My Favorite Icebreaker Activity
I'm really not a fan of icebreakers. I don't like for kids to feel uncomfortable and many icebreakers feel that way. This is an activity that I do most years with all of my classes at some point during the first week of school, typically around day 3. I'm careful to avoid the words 'fun' or 'game' in general because I don't like to hear kids say "I thought this was supposed to be fun." or "This is a dumb game." I call this activity "I Like." The entire class sits in a circle facing inward, either on the floor or in chairs. If anyone is wearing a skirt or dress, then chairs are better. I usually start by standing up and saying something such as "I like to ride roller coasters." Then everyone in the class that also likes to ride roller coasters stands up. After about 3 seconds the person to my left either stands or remains standing and says something such as "I like pizza." Then everyone tha...