First Day Great start
I played musical chairs with adult students on the first day. I was pleased at how the nervous energy turned into laughter within minutes of playing. All the "losers" of musical chairs had to introduce themselves and read out a rule/code of conduct for the class. It was fun, I learned names and it broke the first day jitters.
Patricia,
I am a big fan of ice breakers like this. I like to get my students to have fun and share some laughs. This sets the stage for introductions and the covering of the syllabus.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Thanks for this fun idea! I'd like to try something like this in my class as students seem especially tense on the first day.
I also enjoy using ice breaker activities on the first day of class combinde with group discussions after words. I asked my students to write about an life changing experience (relavent to the course topic) and then I shared one from my life followed by each student sharing theirs. After words we did small group discussions on the important "milestoens" in life that these experieces lead to. It was a great group cohesive start to the course!
Christina,
Thank you for sharing this strategy with us. I know it will be of help to other instructors that are looking for ice beakers to start their classes.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
