The team staff is finally in place for the 2012-2013 school year! However, the student members of the team don’t quite know each other yet. Introducing yourself to a lot of people from different backgrounds can look daunting at first. Then, developing a great group chemistry can be tough and scary too! It is very important that members of the team get to know and learn basic information about each other. This will be very beneficial in the long run because this will permit staff members to enjoy each others’ presence and to begin developing bonds. There are many team building activities out there that can be done to break the ice at the beginning of a council term. Some may need budget approval but most should not even cost a penny to student organizations. Here are 3 ice breaking activities to consider that will come for free:
A- The Object Toss
- Participants should be organized into a circle.
- One student member throws one of the objects to someone else and screams “Hi, Name of Person, Team Position!”.
- The student member who catches the object says, “Thanks, Name of tosser, Team Position!”
- Repeat by tossing to one of your fellow student in the circle.
- The names of the students and its position in the council must be said each time the item is tossed or caught.
B- The Name Tag Game
- Students should be organized in a circle and a name tags should be handed to each.
- Students then write their names on their own name tag.
- All of the name tags are then redistributed at random to the participants.
- Each participant will then place their name tags on the back of the student to their right.
- On the “go” signal everyone must move among the group members and try to locate their own name tag.
- You have to do so while avoiding the student finding the name tag that is on his or her back.
- Once students find their own name tag, they take it off of the other student’s back and they place it on their forehead.
- Each student member keeps playing until they find their own name and the student whose name was on their back finds her/his name.
C- The Improv Bag
- Students should be placed into groups of 3-6 people.
- Bags filled with random items are then distributed to all student members.
- Each group must then come up with a skit that uses every single item in the bag.
- Be creative!
- Student groups have 5-7 minutes to create a three minute skit.
- Have each group perform their skit in front of all the other groups.
Introducing yourself doesn’t sound so frightening anymore does it? It is important to have a good time! You will spend many hard working hours with these students so it’s important to start the 2012-2013 year off with fun and silly activities. Loosen up!