the artist of the picture to say how close that student was and to narrate what actually happened in their life event.
9. 9

   I’m Cool Because...

   If students are getting sluggish and you need them to move around the first day, do this activity. Have all of the students seated in a circle and you as a teacher stand in the middle. To start off the activity, you will say “I’m cool because...” and then finish that sentence with something that’s true about you, for example, you’re wearing blue jeans, you speak 3 languages, etc... Then, every student who shares that fact in common with you must stand up and find a new seat. You also will need to find a seat meaning that one student will be stranded in the middle. This game is great for finding commonalities and getting in some good laughs!
   Variation: Play “I have never....” instead. When students are in the middle, have them call out things they’ve never done and have the students move who have done those activities.
10. 10

    3 Common, 1 Unique

    This activity is good for small groups. Randomly group students into three or four and give them a time limit to discover three things that all members of the group have in common and one thing that is unique for all of them. When the time is up, have each group report to the class. Then, change up the groups and have them do it again with their new class members. If it starts to get too easy, start ruling out common answers like “We’re all from different countries” or “We all breathe oxygen.”
    Variation: Try this with the whole class after doing it in small groups. If they’ve been good listeners, they should be able to recall many things that all students had in common. It may take awhile, but there are surely at least 3 things the whole class has in common!

The first day of school can be stressful for everyone, but these icebreakers will help you and your students get to know each other in a fun, interactive way to help build the classroom environment all year long!

How To Break The Ice: 5 Creative Ways To Get Your Class Talking

Icebreakers are important when you are trying to get to know your students.

They are even more important if your students do not know one another well either. Depending on how your school organizes its classes, you may use these types of activities primarily at thebeginning of the school year. You can also adapt icebreakers into activities to use when starting new topics. It is sometimes easier for students to share their ideas if they know the rest of the class will have to share theirs too.

Here are some fun icebreakers you can do with almost any class.

Try These Ice-Breakers:

1. 1
   Learn The Names 
   In order to learn students’ names, you can conduct an activity where students take turns saying their name. You can make this more challenging by having students say the name of the last student to speak or even the names of all the students who have already said their name before saying their own name. To make it more interesting and to learn a little more about your class, ask students to include something specific such as their favorite cereal, color, sport, or movie. By the end of the activity you should try your best to say every student’s name. If students are learning the names of their classmates for the first time, conduct some other name activities for practice. For one activity, have students stand in a circle, on a student’s turn he should say a word or sentence related to whatever prompt or topic you choose, and then call out the name of a classmate to go next.
2. 2
   Find Someone Who... 
   If students know one another’s names, get them talking about some other topics by having them play “Find Someone Who ~” where students ask and answer questions based on pictures or phrases to find someone for each question who can answer “Yes.” The model question for this activity could be “Do you like ~.” or “Do you have ~.” After five to ten minutes, depending on the number of questions students have to ask, have everyone sit down and call on students to read some of the answers, for example “Ben likes soccer.” this way the class can learn more about individual students. Try to encourage students to give sentences about people who have not yet been mentioned. This gives everyone the opportunity to share something.
3. 3
   Talk and Remember 
   Another activity gets students talking with the people seated around them. Have students talk to the person to their right about hobbies for instance. After a minute or two have students turn to the person to their left and talk about another topic. You could also do this as a mingling exercise where students have a limited amount of time to exchange information before moving on to the next person and conversation topic. Be sure to ask some students things they learned about their peers at the end of the activity so that they try their best to remember the conversations they had.
4. 4
   What's Important
   If your class is quite small you may also consider having students think about the three things they would take with them to a deserted island and then share why they chose one or all of those things. This is an excellent way of getting to hear about what is important to your students and how they are able to organize their thoughts. If your class is larger, you can conduct the same activity in groups which is good for getting students talking with one another but will exclude you for most of the activity. Another similar group activity is to have students write down the first word that pops into their head when they hear you say a certain color. Students can then discuss why they chose certain words in their groups or just have the student with the most unusual choice explain his choice. After a few minutes give them another color to think about and discuss. Groups should present the class with a brief summary of their discussions towards the end of the lesson.
5. 5
   Three Adjectives That Describe You 
   For introductions, you could also have students choose three adjectives to describe themselves. Perhaps a the end of the year have students fill in adjectives for all their classmates, nothing mean spirited, and give students a summary of what their classmates said about them in the last lesson. This should give students some positive reinforcement and point out their personality strengths. It may be interesting to compare these with the adjectives students chose to describe themselves too.

Icebreakers are excellent because they give students the opportunity to share things about themselves and learn about their peers. These activities often get students moving or thinking creatively. They can be lots of fun and dissolve any tension or nervousness there might be in your classroom. It is important that students be able to interact with one another easily because learning English is all about communication. Students will need to be comfortable sharing ideas with the class and talking with other students in groups or in pairs on a regular basis.

Speak Up: 6 Fabulous Games to Get your Students Speaking

Many ESL teachers find that their students are timid speakers or reluctant to participate in class discussions.

It’s only natural. After all, they are trying to talk in a language they are still working on learning. Still, silence can be deadly in the ESL classroom for your students and you. When you want to get your students to speak up, try one of these fun and simple games to get them talking in class.

Try These 6 Involving Activities for Students to Speak Up

1. 1

   This is How We Roll

   You can use this simple game as a get to know you at the start of school or later as a get to know you better activity. All you need is one standard die and six questions – either ice breakers or ones that elicit opinions, experience or other personal thoughts. Be creative and choose the ones you’d like to hear your students answer. Give students a list of the questions, and make sure they are numbered on the paper. Then, have students take turns rolling the die. Whatever number they roll, that is the question they must answer. You could do this activity as a class, in smaller groups or as a public speaking activity. For the latter, have students prepare answers to each question as homework and then have them share in front of the class after they roll.
2. 2

   Human Experience Bingo

   Your students are probably already familiar with the rules of Bingo. Simply get five numbers in a line on a chart. You can use this as a basis for another get to know you game. Work with your class to compile a list experiences that a person might have had. For example, gone scuba diving, made a birthday cake and eaten sushi would all be good expereinces. Work together on the list until you have about 30-40 different experiences. (You can also compile the list on your own if you prefer.) Then, give students a blank bingo board (a 5x5 chart) and have them write one experience in each of the boxes. On your word, students mingle and talk to each other to find someone with each experience they have chosen. If a student finds someone who, for example, has gone scuba diving, that student signs the square where your student wrote it on his Bingo board. The first person to get five in a row yells, “Bingo!” Another variation is to arrange students speed dating style: two rows of chairs facing each other. Each pair then gets two minutes to talk with each other. When time is up, the students in one row shift one chair to the right. The game is over once someone has gotten five spaces in a row on their bingo board.
3. 3

   Character Trait Roulette

   This game works best for students who already know each other fairly well. Work as a group to come up with a list of several character traits a person might have. (Try to stick to positive traits.) You might include adventurous, sympathetic and generous. Then write these traits on small slips of paper and put them in a bag. Each person takes a turn drawing one character trait from the bag in front of the class. The student must then announce who in class (and you are fair game, too) possesses that character trait. Of course, a name isn’t enough. The person must tell a story or give an example of why he made his particular choice.
4. 4

   Story Starter Hot Potato

   Put the list of story starters in your writing drawer to double duty with this silly and fast paced game. Students play in small groups of around five members. Students should arrange their seats in a circle. Give your class a story starter at the beginning of the round. Starting with the person whose birthday is closest to today and them moving around the circle, each person gives his group one sentence of the story. After one person is done, the person sitting to his left adds a line where the first person left off. Students continue around the circle, adding one sentence at a time, until the music stops or until you give another signal. Whoever is in the middle of his sentence or is struggling to think of a sentence when the music stops is out. He must leave the circle. Then students play a second round either continuing the story or with a new story starter. When you stop the music, whoever’s turn it is is eliminated. Play continues until the final round when the person not speaking when the music stops is the winner.
5. 5

   Find Your Partner

   Prepare a small slip of paper for each student in your class. Each paper should have one word on it that goes with a word on another slip of paper. For example, matching pairs might be fork and spoon, day and night, bat and ball, or table and chairs. Fold the papers and put them into a hat. Each person then draws one slip of paper. On your word, students must circulate and talk to one another trying to find their partner. Once two people think they are a match, they come to you to see if they are right. If they are, they sit down. Play until everyone has found their partner. Then have those partners work together to create a new pair of words that go together. Repeat the game with these student given examples.
6. 6

   Hide and Speak

   To prepare for this energetic and fast paced game, write several questions each on one index card or post-it note. These questions can be get to know you questions, comprehension questions or questions using current vocabulary words. Before your students arrive, hide these cards throughout your classroom. At the start of class, break your students into two teams. Explain that you have hidden cards throughout the room. On your word, students will search the room for the cards you have hidden. They can only pick up one card at a time. When a student finds a card, he must bring it to you and answer the question on the card. If he answers it correctly, he earns the card for his team. If he does not answer it correctly, he must get someone else from his team to help him find the answer. Once students have correctly answered the question on their card, they can search for another card. At the end of the game (after a certain amount of time or when all the cards have been found) the team with the most cards in their possession wins.

Speaking doesn’t have to be forced or boring when it comes to ESL class. These games are just a few of the fun ways to get your students speaking up and having a good time while they practice their English.

What games do you use to get your students talking?