Foundation Course Activity Ice Breaker Options for the US Job Corps.

1. ICE BREAKER OPTIONS
Get the Conversation Rolling!

2. According to the Book of Lists, the fear of
public speaking ranks number one in the
minds of the majority of people.
The Book of Lists, 1977 Wallace, Wallenchinsky and Wallace

3. Ice Breakers – Option 1
FIRST: Turn to someone sitting
next to you and…
1. Give your name,
2. Your position on Center if
you’re a staff member,
3. your age,
4. where you were born,
5. and then tell us… if you were
a car, what model you would
be and why.
These 5 items should be on a PowerPoint slide
on the screen or on a piece of chart paper
on the wall.
NEXT: Have students repeat the
process with the person’s name and
the model of car they associate
with, e.g., Hi Bill, the classic red
Mustang.
The next person reiterates the
information for the previous
speakers and then does his/her
own introduction, so halfway
through, it might sound like this
“I’d like to introduce Bill, the classic
Mustang; MarryLynn, the latest
Prius; Jose, the 4-wheel drive
Jeep; Malik, the Austin-Martin;
Nara, the 2011 BMW; Jerry, the
hard-working pick-up truck; and I
am Samantha, I’m 22 years old, I
was born in Florida, and if I were a
car, I’d be a stretch Limo because I
love to go out to fine places with a
lot of people…

4. Ice Breakers – Option2
FIRST: Turn to someone sitting
next to you and…
1. Give your name,
2. Your position on Center if
you’re a staff member,
3. your age,
4. where you were born,
5. and then tell us… tell us just
one little secret about
yourself; a secret is anything
about you that no one in this
room knows….
These 5 items should be on a PowerPoint slide
on the screen or on a piece of chart paper
on the wall.
NEXT: Have students repeat the
process with the person’s name
and the secret that they’ve
revealed, e.g., Hi Bill who has 11
brothers and sisters…and then
continue down the line having
teams introduce one another so
the entire group gets acquainted.
The icebreaker proceeds as above.
If some students say they don’t
have a secret, ask a direct
question like “When did you
learn to swim?” (Many won’t
know how, which gives you a
lead-in to talk about swim lesson
alternatives, if you have them.)
“What instrument would you like
to learn to play?” or “What’s your
favorite TV show/movie/sport to
play/sport to watch?”

5. • Forty Ice Breakers for Small Groups, Grahame Knox
Forty Ice Breakers is a free, downloadable PDF
• Dozens of Ice Breakers and Team Building Games
Free4Teachers Blog that cites free online catalog through
icebreakers.ws and more. Note that these sites have
advertisements, yet lots of information
• 10 Techie Ice Breakers for the 21st Century Teacher
Free website promoting the use of technology and mobile learning
Links to Other Ice Breakers