Ice breakers

We intend to provide Ice breakers to begin, break up or end sessions that can be used by youth workers or those working with young people

SCAVENGER HUNT

- Each participant should write down or tell,(quietly!), the facilitator an obscure fact about themselves.
- The facilitator puts these facts on separate pieces of paper or card.

- The 'facts' are then put out in front of the group and as a whole a decision is made as to whom the fact belongs to giving reasons as to why they think the fact and person go together.

This is a particularly good ice-breaker if the subsequent session is about stereotyping or first impressions.

MATERIALS:
Individual pieces of paper/card.

IN THE BAG

AIM: To look at how/where individual young people see themselves

MATERIALS: Old and new magazines and newspapers, Tape or glue stick, Scissors, paper bags

DESC:

Instruct each of the young people to think about how others view them, and how they see themselves.
On the outside of the bag, have them cut out words and pictures that show how others see them. Let them affix them to the bag for all to see.

On the inside of the bag, have them cut out words and pictures that show how they see themselves. These are placed inside the bag.

After about a fifteen minute time for making the bags, put everyone in an open circle, and start with someone who is friendly, or outgoing.
Going around the circle, let everyone show the outside of their bag, and tell why they think others think of them in the way they have represented. Then, they can share how they feel about themselves by showing the contents of their bag.
N.B when doing such exercises it is best to use with an established group and stress the importance of confidentiality etc.

BALLOON RUN

This is a very lively ice-breaker - best used with a group who know each other and where there is a large enough space!

- Each participant ties a balloon around their ankle.
- When the facilitator shouts 'go' all participants have to attempt to burst each others' balloon whilst avoiding their own been burst.

MATERIALS:
Balloons
Pieces of string.

BINGO


- Prepare Bingo Cards that are divided into 25 squares - 5 across and 5 down.
- In each square write a phrase that could apply to someone in the group. Examples: has traveled in another country; likes to play chess; enjoys dancing, etc.
- Give each person a card and have them mingle to get a signature from someone who fits the phrase.
- No one can sign a card a second time until all names are on the card at least once.
- When someone has completed a straight line or all spaces on the card, they call Bingo and the game ends.

MATERIALS:
Prepared "Bingo Cards"


SPINNING PARTNERS

Get into pairs and face each other.
- The goal is to reconnect palms after spinning while keeping your eyes closed.
- Place your palms on other's palms between you a little above shoulder height.
- Both partners close their eyes and pull their palms apart (approx. 12 inches) while keeping their palms at that height.
- Both then turn around on their respective spots 3 times at the same time.

SMARTIE GAME

- Pass around a tube of smarties and have each person take as many as they want.
- For each colour of the smaties have a question that they have to answer.eg. red can be, "Describe your first memory."
- You can play this with Skittles or other coloured sweets

MATERIALS:
Coloured sweets eg smarties

I HAVE NEVER
(Credited to Mark Lussier)

Another good game for finding things out about others....

- Have everyone sit in a circle except one person.
- The person in the middle says something that they have never done (ie. I have never drank. or I have never worn a dress).
- All the people who have never done that have to get up and find an empty seat (from someone else who just got up).
- The person stuck without a seat is now in the middle.
- This game has no time limit.

COMMUNICATING CHALLENGE

"Line up game"
- Give everyone a number.
- They have to arrange themselves in numerical order communicating with each other without speaking or holding up fingers.
- They make up their own sub-language or sign-language and it often is pretty amusing.

Round two.
- Have people arrange themselves in order of birth or in calendar months.

2 TRUTHS & A LIE

- Have each person write 2 truths and a lie about themselves.
- They then pass the paper to the group and have the others guess which is the lie.

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