Breaking the Ice

One of the hardest challenges of working with any group is breaking the ice of uncomfortable small talk and awkward silences. Admittedly, I always hated icebreakers and cringed at the thought that I had to participate in something so forced and unnatural -- why not just let us free to bounce off one another as molecules do in chemical reactions? After all, the desire to meet someone leads to a more meaningful relationship, right?

Turns out that some of my most meaningful friendships and relationships were a result of forced interaction. Even though it's painfully awkward situation to put yourself out there, most of the time it is completely necessary in order to forge a connection. Anyway, the purpose of this post was not to get into my own personal interactions, but to share some of the successful (or moderately successful) icebreakers I used with the middle schoolers.

Here's the quick and dirty list:

1. People Bingo
2. Lines of Conversation
3. People Recipe Cards
4. Silent Order (by first name, birth day, age... etc)
5. Math Game (which then can change to Rock, Paper Scissors)

I will give more details about each in an update -- but I could go on forever reflecting on how these icebreakers enhanced group work and interaction between the students.