We’re kicking off the new school year with a series of back to school games and play tips. First up – Icebreakers!
A new school year means a new opportunity to set norms, learn games, and practice valuable skills through play. How can play support you during the back to school season?
Icebreaker games are a great way for students to connect and get to know one another. Help students learn one another’s names, build relationships, and establish a sense of community using these quick and easy to play games.
Name Touch
Knowing each other’s names builds community, and what better way to memorize names than through a tag game?
In this fast-paced game, students form a circle with one student leader in the middle. The student leader calls a peer’s name—and the race is on! The person whose name was called must call another peer’s name before they get tagged!
Get the full instructions
Hi My Name Is
This is another fun and simple to play name game! The goal of this game is to help students learn everyone’s name and in an engaging and low stakes environment.
At a given signal everyone goes around introducing themselves to one another. Students go up to each other and they shake hands. Players go around trying to meet as many other players as possible in one minute.
I Love My Neighbor
This get-to-know-you game takes it a step past names, and helps students recognize commonalities within the class, and identify personal characteristics.
Someone starts the game standing in the center of a circle, and says “I love my neighbor, especially my neighbor who…” The student completes the sentence with a statement that is true for themselves. As soon as the student is finished with the statement, everyone (including the person in the center) who this applies to moves to find a new spot.
All Tangled Up
Now that you have learned names and shared commonalities, try this game to build rapport and work together as a team.
In this game, the players take one hand and grab the hand of anyone in the group except the people standing next to them. The players take their other hand and grab the hand of someone else in the group, not next to them or the person they are already holding hands with. Get untangled without letting go of each other’s hands. Emphasize that getting untangled requires a lot of communication and cooperation.
Find the full instructions
