Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Ice Breaker Activity

The 8 purposes of Ice Breakers are to:
Create a positive group atmosphere
Help People relax
Break down social barriers
Energize and motivate groups
Help people "think outside the box"
Help people get to know one another

Students please post your ice breaker activity. Due Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

8 comments:

  1. Pullin’ the Skittles Out!
    Submitted by: Keely Newkirk


    Purpose: To help people get to know one another.
    To break down social barriers.


    Group size: This ice breaker works for large or small groups, depending on time
    works best for 10-20 people. For a group of 10 this ice breaker may take around 10 minutes.


    Materials needed: You will need a large bag of skittle; you may need more depending on the group size. Also, you will need table for all group members to sit around.


    Description:

    Step 1: Have all players sit around the table. Explain to them it is not a competitive game, just a game to get to know one another better.

    Step 2: Pass around the bag of Skittles and tell group members to take as many of they would like, but they have to take at least 1. They may not eat the Skittles.

    Step 3: After everyone has their skittles randomly pick a group member to go first and go clockwise from that person.

    Step 4: For each Skittle the group member took, they have to tell something about themselves for each Skittle they took. Remember to explain this before the ice breaker starts. As they tell something about themselves for each Skittle, they may eat the Skittles they have used already.

    Step 5: Everyone should know a little more about all the group members after the game has ended than before the game started.

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  2. Group Ice Breaker
    Blob Tag
    Submitted by: Ashley Karlstad

    Purpose: To energize and motivate the group
    To break down social barriers

    Group Size: This ice breaker works best with bigger groups. Basically the more people the better, but an ideal group size would be 10+.

    Materials Needed: The only materials needed for this game is a group of people and
    a large space to run.

    Description:

    Step 1: The first thing you do is pick someone to be “it.” You can use the
    person with the soonest birthday, or oldest person, or shortest person, or ect.

    Step 2: Then, you explain that unlike regular tag in this game once you get
    tagged you must link arms with whoever is the tagger or the other people that have been tagged. Then, together you try to catch other people in your “blob.”


    Step 3: You must also explain that the taggers may not unlink arms or the
    person captured is not it. You should also tell the runners that they can’t go over, under, or through the blob. They must run
    directly around the blob.

    Step 4: The last person left is the next person it, and you can begin again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JOLLY RANCHER ICE BREAKER
    Submitted by: Brodie Bennett

    Purpose: Get to know one another and bring people out of their shells

    Group Size: Would work with any group size but easier with 10-20

    Materials: 1 medium or large size bag of Jolly Ranchers for a group of 20-30, Small Bag if 20 or less. Keep in mind that every person needs three Jolly Ranchers.

    Description:

    Step 1: Sit everyone in a circle and everyone draws three different colors of Jolly Ranchers out of the bag and no eating them.

    Step 2: Explain what the colors mean.
    Blue: Deepest Darkest Secret
    Watermelon: Person you look up to the most
    Grape: Most trouble you have ever been in
    Apple: Most embarrassing moment
    Cherry: What you want to be when you grow up
    Step 3: Start with a volunteer or pick on someone to start.

    Step 4: That person says what color they have and then answers the question the color asks.

    Step 5: Work your way around the circle and make sure everyone goes and when the game is all done everyone can eat their Jolly Ranchers.

    Time: Always depends on what size the group is and how long peoples reasons are.

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  4. Ride the Pony
    Submitted by: Soila Hernandez


    Purpose: To help people get their minds off of everything else and focus on
    relaxing and breaking social barriers creating fun along the way.


    Group Size: Ride the Pony works more thoroughly with large groups rather than
    small groups. It would be better to have groups with about 5-10
    people.


    Materials Needed: people and enough space


    Description:

    Step 1: This game is a competitive game but also a cooperative one as well.
    Players will be able to let down their guard and interact with others.

    Step 2: All players in each group should be spread out into a circle. Choose two
    players, by their birthdays or by height and stick them both in the
    middle of the circle.

    Step 3: Once each player is ready, those two players in the middle of the circle
    will go around the circle facing towards each other doing movements
    such as the party boy, or any other dancing movements yelling a chant
    like “Ride, ride, ride the pony get up and ride that big, fat pony ride
    ride, ride the pony this is how it goes.”

    Step 4: After the player in the middle party boys or does any movement
    towards someone within the circle they do a chant that goes something
    like this “Front to front, to front now baby” “Side to side, to side now baby” “Back to Back, back now baby this is how it goes”

    Step 5: Once the chant is over the opposite players go in the circle and keep
    going like as they were riding a pony. Throughout the whole entire
    game they keep going.

    Time: This activity takes 5-10 minutes if not even more.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Taylor‘s Group ice breaker Duck Duck Goose

    The 2 purposes: Of this ice breaker is group participation and to break down social barriers.

    The group size: Can be up to 19 people.

    The materials needed: A space to run around in and people with a good attitude.

    Description:



    Step1: Explain that this is a competitive game but also a cooperative game.

    Step2: Have all players sit in a circle.

    Step2: Have everybody draw straws the person who draws the short straw is the runner.

    Step3: Runner has to walk around the circle tapping lightly on the players head saying duck.

    Step4: When the runner taps on one of the players head saying goose the player that was goosed has to get up and try to catch the runner and if the runner makes it around the circle and sits down in the players place but if the runner gets tagged by the player the runner has to do be the runner for another turn.

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  6. Personality Check
    Submitted by Kristen Moger

    Purpose: To figure out the good qualities of a person.
    To figure out the qualities a person may need to work on.
    To help people get to know each other.
    To break down social barriers.


    Group Size: This type of ice breaker works better with a smaller group. Personality check works best with
    4-10 people.

    Materials Needed: Paper Plates
    Markers
    Sticky Notes
    One chair for every person

    Description:

    Step 1: Explain that this is not to hurt anyone’s feelings; this is to figure out the good
    qualities of a person, and also to figure out what a person may need to work on.

    Step 2: Sit down in a circle; everyone needs to grab a paper plate and write their name on
    it, everyone needs a deck of sticky notes.

    Step 3: Exchange paper plates with the person sitting by you, and write the good qualities
    on the front of the paper plate with a sticky note.(Of the person who originally owned the plate)

    Step 4: After all of the good qualities have been written on the sticky note, pass them to
    the original person, and everyone will take turns reading their good qualities out loud.

    Step 5: Exchange the same paper plate again, and on the back write each others qualities
    that may need to be worked on.
    For example: A person may be too quiet and doesn’t talk or every give out ideas.

    Step 6: After writing on each other’s paper plate, pass them back to the person it belongs
    To.

    Step 7: Read the qualities that a person may need to work on out loud.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Group Ice Breaker
    Tongue Tied
    Submitted by: Jessica Maurer

    Purpose: To help people relax
    To break down social barriers
    To bring out personalities and characteristics of the group members

    Group Size: The Tongue Tied ice breaker is ideally for groups with less than 20 people. However, this particular ice breaker works best with a group of 10-15 people.

    Materials Needed: A room with enough area for 10-15 people
    Chairs (if preferable)
    A stopwatch
    Description:

    Step 1: Set the stopwatch for 10 minutes so the group leader knows when to end the ice breaker activity.

    Step 2: Have everyone within the group introduce themselves (this is an important step to help break social barriers). Place the people within the group in a circle. The instructor will sit in the middle of the group. The middle of the group it referred to as the “low end” spot.

    Step 3: Go around the room and have everyone choose their favorite fruit (make sure that no two people have the same word and inform the group that the more complicated the word is, the better the ice breaker works).

    Step 4: Once everyone has a word, explain to them that in this particular game, one person will begin. The selected person is required to say their word twice before passing on to someone else. The trick is, you must suck in your lips. If a person’s teeth show, they are out. So, if the starter’s word was banana, they would say: banana, banana, orange*. (* orange is an example. The third word they say is someone else’s word, which therefore passes it on to that person, But remember, you cannot show your teeth).

    Step 4: You may have to demonstrate a few times before the group gets the hang of it. If someone shows their teeth, they must move to the “low end” spot. Whoever is the last person to be in the “low end” spot when time is up must do something silly (ex: write their name with their butt, sing I’m a Little Teapot etc.).

    Step 5: By now, everyone should be laughing and be having a fun time, ready for the next activity.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Leadership Class you did a GREAT job coming up with ice breakers that meet the purposes presented in class. I hope you will all look for opportunities to USE your ice breakers in your classes, clubs, groups, or organizations.

    ReplyDelete