Ice Breakers

Here are two icebreakers that I use one after the other on the first day of my MA Screenwriting course. The aim is to get the students into a creative space / mind set as well as to bond.

Here's a simple little Ice breaker/warm up that I have used many times and really works. It doesn't require a lot of input from the group, but you do need to be a confident group leader, in that you have to begin by reining the group in and the have the confidence to let them go.

Another one I do is an old chestnut using names.
In a circle, you say your name.
The person to your left says their name and then your name.
The person to thier left says their name, then the name of the person before and then your name.

This pre entry summer project is given to students before they join the BA Graphic Design course at CSM. The project prepares them for study on the course and is brought along on the first week of term to support the students getting to know each other. As the focus is on the Journey from home, it also presents a really good opportunity to discuss the many places and cultures that the students have come from in preparation for working together in the future.

This is a mini induction project called ‘ Find and Seek’ which aims to get new stage 1 students talking to each other, finding their bearings by investigating inside and outside CSM and learning how to present creatively to a large audience of around 80 students. At the end of the project (which runs for 4 days) the team ‘finds’ are posted on blackboard to share, becoming a resource they can refer back to and use throughout the year.

A great practical teaching resource with tips and activities to begin student discussions and dynamic group work. Suggestions for ice breakers, a section on facilitating effective online discussion and how to assess student participation in verbal and written group activities.

Getting discussion going can be difficult,
especially with diverse groups of students, and
not all students and staff are comfortable with
leading and participating in discussions. This guide
contains some ideas for you to consider when
using discussions in your teaching.

This Ice breaker resource was produced as part of the Camberwell inclusive induction project and brings together examples of ice breaker activities that take place in term 1 at Camberwell and LCC to facilitate the group getting to know one another.

This project is delivered in the first 2 weeks of term as an orienteering task to London, the subject, course and peers. Students are split into groups to research a specific area of London; individually they gather drawings, sketches and mementos which feed into a collective Rough Guide book that is collated, bound and given to each student as a record of the project and practical artefact to use through the year. The project introduces students to London life, the range of resources and themes it has to offer and also helps them to begin team working and bond as a group.