PREPARING AND TEACHING
13 Opening Activities, Icebreakers, and Energizers
In this chapter you will learn
- The function of ice-breakers, opening activities, and energizers in the classroom
- Some examples of ice-breakers
- Content-based ice-breakers and further resources
Beginning Seminars with Activities
An excellent way to begin a lab, tutorial, or seminar, is with an icebreaker. Icebreakers not only break the ice, but they can also serve as a gentle introduction to the topic.
Icebreakers that are out of context for the course or seminar can sometimes seem like a waste of time. Try to be deliberate in your choice of introductory activity.
Relating the icebreaker to the topic of the course or the students’ interest in attending the class is more relevant than just having them talk about the last book they read. Here are some fun ways to encourage students to get to know each other:
- Name Game – students introduce themselves to the class and tell a story about their name – who named them, what their name means and whether they like it. Although this activity is not specifically course-related, it helps people to remember each other’s names more quickly and to establish a sense of community.
- Introduce Your Partner – have students chat with the student to their left (or right), then introduce that person to the rest of the class, including why s/he took the course.
- KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) – Create groups of 3 or 4 for dialogue. Have them generate a list (on chart paper or white board) of what they already know about the topic/course and what they are hoping to learn? Discuss the results in whatever way seems suitable (combine the groups or discuss it altogether) and point out the similarities between the groups – the idea is to establish the notion of community within the group rather than one of competition. You can revisit these lists near the end of the course to include what they have learned and how it relates to the discussions in the first class.
Ask the Instructor, Department Chair, or Department Administrative Assistant for resources such as index cards for name tags, chart paper, or whiteboard markers.
Content-based Ice-breakers
Elan Paulson describes content-based ice-breakers as “short discussion or active learning activities that incorporate a topic or key concept of the course or class topic. They may be distinguished from get-to-know-you icebreakers, in which students share about themselves and/or discuss topics of interest but that are not directly course related.”
Elan Paulson also suggests some examples of content-based icebreakers:
- Name a Figure: Identify or name an important figure that has had a significant impact on your field or profession.
- What I See, What it Means: Show a picture and ask students to describe what they see and what it means, etc.
- Not Quite Right: Show an image or tell a story with errors, issues, or problems, then ask students to observe and identify what is not quite right.
- Your Best Guess: Provide a problem, issue, or scenario, and ask students to provide their best guess to address the issue.
- Complete the Sentence: Share a sentence starter prompt and have people complete the sentence: e.g., “Name a strength you have related to this topic.”
- Gallery Walk: Ask a content-related question with multiple possible answers, then give students time to answer as a small group. Once they have documented their responses, have students review how the other groups responded. Alternately, give each group a different response task.
- What is it? If you use, teach with, or train on tools or equipment, put one object in a box (or present a picture of the object on the screen and cover it with a shape). Ask the students to volunteer a Yes or No question to try to determine what the object is. Encourage the students to work together to determine the hidden object in 5 questions. Reveal the object!
Please check out content-based icebreaker developed by Elan Paulson for suggestions, examples, and considerations regarding these activities.
