Ice Breakers

Emily Ball
EDAE 620
1. Unspeakable jump rope.
a. Items needed:
i. Large jump ropes
ii. At least 10 people, the more the better.
iii. A large enough room to turn large jump ropes.
b. How-to:
i. Lay out two large jump ropes with enough room for
each rope to be turned without hitting the other.
ii. Divide the group into two with at least 5 in each
group.
iii. Have the group align themselves from tallest to
shortest without talking.
iv. Once aligned, have a person at the end of the
aligned group grab an end of the jump rope for their
group.
v. Without speaking, have the two turners begin turning
the rope.
vi. Once a good pace has been set, have the group
members still in line start jumping in one by one
without speaking.
vii. After each person from the line has joined the jump,
have the turners try to jump in as well.
c. Rules:
i. Only one person at a time may jump in
ii. If the rope gets caught or stops turning, everyone
must come out of the jump and start over.
iii. Once everyone is in the jump, including the turners,
the group may stop and the activity is over.
iv. First group to complete all jumpers wins.
d. Purpose:
i. The purpose of this is to have a group cohesively
work together without the use of words.
1. By doing this, the group has to figure out a way
to work together identifying those that will lead
the group and those that will help to keep
order.
ii. This also helps to break up any potential
awkwardness since everyone is in the same
situation.
e. Audience:

i. Ideal audiences for this activity would be those that

are physically able to participate so no one feels
secluded from the group.
ii. Larger groups are better, making the activity more
challenging and competitive.

2. Building a pizza
a. Items needed:
i. Colored cardboard paper
1. Red, orange, tan, green, brown, yellow.
ii. Scissors for each group member
iii. Glue sticks, 1 for each group.
iv. Tables ok for crafting on
v. Markers - a variety of colors
b. How-to:
i. Divide large group into smaller groups of 4-5 people.
ii. Assign each group to Create their own pizza
1. Each group needs to identify these
characteristics of their pizza:
a. Flavor
b. Size
c. Crust type
i. Flavor
ii. Thickness
d. Cheese type if used
e. Toppings used
f. Sauce selected
2. This pizza should reflect each of the
group members individual personalities
in some way.
a. Ex: We selected Italian sausage because
it reflects my Italian heritage
iii. Each group will collect the items needed to create
their pizza and will be given 5-10 minutes to create
their pizza.
iv. At 10 minutes everyone must stop building their
pizza and then present it to the class.
c. Purpose:
i. This activity not only helps each group member to
better know their classmates at an individual level
but institutes barn building and cohesive
participation.
d. Audience:
i. Any class population would be good for this exercise.

ii. Having a group of people who do not know each

other may benefit more from this activity but those
that do not know each other may learn deeper about
each of their classmates.