I try to incorporate ice breaker activities into my first day lesson plan. Usually, I spend a lot of time introducing the class, the course objectives, grading criteria (i.e. the syllabus). Then, I do one or more ice breaker activities. I have many in my teaching bag of tricks, but I am always looking for new ideas. What are some of the ice breaker activities that you have effectively used? What makes an ice breaker activity worthwhile? Is the goal merely to get students to interact and establish classroom climate / rapport? Do activities have to be tied to the curriculum you teach to be effective? What are your thoughts / insights?