Warmers
and
Short, Fun Activities
from the World Learning TESOL Community
The School for International Training
SIT Graduate Institute / SIT TESOL Certificate Course
1 Kipling Road
Brattleboro, VT 05302-0676 USA
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Warm Ups & Short, Fun Activities
from World Learning TESOL Community
We asked our TESOL Trainers to send us some their favorite warm up activities, and this is what they gave us—collections
from their TESOL graduates and their own favorites. Some are specifically geared towards English Language Learners,
some can be for any class. They are ordered alphabetically. Thank you to everyone who contributed!
2-minute Square Dance
Inspired by 'Meaningful Musical Chairs'
Make a list of 6 discussion topics (i.e. home life, jobs, hobbies, favorite person, favorite food, etc.). Pair up the
students and have one of them role a die. The number showing decides the topic for the pairs to discuss for
two minutes. Change up the pairs and repeat the process. However, if the same number shows, they must role
again.
JL, Yokohama, Japan
7 Simple Name Games
1. Have each person describe him/herself by using the first letter of his/her name. For example: My name
is Steve and I like Spaghetti, my favorite candy is Sugarbabies and my favorite animal is a Snake.
2. Say your name and what object in a Sears/JC Penney catalog that you are most like and describe why.
(i.e. My name is Jeni and I am most like a pair of work boots because I like to be comfortable and don't
really care about whether others like the fashion statement I make with them).
3. Throw a Koosh ball or pillow or another small non-threatening object to someone. That person says his
name and describe why he loves his Koosh ball (let them be as creative as they want to be!). He throws
it to the next person, who must introduce herself and the person who went before her, including the
"why I love this Koosh" story. Do this until everyone has been introduced.
4. Split the group up into pairs. Give them a few minutes to interview each other and then have them
introduce one another to the group. This allows two people to get to know each other quickly and
form a friendship. It's often easier for people to talk about others than themselves.
5. Find a nice bouncy ball, like a four-square ball (this works best on an uncarpeted floor). First player
says her name and quickly bounces the ball to another while saying his or her name. See how fast
people can keep the ball moving. Try it with two balls if it’s not already too confusing.
6. Sentence From a Name. Have everyone pair up with someone they don't know. Each person writes his
first name on a piece of paper and exchanges it with his partner. After a minute or two getting to know
each other, each person makes up a sentence with words starting with the letter of the other person's
name. For example: KEVIN: Koalas Enjoy Vegetables In November.
7. Who's it? Best for smaller groups. Each student writes down on a scrap of paper a little-known fact
about him or herself (the more unusual, the better). These are then read and everyone tries to guess
who it is. A prize can be given to the person who guesses the most correctly.
20 Questions
Say, “I’m thinking of a famous person. You can ask me questions to find that person’s name but I can only say
yes or no”.
Lots of variations: Ask about things (e.g. A chair, an apple, etc.)
A Strange New World
Inspired by 'Nazo's World'
Draw a circle on a piece of paper. Elicit what the students think it is. After hearing their answers, tell them it
represents your world. Write ‘My World’ above it. Then write a few words and/or phrases inside the circle
that represent some things in your life (i.e. 1994, green, 2). Have the students come to an agreement as to
what the words/phrases mean. Once they tell you their ideas, give them the correct answers (i.e. 'I graduated
in 1994', etc.). Next, have the students draw a circle, write 2 or 3 words/phrases in it and speculate about each
other's 'worlds'. They can give the correct answers whenever they like or you can prompt them.
JL, Yokohama, Japan
ABC Jazz Chant
Good for the first week with beginners who may not know all the English Alphabet.
Use a Rhyme of your own or use something like mine;
I can see/ABCDEFG
Girls and men/HIJKLMN
Me and you/OPQRSTU
Time for bed/VWXYZ
Try chanting in a definite rhythm. [3 syllables plus seven.]
You need to drill students many times so that they learn the names of the letters AND the order.
Acting Adjectives
Call students to the front of the class, mostly at random. (You might want to use a more outgoing seeming
student first) Show the student an adjective, and they have to act it out for the other students to guess the
word. No speaking allowed by the student doing the acting.
I mix together easy and difficult adjectives so the student talking doesn't know what kind he or she is going to
get.
Easy examples - fast, happy, cold, sleepy, short
Difficult examples - wet, rich, lazy, late, smart
I've used this with students aged 12 to mid-forties and it works quite well. The students relax and get a good
laugh out of it.
Eric Clark; Bangkok, Thailand
Advice
Inspired by 'New in Town'
Have your students take a moment to think about what they might tell a newcomer to their area about. Write
the following on separate sheets of paper:
*Places to visit/entertainment
*Areas to live
*Places to go shopping
*Good schools to attend
*Sports facilities in your town
Pair students up and give one of the sheets of paper to one of the students in each pair. Then have the
students give advice for the topic written on their piece of paper. As they complete a topic, have them pass
the sheets in a circle so that they get to work through all the topics.
JL, Yokohama, Japan
All Your Eggs in One Basket
Elementary up
Large or small groups
Need several strips of paper for each student.
Aim information gathering and presenting
Students write down information about themselves on separate strips of paper (e.g. married, university,
tennis, etc.) S's scrunch the strips of paper into eggs. Place all their eggs in a basket and distribute randomly.
S's unravel an egg at a time and search out the author. Elementary and Pre-intermediate by asking questions.
Intermediate and advanced by word association.
First student to finish wins a chance to share information that they learnt about fellow students.
Part II
Students are then given a name of a fellow student {C} (e.g. the person sitting opposite them.) Asking
everyone but C, gather as much information as they can and return Cs eggs while introducing C to the class.
Students may ask more questions when the introduction is complete.
All My Neighbors
A fun, moving-around activity that breaks the ice, pumps up the energy, and loosens people up.
Supplies: Something to use as a place marker for each individual (a name tag, a napkin, a note card).
Number of people: Works well in small or large groups (12-60 people).
Directions: Ask participants to form a shoulder-to-shoulder standing circle and then have each person take a
step back. Give each participant a place holder which they should place at their feet. The leader takes a place
in the center of the circle.
The facilitator says:
“This activity is similar to the game of musical chairs that you played as a child. As you’ll notice, there is one
less place than people in the group. That’s why I’m in the center of the circle. So, I’ll begin in the center of the
circle, but my task is to try and find a place on the outside of the circle and have someone else end up without
a place. The way I’m going to do that is to make a statement that is TRUE for me. For example, if I am wearing
tennis shoes, I might say ‘All my neighbors who are wearing tennis shoes.’ If that statement is also true for
you, then you must come off your place and find another spot in the circle. I could also say something like ‘All
my neighbors who love to swim,’ and if that’s true for you on the outside of the circle, you must move and find
a new place. You may not move immediately to your right or left and you may not move off your space and
return to it in the same round. Let’s do this safely. No running. No body-checking, kicking or pinching. OK. I’ll
start.”
When you think people have had enough, simply say “OK, this is the last round.” Give a round of applause to
the last person who ends up in the center.
Alphabet Soup
This is a great activity for any age and gets people thinking quickly. It's also somewhat "active", so if everyone
needs a good stretch it gets them off their feet. If teaching ESL, it's a good exercise in vocabulary.
Have participants/students divided by table or into small groups.
Tell them that you're going to give them a certain amount of time (2 minutes maybe) to find an item within
the room (or their immediate surroundings) that begins with each letter of the alphabet, in order. They must
form a collection on their table of the items, and cannot reuse an item more than once. At the end of the time
allotted, ask each team how far they got (to which letter), and then go through the alphabet asking each team
what they had for each letter and to hold it up. The team that got the furthest, wins!
Alphabet and Hands
On the board:
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L L R T L R T L R T
A B C D E F G H I J Etc
L – left hand
R- right hand
T – 2 hands together
Students chorally say the alphabet and raise corresponding hands.
This is so called Brain Gym to practice correspondence between movements and speech.
Animal Nicknames
This works best with intermediate to advanced kids (not so much English for the advanced ones)
Before class make up a sheet of paper with all of the students names on it with a blank line next to each name.
Include your own name also. Hand these out to the students in class. Then tell them to look carefully at each
of their other students. Tell them that their job is to think of what kind of animal that each of the students
resemble and why. Make sure to tell the students to be very specific in their types of animals. Don't let them
get away with bird or dog. It is good to have a foreign language English dictionary on hand for this
game/exercise. After you have given them an opportunity to fill in the blanks, write each person’s name on
the board. Then ask each member of the class for what they thought about this specific person. Eventually,
you will have a list for each student. Then the class votes on the name they like best for that student.
This game had some of my students holding their sides in laughter and also allowed the students to feel much
more comfortable with one another. Try to draw out of them what characteristics made them choose certain
animals.
Appointment Discussion Game
This is a great multi-skill game that can be adapted for all levels.
Give students an appointment sheet. The sheet should resemble a planner with seven or eight appointment
openings (9:00 am, 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, etc.). The object of the first step is to fill their appointment
sheets. You can model asking for an appointment. Students circulate around the room asking each other for
appointments, until their schedules are full. If you have an odd number of students who cannot fill their
sheets, tell them to sit down. When everyone has filled their schedules as much as possible, all students
should sit down and listen to the instructions for part two.
Ask students to find their 9:00 am appointment. Once they’ve found each other, they should discuss a level
appropriate question. For advanced students: “What was the worst day of your life?” For intermediate
students: “Who is your favorite person?” After several minutes of discussion, ask them to find their 11:00 am
appointment and discuss a different question. Repeat several times with new questions and new partners. If
you have an odd number of students, you can discuss questions with the odd one out.
I’ve found that this game builds more rapport in the classroom faster than any other icebreaker.
Astounding Associations
This works best with large groups:
Start the group in a large circle while explaining the game.
Tell them that they must find others within the group which share their similarity.
For example: How many kids are in your family, including yourself? (it is important to be specific or confusion
will ensue!) Initially they will wander around, looking for someone yelling out "2!" but eventually, it turns to a
loud calling for "who else has 2 kids in their family?" It helps when the facilitator can start yelling "I have four
kids in my family, who else does?" while holding up four fingers.
I like this game especially because once they found their group, they feel a sense of belonging... everyone else
in their association group has something in common.
Continue the game by having them introduce themselves to that group and explain something about the
association... example: where in the birth order are you? For those who have no siblings, what is the best
thing about being the only child? etc...
Continue with: how many pets? (then-- what kind) favorite color? (then-- why?) month of birthday? (what
date?)
It is important for the facilitator to watch for those who might not have a group. Either locate their group, or
extend a group to include that person. For example, if they have 9 kids in their family, perhaps make the group
of those with 6 kids in their family be "6 kids or more".
Have fun, be silly!
Marika ; St. Paul, Minnesota
Back to Back
Pairs of students stand back to back, and ask each other questions about their appearance. Are you wearing
blue jeans? Are you wearing a white shirt?
Good to practice clothes vocab, colors, questions, present continuous.
Ball Toss – Names
Say your name then throw a ball to another person. The person who catches it repeats. When everybody has
said their name two or three times, change the game so that you throw the ball and say the name of the
person you are throwing the ball to.
Good for Day One when nobody knows names and everybody is nervous. Very easy to model. Lots of
variations – can be used to ask questions, talk about what you ate for breakfast, where you live, etc. These
variations are usually better for later in the course.
Ball Toss – Topics
Turn on some music and toss a ball around the circle with each person making a short statement until
everyone has had a turn. Statements could be predicting things that will be studied in the upcoming module,
important points they remember from previous classes, things they want to know, personal tips they have.
Bananas!
Ok, this one is simple, but it results in tons of laughter. (I used it for the beginning of a conversation class with
students who already knew each other. Ages 13-17)
Basically, the teacher picks someone to be "it." The main goal of "It" is not to laugh or smile. Then the students
in the class ask "It" questions, but "It" can only respond with the word "bananas." (They shouldn't be yes/no
questions!!)
For example: "What is your girlfriend's name?" Answer: BANANAS!
"What is your favorite sport?" --Bananas
It’s a great warm-up for class. My kids laughed hysterically
Basket-Case Teacher
When I have a new group of students coming in, I love to get them guessing as to who I am instead of me
doing all the talking.
On the first day of class I take along a huge basket filled with items from my house that can tell them
something about me...
family photos, an atlas, souvenirs from places visited, something in my favourite colour, jewelry, tapes, CDs,
etc.
When class begins, apart from my name in English and in Chinese, I don't tell them anything. It is up to them
to guess!
I allow students to each choose something from the basket and leave them at their tables to discuss the
possible meaning of the weird hodge-podge I have thrown in.
After a reasonable time I begin to ask them what they have guessed about me from the items, and then we
talk about each thing they find out about me. eg. and atlas might lead them to where I come from (South
Africa) but it might also tell them where I have travelled (all over Asia).
I also like to take piles of photos along with me and round off the time by letting them look through the
photos at their tables and calling out questions which I then answer for the whole class.
Beyond Introductions
This is an exercise that has worked well for me so far at Univ. de Bourgogne in Dijon, France, where it is hard
as ++++ to get the students to talk. If you use the regular, worn-out interview pairs followed by
introductions/present-your-partner scenario, this is a sort of fun follow up.
Have the pairs then use the same interview questions to create a fictitious person. Then they present that
person to the class in the same way that they presented each other. Then, put two of the groups together and
ask them to come up with a 15 to 20 line dialogue between the two fictitious persons. Sounds too simple? Try
it! It's really quite fun...
Big Stick
Group makes a circle. One person in the middle (e.g., Dave) has a rolled up piece of flipchart paper – like a big
stick. One person in the group says another person’s name (e.g., Jane). Dave has to touch Jane, before Jane
can say another name (e.g, Tom). If Dave touches Jane before Jane says another name, Jane takes the stick
and moves into the middle of the circle. If Jane says another name (e.g, Bill) before Dave touches her, Dave
has to try to touch Bill. Etc. etc. Great for an after lunch energizer when the group isn’t sure of each other’s
names.
Big Wind Blows
Students arrange chairs in a large circle (with one less chair than there are students). One student stands in
the middle and says “The big wind blows for anyone who ___________” Any student for whom this statement
is true gets up and runs for another seat. They may not sit back in their own seat or in either seat directly next
to them. The student left without a chair then stands in the middle and announces whom the big wind blows
for (i.e. “the big wind blows for anyone wearing glasses”).
Birth Order Icebreaker
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Preparation: Make four signs labeled (in big letters) "First Born (Oldest)" "Middle" "Last Born (Youngest)" and
"Only (No Brothers or Sisters)." Put one in each corner of the room (or one on each table, if you happen to
have four tables). Do this before any students have come to class.
Procedure:
As students come to class, ask them questions to help them get into the correct groups. ("Do you have any
brothers or sisters? Older or younger?") Once most of your students have arrived, they can get started.
Tell each group to let each person speak briefly about what it was like to be a ______ (first born, last born,
etc.) in their small groups. Tell them that they will later report back to the class as a whole about the
advantages and disadvantages of being in their birth order. As the teacher, you can either join the group that
you belong to, or go around to the different groups to make sure they're letting everyone talk.
(Allow approximately 15-30 minutes for this).
Start with the "first-borns." Ask them to tell the rest of the class about what it's like to be a first born.
Encourage 2 or 3 people from the group to speak.
Next, have the other groups comment on what they know about first born children. Go through each group
this way: first the group itself speaks, then the other groups speak about them.
Next, share the following information about birth order personality characteristics with your students. You
could make a handout or overheard, or else read a description and let them guess who it describes. (These
lists come from Dr. Kevin Leman's "The New Birth Order Book," a great resource on this topic). Go over any
unfamiliar vocabulary in the process. (Alternatively, you could put some of the words on cards and ask the
groups to categorize them into the four birth order groups, and then see how they do with it).
"First born: perfectionist, conscientious, list maker, well organized, hard driving, natural leader, critical,
serious, scholarly, logical. Doesn't like surprises; loves computers. Often compliant: has difficulty saying No."
"Middle Child: mediator, compromising, diplomatic, avoids conflict, independent, loyal to peers, many friends,
secretive, unspoiled, has reasonable expectations."
"Youngest Child: manipulative, charming, blames others, attention seeker, tenacious, people person, natural
salesperson, precocious, engaging, affectionate, loves surprises."
"Only Child: little adult by age seven; very thorough and deliberate; high acheiver; self-motivated; fearful;
cautious; voracious reader; black and white thinker; uses "very" and "extremely" a lot; can't bear to fail; has
very high expectations for self; more comfortable with people who are older or younger."
(The New Birth Order Book, page 15).
Next, each person can speak about these characteristics. A good way to do this is to have each person talk
about one characteristic he either agrees with or disagrees with. Ask the student to give an example. As you
go around the room doing this, you (and the students) will get to know a little bit more about the students. If
a lot of students complain that the personality characteristics don't fit, explain that other factors can affect
personality. For instance, if there is a big age difference between siblings, sometimes these descriptions do
not hold up; additionally, if a youngest or middle child is the first male or female amongst the siblings, that
person may act more like a first-born child.
The last step can also be used as a brief writing activity.
Breakdown First Day Barriers
My formula is simple, based on any set of circumstances when you meet someone you don’t know and want
to get to know- simply tell them something about yourself - write three subjects relating to you on the board eg your favourite book, place, artist or an achievement or place you've been the students then ask questions
in turn to find out what you're about - give the students 10 mins to think of things and let them take it in
turns.
Butcher Block Bios
Ages: teens to adults
Proficiency Level: adaptable to all
Class size: large or small
Purposes: integrated skills with emphasis on oral/aural and affective (getting to know classmates)
Materials: one sheet of large butcher block paper and colored markers
Pedagogical considerations: For beginners, provide simple questions; for intermediate, provide a few
questions and ask students to also invent 2-3 more interesting questions and for advanced, give them latitude
to create 5-7 interesting questions.
Procedure: Ask students to work in pairs to interview each other and take notes. Designate time frame (15-20
minutes) to interview each other. Ask the students to ask some creative questions that show the unique
personality of their partner. After the interview, students write their Partner's Bio on the butcher block paper.
Students should write the question and answer in large letters so that the entire class can see, esp. important
for beginners. Accompanying illustrations and the student's name written in their native language writing
system are also encouraged. The teacher then asks students to introduce each other to the class.
Comments: Many students may be inhibited the first day. By holding up the large paper and focusing
communication on their partner, they feel less self-conscious and get to know a classmate, which lowers the
affective filter. You will be amazed at the variety of creative "products" this activity unveils! There are many
variations on this theme, e.g., Carousel Bios in which students have 5 minutes to write about each classmate
and proceed to then next until time is up. This may take the entire class period since most students will be
introducing new information about each of the others.
Call my Bluff
Tell the group that they will know 1 thing more about every person in the room at the end of this exercise!!
Ask them to individually to write down 2 things about themselves that the other in the group will not know
about them - 1 true & 1 false. You have these pre-prepared for yourself: e.g. I am a twin. I can speak Spanish
Once everyone has done.
Starting with yourself (trainer) tell your truth and lie.
The next person then speaks their truth and lie then has to guess the lie or the previous person. You continue
around the room in this manner.
As the trainer you can either guess the lie of the last person in the group or open it up to the group to guess
the lie. I have used this many times to great effect and remains one of my favorites.
Cards and Crossword--Two Day Icebreaker
This is my ice-breaker from Summer Session 2000. The first day, I used a deck of cards for my students to
introduce themselves. On each student's turn, he or she had to take a card from a deck of playing cards. (I left
the joker cards in). The instructions: use the value of the card to determine how many things to say about
yourself. If you pick the "ace," say one thing; two, say two things; a Jack is 11, Queen is 12, King is 13. If the
student got the Joker card, he or she could ask me questions instead.
I took notes on everything that everybody said, and then made up a crossword puzzle of student names. (To
make it harder, you could use other information about the student, such as place of work or native country).
They completed this the next time that they had class. This was a nice way to remind people of who their class
members are and gave them material to start conversations ("Are you really from Transylvania?"). The activity
goes more quickly if students have name tags out. I think it's better if they have to ask each other for
information.
Caveats: Be sure to spell students' names correctly! (My sign-in attendance sheet was helpful here). Make
sure that the clues you write about the students are accurate! Choose a boring clue if you're not so sure if
something is true
Catch my hand!
Students stand in a circle. Students arrange their hands so their right hand is outstretched ready to grab the
left hand of the person next to them and their left hand pointing downwards and touching the right hand of
the person on their left. Teacher announces ‘key word’ (eg. Teacher). Teacher tells a story. Every time the
Teacher says the ‘key word’ Students must try to grab the hand of the person on their right and move their left
hand so it is not grabbed by the person on their left.
Celebrity 20 Questions
Materials: 20-30 A5 index cards; tape
This is a pretty simple variation of the parlor game '20 Questions'. Before class, I take about the index cards
and write names of celebrities on them with a magic marker.
In class, I explain to the students that they will have a name of a well-known person stuck to their back. They
then have to stand up and circulate around the room, asking each person a maximum of 5 yes-or-no questions
about who they might be. (I.E. 'Am I alive? Am I female? Am I a politician? Am I young?' Etc.)
Hopefully they will be able to figure out who they are. The only problem I have encountered is when I use
movie stars. I try to select people who my German students would know, but many don't frequent the cinema.
But they always giggle at the person who 'is' Helmut Kohl or Pamela Anderson!
I like this game a lot, since it gets them out of their seats and makes them talk to a large number of people,
often those who they wouldn't normally approach in the first lesson.
Celebrity Info
Inspired by 'Famous people from!!!!'
Research celebrities in the country you are teaching in (i.e. sports figures, performing artists, politicians, etc.).
Write 2 or three down on a piece of paper and ask the students to help you think of some more celebrities (of
their country). Write these down. Ask each student to choose one person and tell everyone about him/her.
Change the Boring
Students brainstorm the usual “get to know you questions” and then change one or two of them to something
more interesting. Students then use these more interesting questions in a cocktail party (students switch
partners or groups a few times during the activity so they talk with several of their peers).
Change Identity Game
I haven't read all the activities on your list but an interesting one I have been using recently is the Change
Identity game. The idea of the exercise is for the students to mingle and introduce themselves to each other.
The moment they have finished introducing themselves they assume the identity of the previous person. That
Keiko introduces herself to John. After that John is now Keiko and Keiko is now John. Now the new John and
Keiko move on to other people. To add to this exercise you can add simple questions for them to ask. Stop the
exercise after about ten minutes and call the roll. It is quite interesting some of the answers you get and some
you don't get. Anyway it works for me.
Change Places if You…
Teacher asks certain students to stand in a circle and change places. For example, change places if you are
wearing red, if you were born in January, if you are good at singing, if you drank tea this morning etc. The
teacher also tries to take a place, so that there is one person left without a place in the middle. That person
makes the next “Change places if you…” sentence.
Class Heart Throb
A team building activity I like to do on the first or second day of class with my high school students (ESL and
other classes alike) is to form a circle, outside weather permitting, and hold hands. The object is to see how
quickly they can "heart beat." They pass the beat by squeezing the hand to the left after they receive it from
the right. We try it again throughout the year and see if we get faster. It is a lot of fun and the kids are usually
cheering when we break our previous record. Some are squeamish about holding hands but with prompting I
usually get 100% participation. Only once has someone refused and I felt it important to honor his discomfort
and didn't force him to join.
Coats of Arms of Yourselves
This is a great first day (or what-am-I-going-to-do-today) activity. The basic idea is to get students to talk
about who they are and what they think is most important about themselves.
If you don't know what a coat of arms is, it looks like a shield and usually contains pictoral or symbolic designs
that tell something about the bearer of the shield. Most countries/provinces/cities have coats of arms. In the
classroom you simply have to explain the term and perhaps demonstrate a real life example to show how
ideas and information can be represented by colours and pictures. (You could use flags instead- think 50
stripes and 50 stars with the red blood of freedom.) It also helps to give 4 to 6 categories (history, hobbies,
family, job, likes, dislikes, things/ideals you hold as important) to help the students start creating.
Have the students draw a large shield shape on their papers and divide it into six sections. They then spend 510 minutes creating their shield. (Make your own too!) After the drawing is completed the students can, in
partners, guess about the meaning of each other’s shield or explain it to each other. (Teacher choice) After
that the students can explain their partner's shield to the class.
I find that this activity gets students and the teacher to connect at a more personal level than some of the
more game oriented activities that I have used.
Cocktail Party
Equipment: None.
Time: ~10-15 minutes
People mill around, meet each other, shake hands and chat according to different scenarios e.g., cocktail
party, nightclub, on the beach, etc.
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Role playing can be a lot of fun and can be used to quickly loosen social tensions and for learning about
one's self and others
It can fun to meet people by pretending to meet in different circumstances e.g., at a cocktail party.
Demonstrate walking up to someone, introducing oneself, having a bit of chit-chat and moving on to
meet someone else. Put drama and enthusiasm into it. It needn't be a long encounter, but do try to
get to know the essence of the person, e.g.,
"Hi, how are you?...I'm name.....So, what kind of work do you do? Where are you from? Aren't the
curtains awful! etc. Oh, there's someone over there I want to meet....."
Demo again that people should start each encounter by sharing names since learning some is often
one of the goals of the exercise.
After the novelty of the cocktail party scenario peaks, announce new scenarios (e.g., on the beach on a
hot summer day, at a funeral for a mutually loved friend, in a nightclub, as prisoners, as competing
Olympic athletes, etc.)
Common Ground
Inspired by 'Three things in common'
Pair off the students and have them find three views they have in common (i.e. political, social, economic,
etc.). This should be modeled with one of the stronger students first.
Commonalities Card
Make small groups. Each team gets a card with the following questions on it.
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Names of Team Members
What is something the team members have in common related to training?
What is something that you all hope to get from this course?
What are some common obstacles you might face in this course?
List ways the obstacles can be overcome.
Trade someone in your group for someone in another group and see how your answers change or stay the
same.
Concentric Circles
Learners get into two circles, one inside the other, and face each other so that each person on the inside has a
partner on the outside.
They talk for a specified amount of time then change partners.
The topic can be a lead-in, what they know, or a review of what they learned.
They can have the same amount of time for each partner or the time can get shorter so that they are forced to
consolidate what they know into the key points. For example, talk to the first person for 2 and ½ minutes, the
second for 1 and ½ and the third for 45 seconds.
You can assign one circle to speak while the partner only listens and shows they are listening then they change
roles. Or you can just give them longer time to both say what they have to say with less structure.
Crazy Basketball Madness
This is a good ice-breaker for the first or second day of class full of students who are too shy to participate or
talk in class. I write everyone’s names on separate sheets of paper, crumple them up into balls and hand them
out at random to the students, so that each student will have a sheet with the name of another. I have the
students clear out a place in the room and in the middle put a really small trashcan, box, etc. and have the
students throw the paper balls at it. The names that make it into the box have to come up, sing, dance, etc.
etc., just to try and get them more comfortable in front of the class. The students really enjoy having the
chance of making their peers go up and participate instead of going themselves and it makes for a more open
and relaxed atmosphere.
Crystal Ball Prediction
This initial "getting-to-know" one another game loosens up your class with laughter and giggles.
Supply the students with a list of topics to ask each other about. For example: name, pets, hobbies, favorite
food
Pair them up. One student is absolutely silent as the other asks them questions ("Do you have any pets?") and
that same student predicts what the answer is by writing it down.
After finishing asking all the questions the interviewers take turns standing up and introducing their partner
with their predictions as they are corrected by their new friend (which is the first time they are allowed to
share the truth).
Now switch off the person being interviewed and the person predicting. Create unexpected topics and relax
with this activities strange results.
Death by…
Divide class into two teams. Each team writes one location and a way to die in that location for each of the
other team’s members (just write a list, you don’t need to pair a method of death with a specific person).
Each team acts out a skit to incorporate all the scenarios that the other team listed. All team members must
act and the scenarios must be chosen spontaneously (the team cannot discuss their skit beforehand). Each
member must try to make the scene develop into a story while incorporating each method of death.
Note: Although this game can be silly and fun, the subject of death can be a sensitive topic. Possible variations
on the topic include dramatic reasons to leave a room, ways to meet someone, funny things that happened in
the _________.
ESL Variations: Change topic to fit a particular subject matter or grammar point.
Draw Conclusions
Give each student a page of blank paper and tell them to draw their portrait. This is usually met with nervous
giggles but students will do it. Then ask them to write 4 or 5 key phrases or words connected to them, for
example, 3 children. Pin the papers around the room and ask the students to amble around with a pen in hand
and write questions under the information they read: for example, if a student reads 'science' they may want
to write, 'are you a scientist?' or @are you a science student?' When the students are finished the questions
that have been posed should be answered, this can be done as a class or in smaller groups. It's good fun
because the students are mingling and coming together from the beginning.
Draw Your Name
One way to get your students know your name may be this one, which they find challenging and funny:
1. Draw on the board as many objects as the letters that make up your name.
2. The name of each object should begin with one of the letters of your name.
3. Then, ask your students to tell you the names of the objects you have drawn and you write them next
to each object.
4. Then, tell them to put the first letters of each object in the correct order so as to form your name.
5. Finally, students may do the same working in pairs.
Ex. I draw a ring, an apple, a car, an elephant, a glove, an island, a lemon and an ant. If you put in the correct
order the first letter of the name of each object, you get my name Graciela.
Dyads
Students talk for 2.5 minutes to their partner about “what would your life have been like if you were the
opposite sex?” The listener just listens (no questions, no responses, no oral feedback). The speaker just keeps
talking on the topic until the time is up. Then partners switch – speaker becomes the listener and vice versa.
ESL variation: Change the topic or the length of time to fit students’ abilities and interests. You can also
repeat this activity several times over the length of a course increasing the length of time to talk each time.
Encouragement on Your Back
This is a good activity to do before a big event or when saying goodbye to a group. Each student attaches a
piece of paper to his or her back. Students then take turns writing notes of encouragement and thanks to
each other.
Enlarged and Deflated Topics
Materials: (Optional) photocopy for each student of (6-12) controversial/interesting statements written in
pictures of balloons scattered on a page, i.e. You should always stretch before work – but only on the site. / If
your foreman assigns you to do something you think could be dangerous, you should ask for more money
before you do it. / You should be able to remember all the safety and regulation rules and math equations
without having to have any reminders on paper.
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Teacher chooses topics to review and makes statements that the learners should have options about.
T draws several circles on a paper and writes the statements inside them. Makes a copy for each
learner. Putting two versions on one page can save copies. If copies are not possible, the teacher can
draw the circles on the board and write the statements inside and the Learners can copy.
As the Teacher introduces each sentence the Learners write agree or disagree on the balloon. (Option:
they could also write not sure.)
Learners highlight one sentence that they are most interested in talking about. (Option: they could be
required to agree with the statement.) This is “enlarging the topic.”
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
Learners stand and mingle talking about the statements. They talk about the statement that they
highlighted first and then change partners and talk about others.
The Learners can mingle freely or the Teacher can say “Change” after a reasonable length of time.
Optional: Learners decide one statement they disagree with the most. They put an X in it – “deflating the
topic). Teacher finds out/Learners share which statements were chosen most often to be “enlarged” and
“deflated.”
Everybody Has Secrets
On the first day of class, when you have introduced yourself and explained the guidelines for your classroom
and you think that all of your students have arrived, hand out four or five small pieces of paper to each
student. Ask them to write a different aspect of their lives on each piece of paper (e.g. "I have a dog named
'Biffie'.") You should walk about correcting mistakes at random until they are all finished and have deposited
their papers into a hat, folded every which way, it doesn't matter how. Then each student draws the same
number of papers as he or she put in, taking care not to draw their own. Upon completion of the draw, each
student is required to find the writer of the papers in their possession. However, there is a catch. The students
should do this in a polite fashion, starting with introductions, small talk and thus working around to learning
the information they are seeking. Shouting out "Who has a dog named 'Biffie'?" does not fly.
By the end of this exercise, the class members should have met just about everybody. You can participate, too,
but students may tend to avoid you as this is their first day and they are a bit wary as of yet. That's up to you.
Finally, in the ten minutes at the end of class, you should, one by one, call out each student's name and then
hear from the four or five different people who chose their secrets.
This is a dynamite exercise, lots of fun and low pressure, and it will make everyone so much more comfortable
with each other. And I thought it up all by my lonesome--though I'm sure it isn't original with me.
Facts and Lies
Hi everyone! This is a simple first-day icebreaker that I've found works really well with both small and large
classes: The students think of three sentences, two are facts and one is a lie. One by one, students introduce
themselves and say their three sentences. The rest of the class has to guess which one is a lie. It's best for the
teacher to go first, not only to provide an example, but also to let the students know that the teacher is
interested in interacting with them.
Famous People From!!!!
I used this lesson when I first arrived in Korea. It's very simple. Write on the blackboard Famous Korean people
(or whatever country you’re in). Get the students to come up and write one person on the board. You will find
that the teenage girls only write singers while the boys write sportsmen. Make sure that you add some actors,
politicians and historical figures. Then go around the class and get the students to describe one of them. You
will find everybody will try to tell you instead of just the one as they get really excited. It’s also good for you
when you first arrive in a new country and don't know any famous people.
Favorites
Students stand in a circle. Teacher names a topic e.g. ‘favourite colour’ and throw the ball to a student. That
student says their favourite colour and throws the ball to another student etc. Periodically, the teacher
changes to topic e.g. ‘favourite fruit’, ‘favourite soft drink’ or ‘favourite singer’. Students can also suggest
topics.
Feet on the Ground
Participants stand up and make a semi-circle. Teacher says, “I want to see 9 feet on the ground”. Participants
have to organize themselves as quickly as possible so the correct number of feet is on the ground.
Fun teambuilding activity to practice numbers.
Fictional Language
Call out 2 students to the front of the class, pair them as you will. They should start a conversation in English
about anything, when someone yells "Change!", they switch from English to a fictional language they
invent as they speak... Students yell "Change!" and the pair continues the conversation, this time in English...
After 1-2 minutes, change pairs.
As an intro for this activity, you could have students vocalizing random sounds in English!
Find Someone: an Alternative Version
This is an idea I got from one of Mario Rinvolucri's books. It's an alternative to the typical "Find Someone Who.
. ." game.
Instead of giving the students a list, they have to write a list (you can choose the number; I find that 5 works
well) which begins with "I want to find someone in this class who. . ." You can either have the students mill
around like they do in the original version of the game, but I find with small classes it is very interesting as a
whole-group activity. You learn a lot about your students, both from who they want to find and how they
answer. One warning: I had one class of university students where some of the guys used this as a sort of
personals column, but it was pretty funny.
Food Names
A funny method that we use here in order to get to know our students' names, is to ask them to tell their
names plus the name of the food they like the best. At least here in Ecuador it is funny because of the names
of food we have here. We can have students like "Pepe Caldo de bolas", "María Chugchucaras", "Juan Seco de
chivo", etc.
You can use it with any kind of food or maybe drinks. It's up to you.
Fortune Cookies
Take a few small pieces of paper and write on them short simple messages like "You will go to the cinema."
"You will meet a famous person." "You will get 3 CDs for your birthday." Fold them so that the messages
remain secret. Put all the scraps of paper in a box, shake them well and pass the box around for the students
to take one and read it out and aloud. Make sure that they say "O-E, O-E ...what will my fortune be?" first!
Provided you choose your messages wisely, you will provide the class with some interesting conversation
topics and will find out a lot about your students and their interests (fave films, heroes, fave music etc.,) which
should help you plan the course ahead accordingly!
Free Speaking
My friend Denise came up with this one. It's just a way to keep free-speaking classes going on those quiet
days. Each student must say ten things they've done that day. Anything - I ate breakfast, I put on a sweater,
etc. The next student must do the same thing but they can't say anything the previous student has said. They
find it funny (always a bonus) and gets them talking. It can also give you ideas for further discussion.
Frivolous Fun with Find Out Cards
A good little game I've been using as a 'get to know you' activity is 'find out'. The game is not new but
translates well to the classroom.
Write directions on cards such as: 'Find out the name of your partner's 1st Grade teacher.' The students then
have to try to elicit the information from their partners without asking them directly. This is done by provoking
a conversation where the answer comes out 'naturally'. I've been using this in private courses but the idea
could be easily adapted to the classroom. Split the class into two teams which then decide collectively on how
to elict the response from the other team.
Most of the students I've been using it with (upper intermediate to advanced) enjoy the game because they
find it challenging to think of different words and structures to those that are immediately obvious - and it
usually generates a few laughs along the way!
Fruit Bowl
This is one of the best icebreakers I've ever done. It gets students up and moving and also gets them
acquainted with each other and relaxed very quickly.
First, set up the class: move all the desks or chairs away from the center but arrange enough chairs for each
student in the center of the class in a circle - like musical chairs. Have the students sit down. On the
blackboard draw a picture of 3 pieces of fruit - your choice. I always draw an apple, a banana, and grapes. Ask
the students what the name of each is and label each above the fruit. Then draw a bowl under the fruit and
again query the students as to what it is. Label it "fruit bowl".
Go around to each student and give them the name of a piece of fruit and make sure they memorize it. So
each student will be either apple, banana, or grapes. Explain to them that when you say apple - all the apples
stand up and change seats. Same thing when you call bananas or grapes. Go over it once with them for a trial
run. Then tell them when you say fruit bowl-everyone will get up and exchange different seats.
Now call a piece of fruit and let the students exchange seats. They'll probably all giggle thinking it's ridiculous.
Now call fruit bowl. As the students exchange seats you sit down quickly in one of the chairs thereby leaving
one student without a seat. Now tell the very embarrassed student that they must pay a penalty by either
introducing themselves to the group or better yet - sing a song! If you teach Korean students they are natural
hams when it comes to singing and they'll all sing and clap along.
Now it's the student in the center who must call a piece of fruit and now you must play along in the game.
They suddenly become very competitive and eager not to get caught in the center.
You're students will love it.
Fun Method of Learning Student Names
When you have a new group of Students a quick way to learn their names is to get them to say their name and
with the first letter of their name they choose something they like doing to fit that. For example my name is
Shirley and I like Shopping. The next student starts with "Your name is Shirley you like Shopping, My Name is
John I like Joking" this then builds up in a chain form around the class. At the end you do everybody's name
through the chain and by the end of the class you'll know everyone's name. Easy isn't it?
General Conversation Starter
Where you, and what were you doing a week ago at this time? (Or a day/month/year ago.)
Getting Older Students Interested
Get students thinking of why English is important and how they will learn it.
Think up a few categories of things. Transportation, food, tools, clothing, rooms in house and feelings usually
are good ones.
Next ask each student to get out a sheet of paper and a pencil.
As you name each category students must think of the thing in that category that makes him think of English
class and why. For example in the category feelings: Scary because he might have to talk in another language.
In the category room a student could choose the kitchen because there is a lot of interaction going on. The
teacher then invites students to say their answer out loud and reason why he chose it. This helps the teacher
to get to know his students and discuss their apprehensions, ideas and goals about the class. Students also get
to know each other and find out that maybe they are not the only ones with those feelings. Teacher can follow
up by explaining how class will proceed, what they'll do and what he expects from them
Getting Students to Speak Up
Ever have that problem with a new class - especially beginners - where the students mumble or whisper and
won’t speak up.? A nice non-threatening way I've found of encouraging them is by using the board eraser as if
it was a TV controller/commander. IE pressing the button to increase the volume. It invariably invokes the
right response and encourages other students to do likewise, where they may not feel like making a spoken
request. Helps break the ice too!
Getting To Know You Game
Aim: 'Getting to know you' questions for a first lesson.
The following is similar to that of Rosamund, but takes the form of a Bingo game.
Method: As the students enter a new classroom and find a new face, they will be inevitably curious. As they
begin to mutter or fire random questions, write the answers on the board. Write 16 answers then stop. Give
them a quick moment to digest this. You can include things like 'I am a teacher.' 'Yes I do.' 'No I can't.' This
gives them something to think about past closed questions.
First language offered is. 'I am a new teacher. You have many questions. Here are the answers. Please ask me
the questions. You begin by going through the questions and answers so the students are familiar with it all.
You then ask them all to draw up a grid 4x4. All the answers are written onto the grid in random order.
Additional rules:
So that the games are not over too quickly, I set only 3 or 4 lines as the 'Bingo'. Anything not matching those
lines are not winning Bingos. (ie, the top line is not indicated, so it is not a winning Bingo.) The students then
call out the questions and the whole class marks off the answer on the sheet.
I play in groups as the classes are quite large, so each group must write exactly the same cards out.
Gimme, Gimme
Divide the students into teams of about 4-5 people. Teacher will call out "gimme, gimme ______" and the
students will scramble to find it in their possessions. The first team to run and bring it up to the teacher wins.
You can also make write out a list of items the students need to find to make it longer. For example, "gimme,
gimme 3 rubber bands" "gimme, gimme a pencil and a pen".
Globe Ball
This is a good ice-breaker for the first or second day of classes. Materials needed are an inflatable globe blown
up, and dot stickers (available in stationary stores). Yellow is the most visible color. Students introduce
themselves and give their names to the class. Have students stand in a circle. Begin by throwing the globe ball
to someone else and have the student throwing say the name of the person who is to receive the ball.
(Teacher demonstrates first). If the student can' t remember the intended receiver's name just ask the person
to repeat his or her name and then say the name and throw the globe. Do this until the names are somewhat
familiar then pick up the pace and throw faster. When all names are familiar to all, stop and ask the students
to take a yellow dot and place it on the glob on their hometown in their home country. (Don't put the dots on
before throwing or they will fall off.) Discussion/Q & A can follow depending on level about each student's
country, home town. Also, comparisons of who lives furthest from their US city, who lives closest, and
comparisons of US with student's own country. Good practice for contrasting asking another's name politely
and informally, comparative/superlative adjectives (further /furthest), reported speech relating to information
about students' countries could follow pair work exchange of information about individual countries.
Group Juggle
This is a great ice breaker for any type of setting when a group is going to be working together.
Materials Needed: 5-8 tennis balls, depending on size of group (for 8 people - balls, for 10 people - 6 balls, for 12 people - 7
balls, etc)
1. Get the group in a circle.
2. Facilitator explains people will be learning to juggle, but as a group. He also mentions that it's important to
remember who you toss the ball to and who is tossing it to you.
3. Facilitator says the name of the person he is going to toss the ball to (preferably across from him) and tosses
the ball to that person.
4. That person then calls someone out (who has yet to touch the ball) and tosses the ball to that person.
5. This continues until all have gotten a chance to catch and toss the ball; the first round is over when the ball
goes back to the facilitator.
6. The facilitator mentions that people need to throw it to the same person and that they will be adding balls.
7. The facilitator begins by repeating step 3. After the ball has moved about halfway around, the facilitator adds
another ball. He does this until there are three going at once.
8. Slowly he collects the balls as they are tossed his way.
9. Now that the group has done three and people are really warmed up...the facilitator shows the bag of balls
and mentions they'll be trying to juggle all of them.
10. A new round begins with the facilitator adding balls every few seconds until they are all in play.
11. To stop the round, he just collects the balls as they come to him.
12. It may be a good idea to negotiate what happens if a ball is missed or drops; do you go after it or just forget
about it.
Variations (there are millions)
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Try going backwards - tossing the ball to the person who tossed it to you
Try doing this with names plus adjectives, etc
Use greetings while passing the balls.
Guess Who
This 'recipe' works well after students have gotten to know a little about each other - perhaps the second part
of the first class meeting or the second day of class. Distribute small strips of paper (1 or 2) to the students.
Make sure the strips are all the same, that way no one will be able to guess by the size or shape of the paper.
On the strips the students write one "fact" about themselves that the others do not know. Tell the students it
shouldn't be something extremely obvious to guess. For example, one young blond headed student wrote "I
have gray hair". Gather the strips in a hat or bowl and then have each student pick out a strip and read the
fact out loud. The student who reads then has three guesses as to who it is. If the student does not guess after
three times, the person who wrote the fact should say "It is me". It sometimes turns out funny. With the girl
with the gray hair, no one believed and ended up looking through her head! Questions and further discussion
spring from this as well.
Guesses About the Partner
Look at your partner and write down (don’t show to the partner!):
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Their favorite color
Favorite food
Movie
Type of vacation
Clothing or accessory
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Most important quality of their girlfriend/boyfriend, husband/wife
ETC
Talk to you partner and find out if your guesses are correct 
Feedback: raise your hands of you had more than half correct guesses, etc
Helen Smith in KOREA Jan 3, 2012
Haikus
In groups of 4-5, students sit in a circle on the floor with their backs towards each other (so they cannot see
what each other is writing). A sheet is passed – a number on each line of the sheet designates how many
syllables the line must have. Each student writes a sentence, phrase, or series of words with the number of
syllables indicated. After writing the line, the student folds the paper over and passes it to the next student.
Each student writes a line without reading what the other people have written. At the end each group reads
their poetry!
Variations: Have multiple papers going at once so that all students are engaged at all times. Vary the length
and number of syllables of each poem.
Hamburger Press
What: A Get-to-Know You Activity created by Sam Sikes
Group Size: No limit
Time: 15 Minutes
Props Required: approximately 10 "mini-ronis" per person. "Mini-ronis" are hamburger-size sections of the
foam noodle toys found at major retailers. They can be made by cutting a foam noodle with a serrated knife,
or they can be ordered by the hundred. If you're having difficulties finding foam noodles, contact us.
Activity Instructions:
1. Ask the group to separate into pairs (or fours if you are using the variation noted below).
2. Explain that the goal is for each pair to try to form the longest "hamburger press," i.e., horizontal stack
of mini-ronies, as possible. In order to do this, each person will, one at a time, insert a mini-ronie on
his/her end. Play continues until a "fwap" occurs.
 Stipulation 1: Participants may only touch the "hamburger press" on the ends of the outside
mini-ronies. No holding the stack around the outside or readjusting mini-ronies once they are
placed.
 Stipulation 2: Concurrent with the placement of a mini-ronie, the participant must either a) tell
a personal or professional fact about himself, or b) ask the other participant a question about
him/herself. The second participant has the option of a) answering the question, b) telling a
personal or professional fact, or c) asking the other participant a question.
3. Hamburger Press can be played in groups of four, often promoting better discussion and more
laughter, both good things at the beginning of a program. It will also let you handle almost twice as
many participants if your number of "hamburgers" is limited. If you use groups of four, then two
participants will be on each end of the "stack." Players alternate on the placement of mini-ronies, and
same rules apply for how it must be held.
Facilitator Notes:
This activity breaks the ice, promotes safe small-group discussion, injects both cooperation and competition at
safe levels early in the program, and can be debriefed if desired.
Hammer or Nail?
I find that this exercise works best near the end of the term when students and the teacher are frazzled and
are more likely to put up with this slightly wacky activity. It seems at least partly related to our sense of how
much control we have over our lives as measured by several tests like the MMPI. But other aspects of our
sense of self are probed also, I think. The instructions I wrote for other language teachers but you'll want to
adapt them for your purposes. Here goes:
Hammer or Nail?
Concept: metaphorical, abstract, right brain, control over one's life
What to do: Explain that this activity is meant as an exercise in abstract thinking. "Use your imagination. Think
of yourself in non-concrete terms." Ask students which of the two choices best describes them. Give them
time to think, then ask them to raise their hands to indicate their choice. "Who is a hammer?... Who is a nail?"
Then have them ask others near them why they feel like a hammer or a nail and give them about a minute to
discuss their choice.
In one session probably no more than six to ten of these should be done. If the class is very small, students
might be asked to walk to one area of the room (nails over here; hammers over there) and talk about why
they feel the way they do.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Hammer or Nail
Racket or Ball
Child or Old Man
Picasso or DeVinci
Jeans or a Suit
Egg White or Egg
Yolk
Sun or Moon
Cube or Ball
Present or Future
Rock Group or
String Quartet
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Yes or No
Mountain or Valley
Physical or Mental
Pencil or Ball Point
Pen
Teacher or Student
Question or Answer
Leather Jacket or
Harris Tweed
Black or White
Leaf or Wind
Pencil or Eraser
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Earthquake or
Typhoon
Tortoise or Hare
City or Country
Dictionary or Novel
Pen or Pencil
Agape or Eros
Cat or Mouse
TV or Radio
Present or Future
Hangless Hangman
This is useful for both breaking the ice and for encouraging language skills in students learning English.
Think up a word that applies to whatever lesson you have in mind. On the whiteboard, draw spaces
corresponding to the letters, just as in the Hangman game. (For the word "game," for example, you'd draw: _
_ _ _.) Have the class guess at the letters...but instead of drawing a hanging man when they guess incorrectly,
gradually draw a picture of what the mystery word describes. This will help them get it.
For students learning English as a second language, try including the word in both English and their native
tongue. For example, to explain my free psycho-educational project to Spanish-speaking adults, I drew four
spaces for "faro" and ten for "lighthouse." (My project's logo features a lighthouse, the one at Pharos.) The
exercise isn't finished until they get both words.
How Well Do You "Know" the Teacher?
Start the first class by telling the students your name only. No other information about the teacher should be
shared. Then ask them to write down 5 questions they would like to ask you, the teacher, about whatever
they may be interested in knowing about you.
As they are doing this, write down each student's name on the board. Once they've written down their
questions, ask one student to come to the front of the class and explain that this student will now play the role
of you, the teacher, and will answer 5 of the students' questions, to the best of their guessing abilities. It is
important to divulge the way the ice breaker works only after the students have finished writing their
questions so as not to have any impact on the type of questions they will write down. Give a "point" to the
student role-playing the teacher for each correct answer (or "close enough" answer) and an 'x' for an incorrect
one.
Each student takes turns guessing the answers to the students' questions until each student has answered 5
questions. Encourage the students to re-ask questions which were previously answered incorrectly to gain
more information about you, the teacher. Once every student has had a chance to role-play the role of the
teacher, volunteer or answer the questions about you which were left answered incorrectly.
At the end of this activity, the students have accomplished many things. Firstly, they have learned a lot of info
about you. Secondly, they have asked a multitude of different questions, learning new question-expressions
from each other as they go along. Thirdly, they have been both asking AND answering questions, the key to
any conversation class. Fourthly, it makes them more comfortable, since they aren't saying anything about
themselves, which some students may be reluctant to do during the first class. Also, they are learning each
other's names.
This is also beneficial to the teacher, as it puts the students at ease and makes them feel better about talking
about themselves in later classes. Secondly, the students get used to doing most of the talking, some of which
aren't used to this type of class dynamics.
This can also set up another activity where the students learn about each other.
Every time I've used this activity, the students have enjoyed it very much, laughing and sometimes providing
funny answers. One time, one student's question was "how old are you", to which the student role-playing
answered "47". I'm actually 28 yrs old. The students laughed, and I pretended to be surprised and angry (for a
fleeting moment of course - all in good fun), before putting a HUGE 'x' on the board next to her name.
Humdinger
Split class into two teams. Students write songs on slips of paper to give to the other team. Each team
member takes turns humming or whistling song and his or her teammates try to guess. Students may pass if
they want to. The team with the most points (one point per song correctly guessed) or the first team to guess
all the songs at the end wins.
Variations: The teacher picks the songs or limits the genre of the songs. For ESL students, they can sing the
words (not just hum or whistle). Or do the activity with sounds (i.e. of animals) instead of songs.
If You Like… Move to This Side
Tell Ps, if you like coffee, move to this side. If you like tea, this side.
Very simple. Good for beginners. Can be used to practice almost any nouns or adjective. A nice way for
people to find out about each other. Can also be used to find out what people think about teaching. E.g., if
you think you should correct all your students’ mistakes, this side. If you think you should correct only some
of their mistakes, this side.
Islands
Divide class into small groups of 3-5 students. Each group gets a set of multi-colored Playdough or clay. The
groups have five minutes to create an island that they will live on as a group. This activity must be done in
silence. Gestures are fine, but no talking or other noises. Possible things to consider are landscape, natural
resources, shelter, leisure activities and comfort. After groups finish building their island they may get up and
see the other islands. Still in complete silence they may trade or barter with the other groups for items on the
islands. They may also take other groups’ ideas and create them on their own island (but they may not steal
from or destroy the other islands). Groups have a few minutes to make adjustments to their islands and then
they can share with the class what they decided to build and why.
ESL Variation: This activity may become a whole class lesson centered around sharing ideas, cross-cultural
exchanges, or the importance of learning about foreign countries. To encourage dialogue this activity does
not have to be done in silence. The teacher can also limit the amount of clay groups get so they are forced to
make decisions on what is important and how to use their resources. Limiting clay also encourages groups to
trade and barter with each other.
Imagining a Photo
In exchange for all the great ideas already posted, I feel I have to contribute one of my favorites. I teach ESL to
adult students from various countries at a school which has weekly enrolment. I think it's important for new
students to get comfortable a.s.a.p., but I hate the idea of formalized introductions. To get students to share
information about themselves, I give each new student a blank piece of paper which is folded in half. I ask
them to imagine that they have brought 4 of their favorite photos from home which represent events, people
or places that are important to them for whatever reason. Students can then decide for themselves which
information they want to relay to the rest of the class. The audience then has an opportunity to practice their
questioning skills to find out more.
You'll find you learn a great deal about who your students are and what is important to them in, in a very
short time. Cheers!
Important to Me
Students draw three things that are important to them. (Teacher may want to provide a worksheet with
designated spaces for three pictures.) Students then share their drawings with the class or in small groups.
ESL variation: Have students only draw one or two pictures
International Language Exchange
This activity works best with a large class, about twenty students, and with a diversity of languages. It is
essentially a way for students to learn and teach greetings and basic expressions in their native languages. The
key idea, however, is that they are explaining and asking questions in ENGLISH. Here are the procedures:
1. List basic greetings and expressions on the board.(Examples: Hello, hi, how are you?, excuse me, etc.)Illicit
other expressions from students which they'd like to learn. Make sure you have enough to last the entire
activity. They will teach and learn 3 expressions per group. (e.g. if you have 4 groups, you'll need 12
expressions)
2. Tell the students that they will be teaching each other, in English, how to write and say these expressions in
their native language.
3. Divide class into groups of 3 or 4. Each group should have a mixture of languages. In my class, I happened to
have 4 Spanish speakers, so I formed 4 groups and assigned only 1 Spanish speaker to each group. These
Spanish speakers became captains. In any classroom, the language that has the most number would produce
the captains.
4. Explain how the groups work. The captains sit on one side of the room and always stay seated. The other
members of the group stay seated during one rotation, during which they teach and learn about 3
expressions. Each rotation is about 15 minutes.
5. Pass out one sheet of large newsprint paper to each group. Have the students make a grid, so that the left
side lists the languages(e.g. Spanish, Korean, German) and the top part lists the expressions in English. They
will be writing expressions in their native languages and phonetic spellings if needed(e.g. "An-young" is "hi" in
Korean), under the correct heading.
5. In the next rotation, the members of each group except the captain move to another group. They teach and
learn 3 new expressions. The same procedure is repeated until the students have met with every group. They
get very excited about teaching what they know best and learning various expressions. It's a great exchange of
languages! I've put up the newsprint paper on the wall as a constant reminder of not only how to say
something in another language, but also the wonderful diversity we have in our classroom!
Kindergarten Ice Breaker - Physical Humour
I've found that the best ice breaker for kindergarten classes is a little bit of Three Stooges style physical
humour. Pretend you can't open the door when you arrive on the first day, trip over your chair, drop your
books and cards as often as possible, lose your marker in plain sight, bump your head on something...
The kids will go nuts with laughter, they will relax, and you'll have their undivided attention. I've successfully
used this in a class in Korea where 3/4's of the class burst into tears when I walked in for the first time. (They
had never seen a foreigner).
Kinesthetic alphabet
Teacher write alphabet on board or poster, high enough so everyone can see. Above each letter T writes
R(right), L(left) or B(both). Students stand up and face board.
1. Teacher reads alphabet. Students do appropriate actions: lift right hand, left hand or both hands.
2. Students read alphabet and do actions at the same time.
Kinesthetic verbs
1) Students stand in circle and walk in same direction. Teacher says verbs. If verb is regular, Students continue
walking. If verbs is irregular, Students change direction.
2) Students stand in circle. Teacher says verb. Students say the three parts of the verb and touch their heads,
shoulders and knees for the different parts. For example: see (see, saw, seen: head, shoulders, knees) or buy
(buy, bought, bought: head, shoulders, shoulders).
3) Teacher says a verb. Students do NOT say the three parts but just touch head, shoulders, knees as
appropriate.
King of the Hill
Students stand in a circle. First person says ‘I’m the King (or Queen) of the hill and everyone must copy me.
They then do an action e.g. jump up and down. Everyone in the circle repeats the action. Continue around the
circle.
Learning Student Names
This is an idea for the beginning of school especially helpful for new for teachers who may have trouble
learning new names. Put each student's name on a separate index card. Add info such as phonetic
pronunciation, gender, preferred nicknames. Use when calling on students. Shuffle the cards after each round
so students can't anticipate their names. Ask questions first, then say the name so all students listen to the
question. This is also very helpful in assuring that you call on all students equally, not just the "stars." It also
cuts down on the students who always want to be the one ones to answer first. You can use it as a way of
taking attendance without taking time for that task. Just eliminate the cards of those absent and log it after
class.
Letter Scramble
Prepare enough words for students to work in groups of 2-3. Write one letter of the word on each card and
scramble the letters. The students have 30 seconds to make the longest word they can with the letters
provided. For each letter in the longest word they get one point. They get five points if the use all the letters
to form a single word. Groups rotate around the room so they get a chance to try every word. The team with
the most points at the end wins.
Variations: Vary the length of the words and the time students are given to complete the activity. Or give
each student a letter and have him or her create a word with other students. Give points for numbers of
words, not letters.
Line ups
Students line up silently according to various topics: Hair length, height, birth month, driving time etc…
ESL variation: students may talk
Lining up in Alphabetical Order
Here’s a warm-up exercise to wake up a first or second class meeting. Have the students line up by
alphabetically order. DON'T help them. DON'T organize it. Have the students ask each other their names and
figure it out together. Then you check it. Write the names on the board. Round Two, line up by Last name,
alphabetically. Then Check. Other variations. Line up by Birthday, Language, Distance from School, Size of
family. Avoid obvious things like physical size, weight, hair color, etc..
M & M's to speak
Pass around a bowl of M & M's and let each student take only one - and ask them not to eat it. Then announce
that if they took a red one they have to say something about their family, a yellow one and they have to tell us
their hobbies, etc. I usually make each student speak for at least a minute. I use this breaker at the university
level and seems to be a hit.
Machines
Groups act out a known machine. Each group decides on a machine and acts it out. All group members must
participate. The other team then tries to guess what machine it is.
Variations: This can be done as either real or imaginary machines. Students can invent a machine and then
act it out. The machine also can be added to one person at a time (one person starts, the next person fits into
the machine wherever they want.
Note for an ESL class: Only do this activity with a class that has done theatre warm-ups before and are
comfortable with each other.
Map of the World
This is a good ice-breaker for the first or second day of classes. Materials needed are an inflatable globe blown
up, and dot stickers (available in stationary stores). Yellow is the most visible color. Students introduce
themselves and give their names to the class. Have students stand in a circle. Begin by throwing the globe ball
to someone else and have the student throwing say the name of the person who is to receive the ball.
(Teacher demonstrates first). If the student can't remember the intended receiver's name just ask the person
to repeat his or her name and then say the name and throw the globe. Do this until the names are somewhat
familiar then pick up the pace and throw faster. When all names are familiar to all, stop and ask the students
to take a yellow dot and place it on the glob on their hometown in their home country. (Don't put the dots on
before throwing or they will fall off.) Discussion/Q & A can follow depending on level about each student's
country, home town. Also, comparisons of who lives furthest from their US city, who lives closest, and
comparisons of US with student's own country. Good practice for contrasting asking another's name politely
and informally, comparative/superlative adjectives (further /furthest), reported speech relating to information
about students' countries could follow pair work exchange of information about individual countries.
Maze Craze
On the first day of class I like to have my students do a fun activity that allows them to get used to working
and speaking English in pair and group settings. This is a little activity that's a lot of fun.
First I find a relatively simple maze. Make sure that the maze is large with only a few turns. Before beginning
tell your students that you are going to give them a really difficult activity. Pass out the Mazes and have the
students complete the maze as quickly as possible. You may even make it a race. This should only take the
students a few seconds. After they finish ask them if it was difficult. They will probably be confused because
you told them earlier that this was a difficult activity.
Now the fun part. Give each student a new maze and assign partners. Tell one students to cover his eyes and
their partner must give them directions (in English) to get through the maze. I usually explain this to my
students and then with lower level classes we brainstorm some of the words and phrases they may need to
use. Then make a race of it as students try to navigate the maze.
As an additional activity when all the students have finished the mazes you can make a real life maze in your
classroom out of chairs or desks. Ask the students if they trust their partners. Then ask one student to wait
outside the room. Arrange the maze and then bring the student back in the class with his/her eyes closed.
His/her partner must give instructions on how to walk through the maze. This makes for a lot of laughs.
Me Bag
Good for true beginners - I use this the first day of my German classes. Students learn some basic vocabulary
for introductions, such as Hello, My name is, I come from, I like, I don't like, Thank you and Good-bye.
Their assignment for the next class is to bring in a small paper bag with 3 items that represent them. They
must be prepared to say hello to the class, introduce themselves & tell where they come from, and name the
three things they like, then say thank you and good-bye.
Variation: After saying the three things they like, they then describe what the item represents and tell the
class a little about the item. For example, a student brings in a picture of their dog and tells the class about it
in 2-3 sentences; or a baseball card and they explain that the Phillies are their favorite team; or a miniature
soccer ball represents their favorite sport. For ESL students, this provides good practice.
Meaningful Musical Chairs
A fun way for students to mingle and learn about each other the first day of class is to play this version of
musical chairs. Arrange chairs in scattered pairs, semi-facing each other. Play some upbeat music. Instruct the
students that they are to mingle around the room to the music. When the music stops they must find a chair.
Beforehand a poster has been displayed listing by number 12 topics for introductory discussion ie. Home life,
Jobs, Hobbies, Favorite person, Favorite food etc... Now, the teacher rolls the dice and whatever subject the
number corresponds to dictates what topic each pair will discuss (they must introduce themselves to their
partner before discussing ). When the music begins again they know to get up and mingle waiting for the
music to stop and the next round of discussion with someone new to begin.
Mime a Sentence
I give each person a sentence on a piece of paper. They mime it and make their partner say it.
Great practice for miming – good to help teachers practice using mime to clarify meaning.
Monkey See/Monkey Do
Students start in pairs and mimic each other’s actions (no talking). Repeat this exercise with bigger groups (ie
of 4 students). Then the students mirror each other’s words. One partner speaks while the other tries to
speak at exactly the same time (so by watching the speaker’s mouth the listener will have to anticipate what
they are saying). After doing this in pairs try in a small group, and then as a class.
Musical Chairs (Or Pieces of Paper)
Ask everybody to sit in a circle (or stand on a piece of paper in a circle). Take one chair or piece of paper away.
That person stands in the middle. Say, Everybody wearing glasses, change places. Everybody wearing glasses
finds a new chair/piece of paper. The person left in the middle starts with a new sentence – e.g., everyone
who is wearing jeans, change places, etc. Usually it’s good if the facilitator is the first person in the middle
and gives a couple of examples.
Very important: Make sure participants know that they need to be careful. People can get hurt playing this
game. Not appropriate in contexts where male/female touching is not appropriate.
My Dream is Like…
Teacher places a variety of objects on a table or floor. Students reflect on the objects and when they are
ready, pick up the object that represents their dreams. Each student tells why they chose the object and how
it is like their dreams (it can represent any part of their dreams). Teacher then has students journal for a few
minutes on how they are can reach this dream
ESL variation: Change topic (learning is like, my life is like, I like (object) because, the object reminds me
of…etc).
My Name on an Apple (Tell Me Your Name!)
Copy the students’ first names on 4x4 in. cardboard squares and place them on top of apples by toothpicks or
similar items (one apple per each student); Before that you might have a demo with your own name and
apple; then ask each student to come to the front, look for his/her name, tell him/her to pick up the apple
with his or her name and tell it to their classmates; He or she has to say the name aloud like this: “God
morning (afternoon or evening). My name is: _________and I am ______years old. Nice to meet you”. The
cards have two more questions on the back. Eventually, by going in turns in the seat rows, each student will
read the questions and provide the answers to the whole class. They could be for example: “What’s your
favorite music?”, “Do you have a pet”, “What kind of food do you like”, “Do you like to dance”, and so forth,
eliciting answers. The other students have to take notes about the answers to eventually reply questions from
the teacher or instructor. It’s a very nice “icebreaker” activity. Another variation could be having the students
pick up a card with “likely” adjectives about them. They have to call them out and reply if the are like that. For
example: “lazy”, “cordial”, “grumpy”, shy”, "vivacious", "timid", “talkative” “friendly”, "empathic", "extrovert"
"empathic”, “congenial”, “sincere”, “easygoing” synonyms and antonyms, and so forth. The teacher will
explain the basic meanings if the words are not familiar to the students. It’s a good activity to learn new
vocabulary. They have to ask the meaning each other or look for them on their dictionaries if unknown.
My Teacher Isn't a Robot!
Perhaps this is an activity you've known for a long time, but this is the way I do it in class, and I hope you like
it. It's the old "Getting to know your teacher" activity. Students feel curious about the teacher, and we're
always demanding information from them, but we never let them know anything about us, and believe it or
not, they tend to consider us some kind of robots, who are locked in a wardrobe after the class ends! Let them
realize you're a person and you have a life, and write on the blackboard your name, surrounded by words that
are answers to questions they should ask. Write obvious ones and difficult ones, for them in groups to think
hard and feel the challenge. I usually do it like this:
25 The Black Cat Eternal Myriam Green Norway Angel Sara 39 Spaghetti Beautiful 1
It seems easy, but can you guess everything? Well, 1 means 1 sister.
Myriam is my sister's name. that's easy. But what's 39? (I'm 26, by the way, and I represent my age!!) It's my
shoe size. Beautiful is my perfume, Green is a colour I hate.
My students had a good laugh! Don't be afraid to use personal info: they adore it. (of course without including
intimate details)
Have fun!
Names Out of a Hat
Have each student write their name. I then take off my baseball cap put all the names in the hat and have the
students pick out a name. Then I call on someone and have them assk the person next to them "are you
_____" .... usually one or two are lucky and the person next to them is the name they picked, but if it isn't I ask
them to go around the room and ask different People "are you_____," and they either say "yes I am" or "no I
am not, I am ______. This can also be used for higher levels.
Name Pantomime
Equipment: None
Time: ~10-15 minutes
Brief Description:
A physically and socially stimulating activity for dramatically introducing oneself and learning people's names

Participants stand in a circle, arms distance apart. Ask each person to think of a verb and action which
starts with the same letter as the person's first name e.g., "Jumping James".

The person does the action and yells out their action-name. Everyone then repeats the action and the
action-name.

This requires pretty high level of instructor energy and drama, people are pretty shy to start with.
Really encourage everyone to join in and say the name and action of everyone else.

To really drill names home, go around again, it should be faster and really get the blood moving.

For participants who say "I can't think of anything", I say "Keep thinking, we'll come back to you". If
they still don't come up with anything, I ask the group to help.
Note I don't allow duplicate verbs either - must use a unique verb.
Nazo's Musical Chairs
The whole class sits in a circle. If the class size is too big, then you can make two circles.
There is ONE student standing in the middle of the circle who doesn't sit on a chair. That student says one
sentence related to his/her life, family or hobbies. E.g., I have two brothers / I like chocolate a lot / I have a
boyfriend.
All the students in a circle who have two brothers have to exchange chairs with other students. SO the ones
who have two brothers stand up and find another empty chair to sit on. The one who is not able to find a chair
to sit on stays in the middle of the circle. This new person in the middle has to find a sentence related to
him/her.
Nazo's World
This icebreaker is designed to get to know the teacher.
1- The teacher draws a circle on the board and asks what it stands for. If students cannot guess, the Teacher
tells them that it is her/his world and writes MY WORLD on top of it.
2- Inside her/his world the t writes some keywords related to her/his world. E.g., 37 / 1987 / Lucky / Tom etc.
3- The students sit in groups of 3/4 and make their guesses, like 'You graduated in 1987' If the guess is correct,
the T puts a tick on the keyword.
New in Town
If you were going to advice someone who is moving to your home town, What would you tell the newcomer
about:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Places to visit/entertainment
Areas to live
Places to go shopping
Good schools to attend
Sports facilities in your town
Make 5 groups and give the same color card to each member of the same group. Each group discusses one of
the above questions. When done, regroup. A person of each group joins a new group. Each person reports
findings to the new group.
Each group will write a letter to the newcomer as if the newcomer was: 10, 20, 30, 50, 70 years old. The group
can type or handwrite the letter. At the end each group reports to the whole class.
Numbers on a Piece of Paper
Ask Ps to think of three numbers that are important to them (e.g., phone number, number of children, date of
birth, apartment number, number of years they have lived in Amman, etc). Write 3 numbers on the board and
invite Ps to guess with questions like this, “is it your phone number?”, “is it your husband’s birthday?” etc.
You can only say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. After they get the idea, ask them to do it in pairs.
Simple, easy, personal and communicative. Good for practicing numbers and expressions related to personal
information, e.g. Date of birth, phone number, apartment number, etc.
Opinion Continuum Line Ups
Teacher writes two polarized opinions related to the topic and draws a line between them that is several feet
long on the board. (If there isn’t room on the board, hang up small posters with the opinions far apart on the
wall.)



I agree completely -----I disagree completely,
It’s very important ----- It’s very unimportant.
They are my favorite ---- I hate them.
Learners place themselves on the line to indicate their opinion.
Opinion Speech Bubbles
Draw several faces with different emotions on them – happy looking, confused looking, bored looking,
interested looking. (Don’t label them, and don’t worry if they aren’t great drawings or don’t clearly relate to
one emotion.)
Hang the pictures on the board and hand out cut up speech bubbles to the Learners. Learners write their
reaction to the topic and hang their speech bubble next to the appropriate face. Teacher leads a discussion of
the reactions to find out what the group’s experience is and needs are.
Paired Sharing
A great way to get people talking comfortably to people they don’t know or to raise the level of engagement
within a group that does know each other.
Supplies: None.
Number of people: Works well in small or large groups (12-100).
Directions: Ask participants to stand up, move about the room (don’t just turn to the person next to them),
and find a partner who they don’t know or who they know the least of anyone else in the room. Once
everyone is in pairs (if you have an odd number, one group can be a threesome), the facilitator says: “You will
have two minutes to discuss the following topic with your partner...”
Ideas for discussion:




Find three things you and your partner have in common.
Describe for your partner the first job you ever held.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
What are your most favorite and least favorite things about (working for this organization, etc.)?
At the end of two minutes, the facilitator gets the group’s attention and may invite participants to share what
they talked about with their partners. Participants are then instructed to find a new partner and told they will
be given a new topic. This cycle can be repeated two or three times.
People Bingo
This is a really easy first day activity. First of all using the same outline as you would a normal bingo sheet, fill
in each block with questions. For example, find someone who has a brother or a sister, find someone who can
play the piano, find someone who is crazy about chocolate, find someone who is head over heels in love with
brad pitt. You can base your questions on students’ levels. All students receive the bingo sheet with the find
someone who blocks, and they must go around the class and fill in the entire sheet with different people’s
names. It is a great way for students to ask each other questions. Whoever fills out the bingo sheet first yells
bingo. Michelle Lalande ILSC Montreal Canada
People Map
Equipment: None
Time: ~10 mins
Brief description:
Create a human map to show where people consider their home. Indicate North, East, South & West, then
allow participants to position themselves to create a map

An interesting way for people to get to know one another is to learn about the geographical
distribution of where people come from.

Ask participants to create a human map, by standing to indicate where they consider home. Indicate
North, East, South & West, then allow participants to position themselves to create a map.

Ask the person who is the furthest what their name is and where they come from. Proceed to ask each
major cluster where they come from. In this process, participants may refine or improve their map.

Optional: To extend the activity, ask participants to create a human map to show: where their
mother/father was born, where they would ideally like to live, etc.
Picking Pictures
This is a good first day activity if you have a bunch of simple pictures on file, as many ESL teachers do. After
each student has told the class a few things about himself/herself, have him or her choose a picture from an
assortment of 15-20 pictures. The class has 3-5 guesses to try to figure out why the person chose the picture.
If no one guesses correctly, then the student explains it. Some pictures I've used with this: a car, a ring, a TV, a
baby, a bird... It's fine for the pictures to be simple because they will add more personalized meanings to it.
Pictionary
Give each person on each team a word. Each person in turn has 30 seconds to draw a picture to elicit it. If
their team can’t guess in 30 seconds, the other side has ten seconds to guess. The team that guesses correctly
gets a point.
Useful to help students understand that they don’t need to be great artists when they draw pictures to clarify
meanings.
ESL variations: This can be adapted to all levels. It’s a good tool to practice vocabulary words. Can also use
phrases instead of words (common sayings like “the grass is always greener on the other side” makes it more
challenging). Note: mini-dry erase boards work well for this activity.
Portrait Gallery in Class
I learnt this activity in a course for adults, but I've tried it with all levels and age students and it works as well.
Give the students a piece of paper and colour crayons. Ask them to draw a self-portrait -better faces only- on
it in a freestyle way. Tell them that it is not necessary to get perfect ones: they can be cartoon-like, humorous,
caricatures or very simple ones. They have to reflect the way they think they are. Don't write names!
They will add three things they like and three things they don't in both sides of their portrait, for example,
drawing the words "likes" and "dislikes" an write the things below each one. Finally, they can decorate it as
they like.
When the task is finished, the teacher sticks each portrait on the classroom wall.
The students can walk around admiring the portraits and guessing who is who. The teacher can help to start
conversations commenting their likes and dislikes, looking for coincidences or contrasts, for instance "Ana and
Elena like spiders, Why? Luis likes chocolate, but Susana doesn't. Can both of you explain why?
I usually keep the portraits on the wall for a long time. The students ask me to do it!
Poster for Small Talk
Living in Japan my one of my big problems is getting students to talk to each other rather than to the teacher.
Things here tend to be rather teacher centered. I found one way to do it. I made a poster with common small
talk questions on it. Things like "How was work today?" or "Did you have a good day at school?". At the start
of each class I just pointed at the poster and left the room for 5 minutes. I stayed in the doorway to listened
and the results were just what I was looking for. After about a week of not really knowing what to do the
students started to have really good chats. I gave them a month to get used to the idea and then told them
that they had to do it before class. I know have students who are chatting in English on the elevator on the
way to class. That's something I never thought I'd see in my classes here.
Prediction
Inspired by 'Crystal Ball Prediction'
Supply students with a list of topics to ask each other about (i.e. name, pets, hobbies, favorite food). Pair
students up. S1, ‘subject’-student, stays absolutely silent as S2 asks S1 questions. S3 answers all the questions.
After S2 has asked all the questions and S3 has answered, S1 shares their true answers with the class. This can
repeated as need be.
Psychiatrist
This is a good icebreaker for teenagers, and it often results in talking and giggling. To start, you choose a
"psychiatrist" and send them out of the room. Then, the group has to quickly think up something that is wrong
with them. For example, their left eye twitches whenever they are spoken to. Be creative. Next, you bring in
your psychiatrist, and he has to walk around the room asking his patients questions about the problem. While
he is doing this, the class has to continue their "problem" until he figures it out. It may take a while (and it can
get really funny if it does) or just a short amount of time, but once your psychiatrist figures it out it always
results in a much more relaxed class. If you want to play more, the psychiatrist gets to choose who gets to go
next. You can play this as many times as you want, just be creative in what you think up!
Putting Pieces Together
This activity is fun and works for all ages!
Objective: To "break the ice"
To encourage working as a group
To encourage natural conversation
Procedure: Cut one large square(about 8 in. x 8 in.) out of colored cardboard for each student. Cut each
square into 8 smaller pieces of various shapes (rectangles, triangles, pentagons, etc.) Each square should be
unique. Divide the class into groups of 5 and give each group the scrambled pieces for 5 of the squares. Each
member of the group must be given 8 pieces. Their job is to put the squares together again without talking.
Students cannot ask for someone else's piece. They can only take another student's piece without asking and
give that student one of theirs. Students continue giving and taking pieces until everyone in the group has
made a square. This should take about 5-10 minutes. When they finish they can talk about what they just did.
And they will have a lot to say! If the activity is successful and moving along quickly enough, have groups swap
squares and repeat.
Questions on a Piece of Paper
Everyone gets a question on a piece of paper. Student A asks the question. Student B answers the question.
A and B exchange question papers and repeat with a new partner.
Questions can be about almost anything and can be used to practice vocabulary, grammar or to get a
conversation going about culture, teaching, etc. A good way to activate participants’ knowledge of something.
Quick Write
Teacher dictates the beginning of a sentence that reviews something the class has studied: e.g.


It’s important for a laborer to keep their back healthy because…
Before entering a confined space, it is important to…
Learners continue the sentence and write for a designated time period without lifting the pen from the paper.
Option: If they can’t think of what to write they can just write, I don’t know what to write until an idea comes.
When they finish a small group or partners read theirs to each other.
Option: Larger groups (4-5) could choose one to share with the group and another student or the one who
wrote could read it.
Quiz Program
This one worked well with my basic class of 4 students. First, you give them a list of 5 categories or so. I chose
First Pet, Favorite vacation, Favorite book, Silliest mistake in college, Oldest Friend. You ask each student to
circle the category they want someone to interview them about.
Next, you pair off the teams, one person is the interviewer and one is the interviewee. The interviewer asks as
much and the interviewee gives as much information on the subject as they can in 15 minutes. (It's about the
interviewee's first pet, or other category).
After time is up, the two people in the other group now interrogate the interviewer. He or she must answer all
their questions about the subject correctly, even guessing if needed. There is a competition - who will get the
first 10 points? One point goes to the interrogators if they can stump the interviewer. Vice versa if the
interviewer gets the answer right. The interviewee is the judge.
Sounds complicated, so the best thing to do is write the instructions on a sheet and give it to all members,
then go over the instructions yourself with them.
It's a lot of fun and can fill over an hour of class time with lots of talk and thinking in English!
Reflecting
Inspired by 'What made you smile?'
Enter the class with a gigantic smile (just like you normally do). Ask the students what they think made you
smile. After they answer, tell them something specific that made you smile and elaborate on it for a short
stint.
Get the students to think about what has made them smile today. Pair them up and have S1 speculate about
what has made S2 smile. After S1 is finished, S2 gives his/her answer. Switch the roles and have them do the
same thing again so that each has a chance to speculate and to share the truth.
Say Goodbye
This icebreaker is an amusing way to start off your semester.
1. Instead of doing something really predictable, such as having students stand up and introduce themselves,
tell them to imagine that this is the last class period, and they should stand up and pretend that they are
saying farewell. If the students seem reluctant, help them with a few useful phrases such as "I'm going to miss
you!" or "Promise me you'll stay in touch." Then have them mingle and say goodbye to at least three people.
2. Then tell them to sit down and write the three things they liked the most about this term. After they're
finished writing, you can ask students to volunteer what they wrote and make a list on the board.
Rationale: This ice breaker helps reduce first day tension, and helps students to think ahead to what they
hope to get out of the class.
Sculpting Idioms
Students work in partners or small groups. Each group is given a small amount of Crayola Model Magic Clay
(of several colors) and a list of a few common idioms (i.e. couch potato, ice breakers, on the tip of your
tongue, etc…). Each group sculpts the idiom of their choice (if time, they can do more than one). After groups
are done sculpting then the class can walk over and see each other’s sculptures and try and guess the idiom.
Variations: Can use verbs or other vocab instead of idioms
Seven Up
Group makes a circle. People start counting in turn. When you put your hand on your stomach to the left, the
person to your left says the next number. When you put your hand on your stomach to the right, the person
to your right says the next number. When you say ‘seven’, you put your hand on your head. If you make a
mistake, you drop out of the circle and the game continues until there are only two people left.
Good for practicing numbers.
Signature Game
A fun, no-physical-impact activity that gets people out of their chairs and talking to other people in the room.
Supplies: A pencil and a piece of paper, note card, or something to write on.
Number of People: This activity works well with slightly larger groups (30-100).
Directions: On a flip-chart at the front of the room, the facilitator makes a list of five categories. These
categories can be things like —
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
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Someone with an exotic pet
Someone who’s been on TV
Someone who has five or more siblings
Someone who’s been in trouble with “the law”
Someone who’s run a marathon
Someone who can wiggle their ears
Each participant is given pencil and paper and asked to make five lines across their paper, one under the
other.
Facilitator says the following: “Please draw five lines on your paper with enough room on each to have
someone sign their name. In just a moment, I am going to turn over a list of categories. Your job, in the next
five minutes, is to move around the room and obtain the signatures of a person who fits each category. Please
sit down once you have obtained all five signatures, so I’ll know when you’re done. And have fun with this. It’s
a great opportunity to talk to other people. And, by the way, categories can be broadly defined, so don’t worry
about being too exact. If you were on TV when you were five as part of Captain Kangaroo — well, that counts.
Everybody stand up. Go.”
At the end of five minutes, when people look like they’re getting close, ask them to sit down. Then take a few
minutes and see what the group found. For example, “Who did you find that has an exotic pet? Jerry. Great.
Jerry, tell us about your iguana.” Run through all five categories. At the end, ask people to give themselves a
hand.
Slip Exchange
Materials: Cut up slips of paper so that each Student will have one. Write on each, a question using lexis or
grammar or asking about material that you just covered as a review. Option: Make half the slips one color of
paper and the other another color. Write one question on two slips of different colors.
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

Students pick a slip from a bag.
Students mingle and read their question to a partner. The partner answers. (Option: If there is a
correct question the teacher could write it on the paper so the Students get feedback on their
performance.)
The other Student reads and first one answers.
The Students exchange slips and find new partners.
If colored slips are used for half the class, the Students can only talk to someone with the same color
slip that they have.)
Variation: The Students make the questions on slips of paper – could be in class one day and the Teacher
checks and hands them out the next day (no names on the slips).
Snowballs!
This is a fun way to get students relaxed while at the same time getting to know the students a little better. It
also helps show them that learning (as they'll be learning about each other in this activity) can be lots of fun.
And it's really easy:
1) Have the students write down at least 3 facts about themselves (or as many as you want to have them write
down).
2) Instruct the students to crumple up the papers on which they have just written their facts on each other.
3) Then shock them by telling them that now, they get to have a one minute 'snowball' fight and let them
stand up and throw the crumpled fact papers at each other for a minute.
4) At the end of the minute, students grab whichever snowball is closest to them. Reconvene the class and
then you can either:
a) Have the students read the facts on the snowball they have and have to guess which student in the class the
snowball belongs to
b) Or have the students read aloud the facts on the snowball they have and whoever wrote those facts has to
tell the class it's theirs, rather than having the students guess.
I've used this game as an ice breaker for 11th and 12th graders and they LOVE it because it's so completely
different from what a teacher
Spelling Race
Divide the class into two teams: say a word and the first person in each team has to write the word on the
board. Continue saying words. The next person in the team has to write the word on the board. The winning
team is the team that spells the most words correctly.
You can also say a verb and they have to write the past tense, or an adjective and they have to write the
opposite, or a picture and they have to write the name. Good for reviewing language teaching terminology
too.
Story of My Name
Equipment: None
Time: ~30 mins
Brief description:
Where does your name come from? Share the story of where your name comes from and what your name
means. Everyone's name has a surprisingly interesting origin. Helps to build intercultural respect and
understanding.
What's in a name? More than we often realize. This is an interesting, novel way for people to introduce
themselves to others, especially in ethnically diverse groups. Ensure that an appropriate group atmosphere is
established in which people have already done some initial warm-up activities and name games.

Ask participants to turn to a partner and explain what your name means (if anything) and where it
comes from.

Most people reveal a surprising amount of interesting information about where their name comes
from and what it means.

The greater the ethnic and cultural diversity in the group, the better this exercise tends to work.

Can be specifically used to help build intercultural respect and understanding or to more generally help
develop self-identity and open respect and sharing.

Optional: Ask each person to introduce his/her partner to the larger group and to explain what his/her
name means and where it comes from.

Optional: The activity can be extended into revealing the background behind other names e.g.,
o
Nicknames, Pets, Alter-ego or "fantasy name," names of children - or what would you name
your children if you have them?
Stretching Exercises
Each participant (or the trainer or one volunteer) leads the group in stretches.
Option: Play upbeat music that the group is likely to enjoy.
Student Interviews
Instead of starting a class with all the students standing up and talking about themselves, which can be scary
to some. Have the students pair up and interview each other and introduce each other to the class as, "This is
my friend, Dave Sperling, he lives in California, etc...". Simple enough, but the variations are really fun. Have
the students interview each other and explain to the class the following topics: Their day, Their favorite book
and magazine and why, Their favorite food, a memorable vacation, etc... My favorite variation? With an
advanced class I tricked them with a simple topic to interview, but when it was time to deliver, I instructed
them to FABRICATE fantastic stories about how they met their dear friend. Give a prize to the most
outrageous. My favorite? "I met my dear friend were all true friendships are formed...in prison!".
Stuffed Globe
I have a stuffed globe that I got at an educational store. It's about the size of a regular globe, only it's stuffed
like a teddy bear. On the first day of class, I bring the globe in along with some colored map/common pins. I
pass the globe around the class and ask students to introduce themselves: a) what's their name b) what
country are they from c) what is their first language. As they introduce themselves, they mark their country
with a colored pin from the box of pins, then pass the globe and the box of pins to their neighbor. I model the
exercise. Note that I model the exercise first by introducing myself and marking my country - then I pass the
globe to a first student. After the last person has introduced themselves, I write on the board the number of
people from each country represented. We also, as a class, group the countries by continents. Finally, the
globe makes its way around the room one more time, pins and all, so that everyone can get an overall sense of
where everyone is from. It's a fun introduction.
Talk to Me... This Way
This is a good activity to start the class. Before getting started, write sentences on a post-it paper, like: "Ask
me questions", "Laugh at me" "Be angry at me", “Disagree with me,” "Ignore me, etc. according to the number
of students you´ve got. Stick the paper to the student's back, so he can't see what is written. They must stand
up and go around the class and talk in pairs. They must act according to what's written on their partner's back.
If it's Tell me lies, they are supposed to tell lies.
The teacher can choose topics for them to talk like holidays, dates, pets, etc. They need to change partners
many times. At the end they are supposed to tell how people acted while talking to them to see if they can
guess what's written.
Talking Zone
To get students to talk during the first few days is far from easy. At a later stage, the really difficult thing is to
keep them quiet! :) Anyway, let´s begin at the beginning...This teaching activity revolves around four major
topics: a) The Home, b) School Life, c) Jobs and d) Spare Time. By answering a few simple questions and
carrying out some easy tasks, students will get to know one another in a comfortable and co-operative
environment. There is something for everyone and -hopefully- all of the students will have something to say.
Just ask your students to say a number between 1 and 40 and read the corresponding question. Do not ask for
perfection right now. Building up everybody´s self-confidence is much more important -and will prove more
useful in the long run- so make sure that everybody joins in the talking.
A) The Home
1) Design the ideal home. Tell your classmates
about it.
2) Describe your bedroom. Your classmates should
be able to produce
a detailed plan of the place, according to your
description.
3) You have won 25,000 dollars in the lottery. How
would you
redecorate your living-room?
4) In groups, design the house of the future. Show
the results on a
poster.
5) Draw a plan of your neighbourhood, show where
your house is and
explain how you go to the following places: a) the
baker´s, b) the
supermarket and c) your favourite disco or pub.
6) Compose an advertisement to sell your house.
7) Give 3 reasons why you like/dislike your house.
8) Write a story about a house. Use between 120
and 150 words.
9) Would you rather rent a house or buy one?
Discuss.
10) Write a list of the housework to be done in a
house. Say who does
each thing at your place.
B) School Life
11) In pairs, list the qualities of the perfect teacher.
12) Say what your favourite school subjects are.
Give reasons.
13) Are you a "good" student? Explain why/why
not.
14) Design a suitable timetable for your class. Show
it to your
classmates.
15) Homework is necessary. Discuss.
16) Plan the activities for a special "Cultural Events
Week" at your
school.
17) Suggest an itinerary for an end-of-term trip.
18) Devise a short English exam. Try it and see
what happens!
19) Tell your classmates a funny story/situation
that has taken place
in your school.
20) Imagine what a small child would write about
his/her first day at
school.
may only answer "Yes" or "No". Can they guess the
job you are
thinking about?
C) Jobs
31) Summarize the plot of a book you have
enjoyed. Can your
classmates guess its title?
32) Tell the class about the worst TV program you
have ever seen.
33) Are you sports-mad? Briefly describe the rules
of your favourite
sport.
34) If you could travel round the world, what
countries would you
visit?
35) Write a short paragraph about your favourite
singer/band. Use
about 70 words.
36) Tell your classmates about the (computer)
game you like best.
37) Do you like reading comics? Which are your
favourites? Why?
38) Think about your favourite radio program. Tell
your neighbour,
adding reasons why you think s/he should listen to
it.
39) In groups, make a poster about your favourite
singer/band.
40) Write the titles of the 4 best films you have
ever seen.
21) Write a short paragraph about your
present/past/future job. Read
it out and aloud.
22) Tell your students 5 things you would do if you
were not forced to
work..
23) Write a list of 10 machines/devices that make
peoples´s work
easier these days.
24) Tell your classmates about one job you would
NOT like to do.
Explain your choice.
25) Would you work if you were a millionaire?
26) Think of 3 people you admire because of their
jobs.
27) Would you like to be a
policeman/policewoman? Why? Why not?
28) Many people have not got a job. Suggest some
solutions to the
problem.
29) Think of one job. Let your classmates ask you
questions about it
(ie "Do you work indoors?", "Is your job
interesting?" etc.) You
30) How many different jobs can you name in 1
minute?
D) Spare Time
Taboo
The task is to explain the words in bold without using the numbered words.
Helmet
Basketball
1. Head
2. Hat
3. Protect
Pen
1. Hold
2. Write
3. Fingers
Photocopier
1. Machine
2. Print
3. Paper
1. Ball
2. Hands
3. Game
Phone
1. Call
2. Ring
3. Talk
Chicken
1. Eat
2. Meat
3. Bird
Apartment
1. Live
2. House
3. Building
Mouse
1. Small
2. Animal
3. Cheese
Camera
1. Picture
2. Photograph
3. Machine
Scissors
1. Hold
2. Cut
3. Paper
Teacher Photos
Students are usually very interested in the life of their teacher. A good way to share information about
yourself is to bring your photo albums into class. I keep my photos in a binder so that the pages are easily
removed (number them first). I let each student choose a photo. They then think of three questions to ask
about each photo. I give them the answers and pair them up. They then tell their partner about the photo and
exchange photos. They then change partners and share the information they learned about the new photo.
You can change partners several times. It's fun to ask questions about the photos at the end of the session
because sometimes the information the last student has is different from the information you gave out. This is
a great way for students to learn about your family and experiences, even if your photos do take a beating.
Team Mapping
In an open area designate the boundaries a continent you happen to be on. For example, Bangalore City is
next to the tree on the right. Mysore City is 15 feet away by the rock on the left. Kuala Lumpur is several more
feet past the rock and Paris is a few feet beyond the tree, but not too many because you want people to be
able to hear each other. If you are training indoors write BANALORE on one piece of paper, MYSORE on
another, and put them on the floor 20 feet apart.
After you have pointed out the boundaries ask the participants to:
Go to the place that represents the location where you had your most memorable meal (best, worst, or most
exotic).
As people rearrange themselves make sure no one goes so far away that they are out of earshot. When the
traffic stops have people report where they were and what they had to eat. You will get some interesting
stories and obviously this is a good activity to use just before lunch.
After you hear from everyone (or some people if the group is large) pose one or two more topics. Dream up
anything that is pertinent to your group. It is best to start with less serious subjects such as a memorable meal
before you ask more thoughtful questions.
Three Things I Know
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
Learners write three things they know about the topic you will study today – or that you studied
yesterday.
Learners stand up and mingle. Optionally music can be played that they are likely to enjoy – quiet or
upbeat.
They tell one to one person and listen to one from one person. Then they change partners and tell the
next thing they know. If they have time to finish all three they start again and continue until time is up.
This Gets Everyone Laughing!!
I don’t know how many of you know how to blow up balloons and make shapes of dogs, cats etc etc with them
but there are ways to learn it fast with pumps.
I have found that if I give everyone in class a balloon and have them try to blow it up(99% of the world cannot)
it is just a great way to break the ice.
The balloons I use are designed for making shapes. Not just your everyday simple balloon. Try looking for
Qualatex balloons on google.
Three Things in Common
This activity is for the first day of class with students who don't know each other. It requires no preparation.
The students must ask each other questions until they find three things that they have in common. They must
be things that are not obvious. For example, they can't say we both have black hair. It is easy to model the
activity interviewing a student until you find three things that they have in common with you. Maybe choose a
student you already know for this so you don't have to spend too long. Students can repeat this several times
and then report back their findings to partners or the class.
Toilet Paper Alternative
For those who would like to try the toilet paper fiasco, but would like to limit the toilet humor in the
classroom, try this alternative: instead of asking the students to take sheets from a roll of toilet paper, pass
around a bowl of small candies such as M&M's and ask the students to take as many as they would like, but
not to eat them yet. Then ask each student to say something about themselves in English for every piece of
candy that they have taken.
Twister Game
(Great for big groups of people)
This game is best to be played in a large group. Divide the people into groups of 3. However, 1 or 2 people
must not be in a group, they are the extras. In each group, 2 persons will stand and face each other while
holding each other hands. The 3rd person in the group will squat/kneel in between the 2 person. So basically
the 2 persons who're standing up are called the "House", while the person kneeling in between is a "Human".
The host of the game can shout either 1 of the 3 commands at 1 time:
1.)Fire: Fire burns down the houses. so people who are the "house" must change partners to form new
"houses", they cannot remain to be a "house with their existing partners. The people who are "human" must
not move, they must remain in their existing place so that the people who are the "houses" can form "houses"
over them.
2.)Flood: Flood causes humans to drown. Therefore, the "human" must change to other "houses", they cannot
remain in the same existing "house". The people who are the "houses" do not move this time.
3.)Twister: Everybody have to change their position. For the people who the "house", they can either change
partners, or they can kneel down to become "humans" themselves. For the people who are the "human", they
can either change to other "houses", or they can stand up and partner with someone to become a "house".
When the host shouts either 1 of the command, the 1 or 2 people who the extras must move quickly so that
they can compete with the original players by partnering up with someone to become "houses", or by
becoming "humans" and occupy the "houses". As a result, there will be either 1 or 2 people to be left out
every time the host shouts a command. The host should take note of the people who are left out each time
he/she shouts a new command. The person who is being left out the most number of times will be punished.
PS: To enhance the excitement, the host shouldn't wait too long to shout another new command. Besides, the
host can shout 2 or 3 new command continuously so that players will feel extra nervous when they're
changing their position.
Two Lines
Two lines facing each other. Give them a question, they talk about it for a minute or two, then you ask them
to change partners. Change the question too.
Too many variations to list. Great for synthesis at the end of the day.
Two Truths and a Lie
Students tell two truths and one lie about themselves (in random order). The rest of the class guesses which
of the three statements is false.
ESL variation: For beginners can do two likes and one dislike. (i.e. Say three “I like” statements, but one of
them you actually dislike.)
Verbal Tennis
Students stand opposite their partner. Teacher gives students a task (eg. say the alphabet, days of the week,
numbers 1-20, months of the year backwards). Students have to say the days of the week as quickly as
possible, taking turns to speak (eg. SA: A, SB: B, SA: C etc.) First pair to finish puts their hands up.
Wampum
What: A classic activity designed to enable participants to learn the names of all group members.
Group Size: 8-10 per small group; as many small groups as required.
Time: 5-10 minutes per round; 2-3 rounds as appropriate for larger groups.
Props: one foam noodle (the kind found in the swimming section at major retailers) per small group.
Instructions:
For each small group, all participants form a circle seated on the ground with their feet extending into the
middle. One person (you if there is only one small group) stands in the middle of the outstretched legs and
feet with the noodle in hand. Explain as follows: "The object of this activity is to NOT be in my shoes; you want
to stay seated in the circle as long as you can. When we start, one person in the seated circle will start the
activity by saying the name of someone else in the circle. Can we have a volunteer? Thank you, Sue."
"Now once Sue calls the second person's name, I am going to try to tap the feet of that person (the one who's
name was called out) before he can say the name of someone else. If I tap him first, i.e., before he can say
someone else's name, then he will take my place in the circle, I will sit down, and I will start the process again
by calling out someone else's name."
"If, on the other hand, he manages to successfully say another person's name before I tap him, then I will try
to tap the person he called out before he or she can someone else's name. Is everyone clear? To repeat, your
goal is to say someone else's name before I tap you. Are we ready? Start us off, Sue."
Facilitator Notes:
1. Expect lots of laughter!
2. The game may be played seated in chairs if participants are uncomfortable sitting on the ground.
Revise the rule so that the person in the middle taps the knees of people in the circle.
3. It is perfectly OK for someone in the circle to call out the name of the person who just called him. (In
fact, it is good strategy.)
4. If you have several small groups, begin play and continue until laughter dies down, usually around five
minutes. Then designate individuals in each small group to move to a new group and begin again.
5. Finish the process by seeing if there is anyone in the group that can name everyone else. Applaud all
attempts!
What are You Doing?/What-ya Do’n?
Students stand in a semi-circle with space for a stage. Student 1 acts out a small scene (i.e. kicking a soccer
ball) then Student 2 asks “What-ya do’n?” and Student 1 response with something different than his actions
(i.e. I am pulling shark teeth). Student 2 then acts out what Student 1 says until Student 3 asks “What-ya
do’n?” and the process continues throughout the semi-circle.
Example: I mime brushing my hair. You ask what I’m doing. I say I’m cleaning my teeth. You mime cleaning
your teeth. I ask what you’re doing. You say you’re reading a book. I mime reading a book, etc.
Action verbs. Lots of fun.
Should be modeled clearly rather than explained.
What’s My Job?
I mime my job, you ask questions to find out what it is. I can only say yes or no.
Your Nose on Red
Teacher says, “Put your nose on red”, participants touch their nose to something red. Teacher says, “Put your
foot on blue”, “Put your elbow on green”, etc.
Good to practice body parts, colors, classroom objects, clothes, etc.
Zip Zap Zoom
Students stand in a circle. Teacher tells Students he/she has the miraculous power to send electricity through
their hands. T demonstrates. Can send electricity to person on left by making eye contact, pointing to the left
with right hand and saying ‘zip’. Can send electric current to person on their right by making eye contact,
pointing to the right with their left hand and saying ‘zap’. Can send electricity across the circle by making eye
contact with anyone in the circle and pointing with both hands and saying ‘zoom’.
With contributions from:
Maria Teresa Aranda, Kate Cook, Ruth Goode, Andriy Ruzhynskiy, Mary Scholl, Dawn Wink, Kristen Walls and many
others names within the document and contributed anonymously.