National
School
Reform
Faculty
Harmony
Education
Center
www.nsrfharmony.org
IceBreakersandWarm-Ups
SharedattheJune2000NSRFNationalFacilitatorsMeeting
Thefollowingexercisesdesignedtohelppeoplegettoknowoneanother.
1. IfyouweretowriteyourAutobiography,whatwouldthetitlebeandwhy.
2. Writeontheinsideofyourtentcard(tablenamecard)afactaboutyourselfthatnoonewouldbe
likelytoguess.Readthemoutloud.Givespeopleahook.(i.e.,“Faith,whoraisessheep.”)
3. Drawapicturethatdescribeswhoyouare--canbesymbols,colors,youdoingsomething...
4 Createaflower.Eachpersonputsonepetalontheflower,onwhichiswrittensomethingimportant
aboutthem.Ifwecanfindsomethingweallhaveincommonweputitinthecenter.
5. HumanScavengerHunt,whereyoufindthingsinterestingabouteachpersonfromalistthatmight
beworkrelatedornot.Itemslike,findsomeonewhohascoachedaCFGalready,someonewhohas
taughtinanothercountry,someonewhohascreatedaportfoliothatworks...Peoplesharewhothey
foundinthewholegroup.
6. Peopleateachtablefindfourthingstheyhaveincommonandsharewiththelargegroupasan
introduction.Can’tbeanythingabouteducation.(Atonetable,allhadanUncleHarrytheydidn’t
like).
7. Peoplepostoneclueaboutthemselves(withnoname)onabulletinboard.Laterintheday,add
anothercluebesidethefirstclue(moreifthereistime)andpeopleguessidentitiesfromthecluesat
theendoftheday.Peoplemakeassumptionsandthentheyfindthatit’sveryrevealingandfun.
8. Postcardsfromtheedge.Bringacollectionofwildpostcardsandhandthemout.Eachpersonfinds
somethinginthepostcardthatrelatestotheirexperienceasateacherorprincipalandsharesthat
withthegroup.
9. Giveoutpenniesandlookatthedates.Goaroundtheroomandsharesomethingthatoccurredfor
youintheyearofthepenny.Itcanbesomethingaboutyoureducation(asachild,ateachersetc.)orit
canbejustaboutlife.You’llneedagoodcollectionofpennieswithvarieddates.
10.Skittles.Peoplegrabone,thereisaguidebycolor:Yellow,somethingyou’redoingthissummer;
green,somethingaboutwork;red,anadventureyou’vehadineducation,etc.Whateveryouwantfor
categories.
ProtocolsaremostpowerfulandeffectivewhenusedwithinanongoingprofessionallearningcommunitysuchasaCriticalFriendsGroup®andfacilitated
byaskilledcoach.Tolearnmoreaboutprofessionallearningcommunitiesandseminarsforneworexperiencedcoaches,pleasevisittheNationalSchool
ReformFacultywebsiteatwww.nsrfharmony.org.
11.North,South,East,West.Itestablishesstrengths:North:doitnow(action);West:organizational
(structure);East:vision(meaning);South:feelings(caring).SeedirectionsinalmostanyCFGhandout
collection.
12.Gingerbreadpeople.HandoutGingerbreadpeople,whohaveaquestiononeachoftheirbodyparts:
whatgivesyouindigestion(stomach),whatdrivesyoucrazy(head),whatyoulove(heart),whatyou
bring(oneleg),whatyouwanttoletgoof,(hand)whatyouwanttotakeaway.Eachpersontakesa
turnintroducingthemselvesandansweringthequestions.Theycanwritetheminandpostthemall,
withtheirnamesontheGingerbreadpeople.
13.Drawyourschool-eitherapictureorafloorplan,showchallenges,strengths-personalizeschoolby
whatyouthinkmakesitspecial.Sharepictures.
14.Writedownpowerfullearningexperiencesfromwhenyouwereage10to13.Sharethem.
15.Lineupinbirthorderandshareschoolinginsmallgroupsthatbreakuproughlybygenerationsor
clustersofyearsandshareout.
16.Movietitlesthatdescribeyourschoolexperienceandwhy.
17.Changestyleindicatorandscoreyourself,validateConservers,Validators,andInitiatorsofChange,
Pragmatist.(You’llneedthedirectionstodothis)
18.ReadAlexander’sHorribleRottenDay(children’sbook)aloud,thenaskpeopletosharetheirBad
morningexperiences.
19.Twotruthsandalie:yousharetwothingsthataretrueandonelieaboutyourself(asaneducatorora
person-decideonone)andthegrouptriestoguesswhichoneisthelie.“Whatyouwouldliketobe
true?”isthefollowupquestion.
ProtocolsaremostpowerfulandeffectivewhenusedwithinanongoingprofessionallearningcommunitysuchasaCriticalFriendsGroup®andfacilitated
byaskilledcoach.Tolearnmoreaboutprofessionallearningcommunitiesandseminarsforneworexperiencedcoaches,pleasevisittheNationalSchool
ReformFacultywebsiteatwww.nsrfharmony.org.