Seriously, if you teach any grade above fifth or sixth, stop doing Ice Breakers! They are a waste of time!
The new school year is about to begin and I have already cringed, having seen a few posts mentioning ice breakers as great ways for students to get to know each other.
Why not let the ice melt from shared experiences throughout the year?
Community comes from shared experiences and reflection, not silly games or activities.
Challenges, struggles, tears, laughter, embarrassment, frustrations, boredom, excitement are the ultimate Ice Breakers…
In my suburban middle school, many of the students have grown up with each other since kindergarten. At some level, they already know each other.
I have seen and know of many teachers who do “Ice Breakers” activities the first two days of the school year, smiling along to biography bingo games and travel trivia. Unfortunately, those smiles turn upside down the third day of school, only to be seen again in June.
I think the metaphor of Ice Breakers is a bad image.
Ice is being broken. I use an ice pick to break ice. Ice picks shatter ice all over, leaving random sized chunks and slivers of ice all over the counter. You pick up some of the larger chuncks and put them in your martini shaker, leaving the slivers to melt on the counter.
The big chunks of ice often become classroom cliques. The slivers often become outsiders sitting silently, not getting noticed by anyone.
Why not let the ice melt from shared experiences throughout the year?
As students warm up to each other, ice begins to melt, rising the tide and all the ships. This image from Rush’s song “Natural Science” is an excellent image of each one of my classes each year:
When the ebbing tide retreats
Along the rocky shoreline
It leaves a trail of tidal pools
In a short-lived galaxy
Each microcosmic planet
A complete society
Why not let the first day ice eventually, naturally melt into year long nourishment for the class community?