Icebreakers: Two activities for getting to your students

1. One of the more icebreakers I have used for many years is to ask the students a series of interesting
questions such as:
a. Who has lived in the most countries/places?
b. Who has lived in the most interesting country/place?
c. What is the most unique food you have eaten?
d. What is the most interesting tradition your family recognizes?
e. Who has the most interesting, uniquely spelled, longest, shortest etc name?
f. What is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to you?
g. What is the happiest thing that has ever happened to you?

After asking a few of my questions (there are many more that whats listed above) I solicit questions
from the students. This activity usually gets everyone involved, reduces anxiety, and opens the door to
positive communication.

2. Another fun icebreaker is the Name Game. I have a unique name that comes from the small country of
Luxembourg over in Europe. I am related to all of the Aulners in the United States, and under 1,000
households worldwide share this name. For this reason I like to see if my students can tell me where
their family name comes from and what it means to them. I often ask the questions:
a. What is your full name?
b. What is the country of origin for your last name?
c. How did your name get to the Unites States (North America in the early years of our country)?
d. What does your name mean?
e. What is the correct pronunciation of your name in English and/or the country of origin?
f. Are there any famous people that share your name?

This activity gets everyone involved in the class and quite often there are students will not know this
information on the first day of school. Without fail I will be approached later in the year by at least two
or three students who will go on to tell me what they have learned about their name. This activity
promote positive communication and comradery both inside and outside the classroom. It also
motivates student to learn more about who they are and where they come from.