Linda Nuotio,
Drama Advisor for Newfoundland and Labrador
Icebreaker exercises are important as groups come together again each year and especially when bringing in new members. Check out these innovative and noncompetitive games for girls of all ages. The following are some reasons for using icebreakers:
- They are good techniques to help girls feel more comfortable with themselves and with others and feel more "at home" in a group.
- They break up the "cliques," invite girls to form random groups, and help individuals meet others in a non-threatening and fun way.
- They can set a tone for the time a group will be together, encourage the girls to feel "safe," and hopefully evoke lots of laughter and release tension.
On A Roll
Pass around a roll of toilet paper with this instruction: "Each person should take as much as she thinks she needs." Do not give any more direction than that. After every person has taken whatever amount of toilet paper they think they might need, the game goes on...for every sheet of toilet paper, the person must relate one fact or facts about them (i.e. I have a sister named Sue). It is really funny when someone takes a lot of toilet paper.
Take As Much As You Think You'll Need
This activity is similar to On a Roll but used with M & M's, , Skittles or anything else with lots of pieces (choose one) and small cups. To begin, the leader passes around the bowl of M & M's or candy . Each person is given the instructions to "Take as much as you think you will need." No further instructions are given until each person has received their M & M's. Once everyone has some, the first person begins by telling one thing about himself for each M & M they have taken. When the first person has finished, you move on to the next person in the group. As an interesting twist, and to be sure that you find out some different information on each person, you may give each color M&M a different meaning or category. I suggest the following: (example using Skittles)
Red: personal information (name, major, school, age)
Yellow: family information (parents, brothers, sisters, pets)
Orange: free category- use it to say something fun about yourself or you don't have to say anything
Green: dating experience (favorite date, worst date, significant others)
Purple: hobbies, other interests (sports, dancing, talents)
Two Truths And A Tale
Each person must make three statements about themselves, one of which isn't true. (I have four dogs, I swam with sharks, I have a motorcycle). The group must guess, or vote on, which statement is the tale. This can get very funny and silly!
Puzzling Partners
Before participants arrive, make puzzle pieces by cutting 8.5" x 11" paper in half using a random cutting pattern to make two unique parts that will fit together to form one puzzle piece. Each sheet must be cut differently so that no other sheets have the same pattern. If you have a very large group, you might want to use four different colored papers. The puzzles are then mixed up and when participants arrive, each person receives one half of one of the puzzle pieces. (The only 'tricky' thing about this ice breaker is to make sure that all halves are not over or under distributed. One of the leaders may opt to participate, or not, in order to make sure that the other participants will be evenly matched.) After the initial welcomes, the participants are told to find their puzzle partner match. Once found, they must find out three things about him or her and write it down on their puzzle piece. When everyone has found their partner, they introduce him or her and tell what they found out to the rest of the group. This could also be used to match partners during an event. Successfully used with ages 10 to adult.
Knots
Have group of 10-15 stand very close together. Tell them to reach out their arms so all hands are jumbled and intertwining. Then tell them to grab one hand for each of their hands, but not the persons' next to them. Now they are a Human Knot and must use teamwork to untangle themselves into one circle (they could also form two or three links of a chain) without letting go
Getting into groups
There are lots of ways to get people into groups. Here are just a few.
A. Get enough round bubble gum balls for each girl in your group. Make sure there are several colors (enough for each group you need). On cue, everyone chews her piece of gum. After five to 10 seconds, everyone sticks out their tongues and tries to find those with the same color. This one is a favorite and never fails!
B. Write out colors on pieces of paper (one for each group you want to have). Give each person a piece of paper with a color on it when he/she enters the room. On cue, participants get into groups by yelling out their colors and finding all the others with the same colors. Alternatives:
- Tape the pieces of paper under their chairs.
- Use animal names and have them make the sound of the animal they get.
- Do a silent grouping by having the participants simply hold up their group name without saying anything.
C. Group the months of the year into as many groups as you need. Have the participants call out the month they were born in to group. You could do the same thing with years people were born in, etc br>
Family-arity:" A paper game icebreaker for a "family" activity
Each person gets a piece of paper with the following statements printed on it.
The object is to get your paper filled out with autographs of persons who match the list (Leave room on the paper for signatures).
Instructions:
Find someone who can sign each space with the requested information.
If your birthday is between January and March, start with number one; April and June, number four; July and September, number seven; and October and December, number 10.
Participants must get autographs from another person who:
-
~ Has the same name as someone in your family.
~ Drives the same kind of car as your mother.
~ Was born in the same state as you.
~ Has the same number of brothers and sisters.
~ Lived in an apartment at some time.
~ Opens presents on Christmas Eve.
~ His or her mother or father walked to school.
~ Has a great-grandparent living.
~ Plays a musical instrument (name it).
~ Has a birthday in same month as you.
~ Has a nickname.
~ Has to share a room with a family member.