Paperball+fights

If you want a fun ice breaker that is good with almost any age group, then use paperball fights.


 * __Original__** - If it is the beginning of the semester/year and the students don't know each other, have them write down two to three things about themselves that they would like their peers to know.
 * Examples could be - born in May, hates lima beans, traveled to California for vacation, born in Rhode Island, etc.

Have each student say his/her name and tell the two to three things about themselves. Go around the room to do this. The teacher should also participate. When everyone has had a turn, use the paper to create paperballs and have a fight. Sometimes the older kids really get into it (brings them back to early childhood), sometimes they don't. At the end of the fight, everyone should have a paperball other than their own. Students have to individually read their paperball and figure out who the other student (or teacher) is. This is a good ice breaker and allows students to get to know each other and helps everyone learn names.


 * __Modified__**- This works for interns or teachers entering a room where the students already know each other. Have them write down one or two things about themselves that they would like you (the teacher) to know about them. In addition, have the students write down one question they would like the teacher to answer about him/herself. The teacher plays along (you can use a "wild card" for your question on the paper). Have the paperball fight as above. When the fight is over, the students read their peers' comments about themselves and the teacher has to choose who the student is that wrote that paper. This is great if the teacher can interject some humor. To speed things along, the teacher has two chances to choose the correct student; after that the correct student must reveal him/herself. The student with the paperball then reads the question for the teacher and the teacher should answer the question.* This allows students to become comfortable with the new teacher while the teacher learns things about the students.


 * Disclaimer: Provide a disclaimer about personal questions before you start. The teacher should feel comfortable answering questions at all times.