THE BEST BACK TO SCHOOL ACTIVITIES! | Icebreakers and Community Building Games

welcome back to my channel I know that some of you have already started back to school whereas some of you like myself have not yet even gotten into your classrooms either way I thought it would be the perfect time to share with you some of my favorite back-to-school activities the activities I'm gonna cover are great for back-to-school time because they don't require any prep and goodness knows teachers are ridiculously busy during that time I'm not going to be including any books or activities that surround books because I feel like those can vary a lot by grade level I'm also not going to include some of your typical back-to-school activities like a find someone who or a scavenger hunt around the classroom because I feel like you all have probably heard this before and have probably used those before now there's nothing wrong with those activities but a lot of times students experience those grade after grade after grade and they're no longer engaging my hope is by the end of this video you will have a couple new activities that you haven't heard of and haven't done with your students but you can easily implement them this back-to-school season I'm gonna break these activities into two categories get to know you activities also known as icebreakers and community building activities Before we jump into it I do want to include a disclaimer that some of these activities do require movement so you would want to make sure that all of your students are physically able to participate before choosing that activity let's start with the get-to-know-you activities the purpose of get-to-know-you activities is to learn about your students such as their interests and their hobbies but you also start to discover little elements of their personality along with their strengths and weaknesses but one of the problems with typical icebreakers is that they require students to take huge social risks with students they don't really know that well to help overcome that I really like to focus on get-to-know-you activities that take place in small group settings or even partner settings so that my students feel more comfortable and are more likely to open up I also try to avoid icebreakers or get to know you activities that isolate my students and require them to be the only one sharing with the entire class because again it makes them feel uncomfortable and makes them feel awkward I'm not saying you can't ever do activities like that but I wouldn't do it during the first week of school rather I would wait until your students know each other a little bit better I also want to throw in there that your students love when you as the teacher participate in the activities because it allows them to get to know you and it just helps them feel more comfortable icebreaker number one index card towers I've seen this activity online for several years now but I was recently reminded of it when I went on the teacher heart out conference cruise all you need are some index cards and something to write with for each team this works best if students are on teams of three to four and if you give them some sort of a time limit whether it's 5 minutes 10 minutes or 15 minutes together the team members will talk and try to find things that they have in common each time they find something they have in common they will write it on an index card then they will use those index cards to try to build the tallest tower possible but they're able to build the tower really however they want they don't have to do it one specific way I really think that this icebreaker is effective for two main reasons number one students really get to think outside of the box when they're sharing so they can try to find things they have in common rather than just sticking to very surface level facts about themselves and number two they're motivated to continue sharing because they want their tower to continue growing students also get an opportunity to start interacting with their peers and build relationships with them which then builds a classroom community I also like this icebreaker because students get to start working with their peers which means they start building relationships with them and in turn that starts building the community in your classroom icebreaker number two this or that you may also know this activity as what you rather but I love it because it requires no materials whatsoever you will want to divide your classroom into two sides students will all start in the middle of the room and then you will present them with a choice such as summer or winter I typically choose to stand in the middle of the room when I present these options and I point to the two sides as I give students their options students have to choose one of the two options and move to that side of the room to show their choice this icebreaker is effective because students can easily see commonalities among themselves but they don't feel like they're isolated also this activity gets students moving which is great because you can fit it into any few spare minutes that you have within your day icebreaker number three switch sides if this activity is similar to this or that but instead of choosing between two options students will only move if the statement made applies to them also like this or that it does not require any materials and you can fit it into those spare minutes that you have throughout your day I typically have my students all start on one side of the classroom I will make statements such as switch sides if you have a sibling or switch sides if you have been on an airplane and students will move to the opposite side of the room than what they're currently standing on if that statement applies to them to keep it fun I do typically throw in some silly statements such as switch sides if you have a pet fly because it really helps me to identify which students are kind of you know the jokesters or the class clowns because they will switch sides but when I prompt them they don't have and while the silly statements are fun you do want to make sure you're including statements that will really help you get to know your students on a more personal level not only is important for you to get to know your students but it's also important for them to get to know each other so one of the main goals of this activity is for your students to see commonalities when they are switching sides just like someone else is switching sides they know that they have that in common icebreaker number four two truths and a lie hear me out on this one I know that this is one of those icebreakers that is used all the time and it can be really dry and boring but it's all about how you present it personally I do still love this as an icebreaker because my kiddos get to be really creative all you need is something for students to write on such as an index card or sticky note and something for students to write with students will write down to true facts about themselves and one lie about themselves in any order they don't have to write the truths followed by the lie that can mix them up and I typically tell my students this is the only time I will allow them to lie to me throughout the school year I do recommend sharing your own example with students before they start just so they understand exactly what the truth should sound like and what the lie should sound like I like to talk to students about what makes a good lie namely that it is something specific or something that people could think is true about you rather than something basic such as their lie being my favorite colors red and really their favorite color is orange while students are writing these down I typically walk around the room peek over their shoulders because seeing the structure of their facts can give you good insight into their writing abilities to make students more comfortable I typically have them share their two truths and a lie with a partner first then they'll move into a small group setting and then I'll ask for volunteers to share with the class only if they want to but I never force them to share with the class one little trick I will use is I will actually offer to read the students truths and a lie aloud for them if they don't personally want to do it that way they can still be involved students are still getting to know them but there's less pressure on them and again I like to walk around the room and listen as students are sharing with their partners or small group because it gives me good insight into their speaking and listening abilities icebreaker number five dot surveys for this activity all you need is chart paper and colored dot stickers similar to what you would find at a yard sale you can find these packs of stickers at Target or Walmart or the dollar store for relatively cheap you will need to prepare the anchor chart paper ahead of time by writing a question at the top followed by answer choices at the bottom I typically like to separate the answer choices into a grid by drawing lines to divide them for example the question could be what is your favorite subject in school and the answer choices could be math reading writing science and social studies you will hang up the anchor charts around your room and give each student a set of stickers students will then silently walk around the room and they will designate their answers to each question by placing a dot sticker under the answer they choose once everyone is you can bring all of the chart papers up to the front of the room and analyze the results as a class the dot stickers make it really easy to determine what was the majority within the class and then where there might be outliers the dot stickers are a great way for students to see what they have in common with others and it also allows you as the teacher to see what the majority of interests are in your class you could totally take this a step further and turn it into an entire math activity or you can just use it as it get to know you activity I really like this activity because students are more likely to feel comfortable since they don't feel like everyone is listening to them or watching them as they make their choices students are also more likely to answer honestly rather than just selecting what their friend selects because the stickers make it anonymous one downside to this activity is that you don't know which student marked which option unless you're really paying attention as students put down their stickers so you don't have any data to actually go off of but I do think it's still a valuable activity because it allows students to open up in a comfortable way icebreaker number six I also this was an activity I actually learned from one of my professors in college and I loved it because again it requires no materials one person will start typically that is me unless I have a really eager student and they will stand around the corner of the room they will then start naming facts about themselves such as my favorite subject is math I have two cats I was born in Maryland the other students will be listening for things that they have in common once they hear something they have in common and they will stand up they will say I also and they will repeat the fact for example if another student was born in Maryland they would stand up and say I also was born in Maryland that student would then stand next to me so we become a line and they would begin sharing facts about themselves the activity continues until every student has joined the line which means they have found at least one thing in common with another student in the class I typically have whichever student joins the line last continue naming facts about themselves until the first person which is usually me find something in common and we will then link together to form a circle now this activity does require students to take a little bit more risk because when it is their turn to share they are up there individually so I recommend saving this one until your students know each other just a little bit better but what I do about this game is that your students are actively engaged and they are actually listening to one another because they all want to find something they have in common so they can join the line now let's talk about community building activities the purpose of community building activities is to motivate your students to work together problem-solve and strengthen the community feeling within your classroom an easy mistake to make with community building activities is picking activities that focus on competition rather than collaboration choosing activities that focus on competition can result in arguments rather than your students working together another thing to remember is that it's not just about the activity a lot of the power lies in the discussion you have with your class afterwards so make sure you have those discussions you talk with your students about what worked and what did it work so that you can strengthen that classroom community activity number one silent Linna this activity is fantastic because again it requires no materials and it's an activity you can complete again and again simply by changing the requirement how it works is you will give your students a requirement for lining up such as line up in order from youngest to oldest students then have to work together to complete that requirement but they can't talk while they're doing it instead they have to be creative and think of other ways that they can communicate with one another besides using their voice you could also have students line up based on the number heads that they have or alphabetically based on first name or alphabetically based on last name the options are truly endless this is a great team-building activity because your students really have to collaborate and work together in order to line up correctly and they have to do some problem-solving trying to figure out how to communicate this activity is also a great way for you as the teacher to notice which students are kind of sticking out as those natural leaders and which students tend to be more passive and wait for directions from others activity number two a human not this activity is yet another one that does not require any materials and it works exactly the way it sounds I recommend breaking your students into smaller groups of eight to twelve students they will stand in a circle and hold their arms out then they will grab the hands of two different people in the circle who are not standing directly next to them as a result students will end up in a big human knot and they will attempt to untangle themselves without letting go of anyone's hands students can kind of loosen their grips in order to step over top of someone else's hand or go underneath of it or move around but they cannot completely let go of the hands now there are technically three solutions to the human knot solution number one is one large circle with students either facing the inside or the outside solution number two is a larger circle and a smaller circle on the inside and solution number three is two interlocking circles it is important to let students know these different options that count as solutions otherwise they get really frustrated and can't figure out how to just make it one big circle but sometimes depending on whose hands they've grabbed it's impossible I also recommend completing this activity outside so that students are free to move around and they can communicate with one another without worrying about disrupting another class now if students become frustrated with this activity because in my experience typically at least one group will feel frustrated it's okay to stop them and lead a discussion about what's working and what's not working and then allow them to try again but in the end this is a great community building activity because it forces students to work together communicate with one another and a problem solve activity number three flip it over the only material you need for this is some sort of a blanket or a sheet you can actually even use a twister mat if you happen to have one of those in your classroom similar to the human knot I do recommend breaking students into smaller groups for this activity around ten kids per group to start put the blanket or the sheet on the ground and have all of the students in that group stand on top of it now you will need some extra space on the blanket so you may have to adjust your group size depending on how big or how small the blanket is you want about a quarter of it to be free space with no students standing on it the goal is for students in that group to completely flip over the blanket or sheet without any students stepping off of it now students can lift up their feet or creatively get their feet off of the ground by holding on to another student but they cannot step off of the blanket or the sheet onto the ground near them just like the human not this does require students to work together to communicate and to problem-solve and if they start arguing and they get frustrated stop-in have a discussion about it and then allow them to retry activity number four hula-hoop Pass the only material you need for this activity no surprise is a hula-hoop which you can most likely borrow from your physical education teacher or even have a student bring in if you do have to purchase one you can find them relatively inexpensive at the store and sometimes you can even find them at the dollar store how it works is you will have all of your students stand in a circle you will put the bullet hoop around one student's arm and then have all of them hold hands the goal is for students to move the hula hoop all the way around the circle without any students letting go of their hands this means students have to try to maneuver their body through the hula hoop creatively and carefully I personally love watching students complete this activity because they are all working together for a common goal which means they start motivating each other and sharing each other on activity number five balloon pop the only material you need for this activity again no surprise is a balloon students will all stand in a circle and hold hands the goal of the activity is to not let the balloon touch the ground but the catches students cannot touch it with their feet they can use their hands or their arms or their head or their body and even their legs but they cannot touch the balloon with their feet while students are doing this they can't let go with their hands which means they have to work together to all move at the same time to be able to hit the balloon and keep it up in the air I do recommend modeling for students how to tap the balloon lightly so that it stays in control and doesn't end up on the complete opposite side of the classroom you also may want to move desks out of the way or better yet play this activity in a clear open space such as the gym maybe even outside but you want to make sure it's not too windy and your balloon isn't going to end up blowing away also if you want to make it more difficult you can add additional balloons to the circle just like the ones before it I love this activity because students have to work together and they have to communicate in order to reach a common goal activity number six is saving it Fred okay this is by far my favorite activity I look forward to doing it every single year but I did save it for last because it does require a couple of materials but in my opinion it is totally worth having to prepare it in advance for materials each group is going to need a small plastic cup two paper clips a gummy worm any lifesaver ring I personally like to use the small dip size containers and I put all the materials on the inside so it's easy to pass out for the paper clips you can actually differentiate the activity by giving groups either small or large paper clips depending on their motor skill ability so here's the rundown the gummy worm is Fredd feel free to change its name if you want the gummy lifesaver ring is Fred's light preserver and the plastic cup is Fred's boat I usually start by telling students a story about Fred and how he is a worm he loves to go out on his boat but he cannot swim so he has to keep his life preserver on well his boat capsized and his life preserver got stuck underneath so he is now trapped on top of the boat and he cannot touch the water the goal is to get his life preserver which is the gummy ring out from underneath of his boat which is the plastic cup and gonna put around Fred's waist without letting him touch the water which is the desk or the table or the floor so for this setup students will put the gummy ring on the table put the plastic cup over top of the gummy ring and then put the gummy worm on top of the plastic cup which is on top of the plastic ring now students cannot touch Fred the boat or the life preserver with their bare hands which means they have to use the paper clips to move any of the objects Fred cannot touch the desk or the table again or the floor and students cannot stab Fred which means they cannot poke him with the paper clip now what they can do is actually flip over the plastic cup and have Fred rest on the inside of there I typically don't tell them that but they will figure it out on their own I also do not tell them that they can maneuver their paper clips however they want which means they can Bend then they can even break them into smaller pieces but if my students do ask I typically clarify and I do tell them that that is OK I typically set a time limit of around 20 minutes for students to work with either a partner or a group of three to try to get the life preserver around Fred's waist and save him now if any groups accidentally drop Fred on to the desk or the table or the floor I do allow them to reset it happens I don't want them to no longer be able to participate so I allow them to set as many times as they need to within the time limit again I love this activity because students have to work together towards a common cause and let me tell you they take saving bread very seriously they also have to problem solve they have to be creative and they have to communicate together but one small tip if you do happen to have an extra gummy worms I don't recommend eating them in front of your kids because they will tell you that you're eating Fred and they'll make you feel really bad about it all right those are all of my top back-to-school activities I really hope you got at least one new idea that you can try out this school year if you did please go ahead and give the video a thumbs up also leave a comment down below with your favorite activity also hit that subscribe button and the notification bell so you do not miss any future videos as always thank you for watching I love you all so much don't forget to put your positive pins on and I will catch you in the next one thank you so much for watching all the way to the end of this video and for supporting my youtube channel if you want to check out any of my older videos you can use the two links right down here and if you want to subscribe to my channel so you don't miss any future videos you can use like right up here the links to all of my social media sites my teachers pay teacher's store my merchandise store and my Amazon store are in the description box and I'll catch you guys in the next one

Channel: Pocketful of Primary

Views: 161,307

Rating: 4.9343705 out of 5

Keywords: teacher, classroom, vlog, 4th grade, pocketful of primary, tips for new teachers, tips for teachers, new teacher tips, teacher tips, classroom vlog, vlogger, teacher vlog, teacher vlogger, back to school, back to school activities, back to school activities elementary school, activities for back to school, icebreakers, ice breakers, community building activities, team building activities, back to school hacks

Id: t6ISaJzHqGk

Length: 20min 2sec (1202 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 18 2019