Icebreakers for Introverts

Ahhhh…. the dreaded first day of school icebreaker. Some teachers skip them altogether. Some principals require them. I’m in the camp of finding an activity that the majority of students will participate in, that doesn’t include “My name is ___ and my dream vacation is ___.”

A few tips before we dive in….

• You don’t have to do an icebreaker the first day. Students are likely doing icebreakers the first day in every other class. As a science teacher, start with a fun demo or lab, and save the icebreaker for later in the week.
• Icebreakers don’t have to be personal trivia or centered around getting to know one another. The goal for me is just to get students feeling more comfortable in my classroom. (Frankly, nobody is going to remember that “Johnny has 2 siblings and went camping over the summer”).
• Some students have anxiety over introducing themselves or talking on the first day. This is especially true for your non-native English speakers. Find an activity that caters to your introverts as well as your extroverts. Don’t worry, I have ideas below!
• Lastly, I know lots of teachers shy away from some activities because they are worried they will go wrong. I have the opposite view… if there is a knucklehead who is going to write something inappropriate on a sticky note or yell out “6-7!” just to see how I’ll respond- bring it on. Let them reveal themselves the first few days so you know who to keep an eye on.

Ok… lets dive in to some ideas!

ICEBREAKERS THAT DON’T REQUIRE TALKING

1. BOP OR FLOP: To prep for this game, you will need to come up with a playlist of school appropriate songs. You can also check Spotify for a playlist to save yourself time. Personally I like to choose a mix of both recent and older songs. When you are ready to play, have students listen to 30 seconds of a song and decide if it’s a bop or flop. (It’s also a requirement that one of your songs is MMMbop by Hansen. I don’t make the rules).
2. LAST PERSON STANDING: In this game, everyone starts standing. The teacher will read out statements, and students will sit down if it applies to them. Last person standing wins some sort of prize (could be as simple as a sticker or Jolly Rancher). Example statements could include:
   • Sit down if you have ever cut your own hair
   • Sit down if you have the letter T in your name
   • Sit down if you can speak more than 2 languages
   • Sit down if you have ever broken a bone
3. MAKE A MEME: Hang up blank pictures around the room. You can pull meme images from the internet or even print pictures of scientists. Students walk around the room and add funny captions to each image on sticky notes. (See image below!)
4. WOULD YOU RATHER: For this game, students will either need a mini-whiteboard, notecards, or colored paper. Regardless of your choice, have one side say “A” and the opposite side say “B.” You will read “would you rather” statements aloud and students will hold up the A or B side of their whiteboard with their choice. The sillier the statements, the better. They could include:
   • Would you rather only be able to whisper or only be able to shout?
   • Would you rather have an extra arm or extra leg?
   • Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?
   • Would you rather never use toothpaste again or deodorant again?
   • Would you rather give up your phone for a month or have no homework for a month?
5. RANDOM KAHOOT TRIVIA: I enjoy using Kahoot to review before tests, so using it the first week of school gives them practice using the site. You can do random science trivia questions, meet the teacher questions, or school specific trivia (such as: what year did the school open? What was the varsity basketball team’s record last year?)

ICEBREAKERS THAT REQUIRE (MINIMAL) TALKING

1. EMOJIS: Put students into groups of 4-8 and have them sit in a circle. Give each student a piece of paper. Ask them to think of three emojis that represent their personality or something significant in their life (family, hobbies, favorite foods, etc) and draw them on their paper. Once completed, students will crumple up the paper and throw it in the center of the group. One student will pick a crumpled paper, open it up, and guess who it belongs to based on the images. If students feel like elaborating on their choices, great! If not, also ok! (See image above for sample)
2. HANGMAN: Put students in pairs and have them set up a hangman game on a piece of paper. Post a question on the board such as “who is your favorite music artist?” Students will play hangman in order to discover the answer to the question.
3. CATEGORY CALL OUT: Even though this one requires talking, it’s one word answers and low stakes. To play, put students in small groups and have them stand in a circle. The teacher chooses a category (ie: things you take to the beach, types of fruit, names of baseball teams), and students go around the circle and say something that falls into that category. If they say a wrong answer, repeat an answer, or take more than 5 seconds answer, they have to sit. Last student standing gets a prize!
4. REMEMBER THE TIME: I stole this idea from from a morning radio talkshow! Music has the uncanny ability to transport us back in time. To play this game, split students into small groups. Play a short clip of a song- these should be recognizable songs. Each group gets to guess the year the song came out. The team closest to the correct year earns a point.
5. NASA MOON LANDING: This one is science specific and fun! Students imagine they are stranded on the moon, and have to rank survival supplies in order of importance. I have students work alone first, and then pair up with a partner, discuss, and modify their answers if they choose. Then we go over NASA’s answers and discuss. You can find the worksheet here.

I hope one of those works for you!

Rock on,