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I recall in particular a Charlie Brown cartoon which had him saying: “987 more words to go “because he found it laborious to write a composition. Still Snoopy found himself cupping his chin on his hands, scratching his head and closing his eyes in concentration before writing the article “The” to begin his masterpiece and thinking contentedly,” A good writer will sometimes search hours for just the right word.”

But as an award-winning school paper adviser I have discovered a way to unleash the writing tigers and tigresses of my students not to mention their voices in voicing out their ideas through the use of ice breakers.

Ice breakers trigger a discussion and countless hours of fun. Ice breakers jumpstart camaraderie among the members of the class and foster an understanding of each other. It is revelation to discover the different facets of an individual. I recall reading a poem that goes this way:”I never get asked about love and the stars and I have a lot of answers.”

Ice breakers have their uses. The first days of school are fraught with difficulties –the students are fresh from their summer hiatus, they had their routines down pat the year before and the days flowed smoothly. But first day jitters on the part of the new students or the new teacher can be daunting. Now there is a brand-new group to deal with. But the first days of school spell an upside. It’s a new start, a new beginning. Most fun of all, the opening days of school are an opportunity to get to know a bunch of new kids! And what better way to do it than with a repertoire of ice breakers to choose from.

Breaking the ice has several important benefits throughout training as well such as:

·         Involve and relax people immediately

·         Open the lines of communication

·         Help foster a sense of trust

·         Promote content flow

·         Revive failing energy

·         Stimulate creativity

·         Encourage trainees to look at the world in new ways

·         And equalize differences among trainees

Some of my favorite ice breakers or journal starters are as follows:

·         Describe your life as an ant at a family picnic.

·         What do you think you will be doing with your life twenty-five years from now?

·         You are about to spend two months alone on a deserted island. There is plenty of food and water. Name five other things you will take with you and explain why you chose each one.

·         A Hollywood movie director wants to make a movie based on your life. Describe the scene that will be your favorite and tell who should be hired to play the part of you.

·         What if you awoke one morning to find yourself invisible?

·         What if you woke up one morning to discover that you had the powers of Superman? How would you use these special powers?

·         If you had three minutes with the president of our country, what would you talk to him/her about? What questions would you ask?

·         Who is your favorite movie personality?

·         If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

·         What are you most proud of?

·         What is your most valued possession and why?

·         What is the best book for you?

·          Tell us about your crushes. (This generates the most giggles and fun)

A favorite source of ice breakers of mine is Ice Breaker It’s fun knowing others and Ice Breaker2 Hard Questions which are available at the local bookstores. These are products of ACTS Christian Mdsg. It is ideal for brotherhood, sisterhood, travel/outings and group dynamics. Another favorite source is Papemelroti’s Query and Query2 Boxes. Students spin a bottle, use dice, go in circles or close their eyes to pick the next person to be the one to answer a query. But what I do is simply call three students in succession to answer a query. To give them time to frame their answers, I answer the query first and so they learn snippets about me at the same time. At first they were hesitant to voice out their thoughts but I told them that I would aid them in their attempt to speak.

Think on Your Feet is a device that can be used both for speaking and writing –it comes with a Speech Evaluation Form and a Creative or Expository Evaluation Form(See Attached Forms)

It is also a great journal starter. I let my students choose the topic they are most interested  to write about.

So for first day jitters, speaking and writing activities and for team building, ice breakers have their nifty uses. Try it today!