In advance of class, prepare word pairs-such as salt and pepper, or ketchup and mustard-on separate pieces of paper. For more strategies to help your students get to know their classmates, download our free list of college icebreakers here. The idea is to help them make connections that may not be immediately apparent. Set a time limit and instruct students to find three other students they share something in common with-though not anything obvious or visible, such as hair color. This activity may help students develop their analytical skills.
Keep in mind that not everyone knows how to play poker, so display the rules of the game on a whiteboard or a slide at the front of the classroom.
The best hand ‘wins’ when their time is up-consider offering a couple of bonus points on an assignment. Set a time limit and instruct students to find four classmates and form a hand of poker. Shuffle a deck of cards and hand out a card to each student. This classroom icebreaker for college students is ideal for large groups (a maximum of 50). It also helps them learn about a figure who may have previously been unknown to them. This team icebreaker helps students loosen up and informally interact with their classmates. Students place a sticky note on their forehead and interact with their classmates, asking fun icebreaker questions to understand which person they are embodying. Write down names of famous people (or names related to course material) on sticky notes. This classic party game can also be applied in the classroom-you can even tweak it to reflect the curriculum. This is a good classroom icebreaker to help your college students warm up to one another at the start of the school year-especially those who are meeting one another for the first time. You can even award a prize of your choice, such as a bonus point or two on an upcoming assignment. Written inside each square is an item, such as ‘travelled to another continent’ or ‘has a younger sister.’ Students are given a time limit to find classmates who fit the description. Students are given a piece of paper with a grid of squares.
This is like Bingo, but with people instead of chips. The trick is to provide open-ended questions rather than those with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to get students talking. Ask a fun icebreaker question, such as “what’s your favorite thing about college and why?” Pairs discuss the answer, then rotate the circle to form new pairs for the next question-exposing students to the different perspectives of their peers. Arrange students in two circles, one inside the other, with students facing each other in pairs. This is a great team-building icebreaker for an in-person learning environment. 5 good icebreaker questions to engage college students in your classroomħ group games for college students (with fun icebreaker questions) 1.6 course- or assignment-specific icebreakers.7 group games for college students (with fun icebreaker questions).According to a guide 1 from Nottingham Trent University, for classroom icebreaker games “there ought to be a fun aspect to the activities in order to provide participants with some shared history that they can discuss later and, where possible, a relevance to the taught course/university experience.” Virtual icebreakers-facilitated via social media, discussion boards or in virtual team meetings-have also gained new meaning in helping group members warm up to one another.Ī classroom icebreaker for college students can be as simple as asking learners to introduce themselves to the class or to the students sitting next to them, but games and activities offer a chance to interact with a greater number of classmates and build camaraderie. They’re ideal for the first day of school, but can be used throughout the semester and serve as a precursor for teamwork and collaborative learning. Used early on, icebreakers can help students feel comfortable in your classroom or team meeting. Classroom icebreakers encourage new college students to have conversations, getting to know you and each other in the process.