Back to School Icebreakers for 2020

Whether in person, online, or a hybrid model, school is sure to look different this year. For teachers and for students, it’s crucial that routines and expectations remain as normal as possible. Some of that normalcy includes the importance of back-to-school rituals; among them is building rapport between students and teachers. Icebreakers are fun games and activities that are intended to create a comfortable environment for everyone.

Regardless of the educational model, there are plenty of creative ways to engage and get to know your students.

In-Person:

The Number Game: In a small group, or as a whole class, sit in a large circle. The goal is the count to ten aloud, and that each number is spoken by a different student. Anyone is able to call out a number, but if more than one person speaks at the same time, the game starts over. Repeat as many times as is necessary to reach 10, and then try for a larger number.

“What Am I?” Game: Provide students with sticky notes with names of every day items, famous people, books, or movies. They’ll team up with a partner, and then the partner will give clues about their mystery item. If the guesser correctly identifies the object, they get a point. Take turns with different notes.

Letter to Yourself: Have students compose a letter to their future selves. Prompt them to talk about their interests, strengths, and hopes for the year. Keep the letters in a special location and give them back on the last day of school.

Virtual:

Show and Tell 2.0: Get creative with video conferencing! Students can be instructed to share their favorite object in their room, give a room tour, or even introduce a pet to their classmates. 

Desert Island Share-Out: Project a picture of a desert island, and then ask students to identify (and share) two items that they would want to bring. The items can be for survival, or even just for fun. Either way, this is a entertaining and creative way to get to know students.

Head and Shoulders: For this game, all students should be visible on individual screens. Prepare trivia questions beforehand (ones that have a clear yes or no answer). For “yes”, have students put their hands on their heads, and for “no”, students will place hands on shoulders. Observe the movement and enjoy the laughter that will ensue!

In-Person or Virtual:

Names Word Search: Help kids learn each other’s names with this non-intimidating activity. Using Puzzlemaker, create a custom word search filled with names of classmates.

About Me Backpack: Using this awesome resource from Teachers Pay Teachers, have students fill a “backpack” with small items that best represent themselves. Have them take turns sharing their objects in small groups, partners, or with the whole class.

For educators or students looking to upgrade their technology this year, HP has released the Chromebook 11A G8 EE. Built specifically for educational purposes, the G8 is durable, convenient, and affordable. With its spill-resistant keyboard and battery life of over 13 hours, this machine is perfect for the demands of the school year, no matter the circumstances.

Professional Development 101

Professional Development is hardly one-size-fits-all because every one of your teachers has different needs that must be met. Tackle professional development in a new way by thinking outside of the box. Try these ideas, based on what districts across the United States are doing: 

• Unconferences
  An unconference is a grassroots conference where the content is provided by the attendees, not outside experts. Don’t think of them as unofficial events, rather bring unconferences in-house as the official professional development.

TIP: Have the MIEE and GoogleEIs at your institution do the talking, not the administrators. Have breakouts using Google Sheets and Google Hangouts.

• Personal Learning Community

Personal Learning Communities, or PLCs, are a group of teachers with a shared interest or mutual commitment. Administrators can choose the focus, like hybrid teaching models, and allow teachers to sign up for the PLCs they align with most.

TIP: Use Google Team Drive, to keep everyone in the loop. You can drop information in about each PLC and share with your team.

• Choice Boards

Choice Boards offer a menu of professional development options for teachers to pick and choose from; the amount would depend on your district. This method allows you to meet your teachers’ individual needs, instead of addressing them in a group setting.

TIP: Create a DIY bingo board with Google Sheets or Docs. Or, go old school and draw it up on a white board then use Microsoft Office Lens to digitize it. This app trims and enhances to make notes on whiteboards and blackboard readable on your mobile device.

• Personal Action Plans

Personal Action Plans allow individual teachers to set their own learning goals, including an action plan to achieve them.

TIP: Try Microsoft Sway. This digital storytelling app helps create professional, interactive designs with images, text, videos that can be easily shared with just a link.

• Peer Observation

With peer observation, your teachers take advantage of the best source of professional development available to them, each other. Teachers shadow then follow up with colleagues about applying what they’ve learned in their own classrooms. The best part is if they have questions, the answer is down the hall. 

TIP: Suggest Microsoft OneNote to take notes or draw up quick ideas. This tool has a variety of ingenious uses and each note is stored on a phone, pad or laptop and accessed from anywhere

Got some great professional development ideas? Share them with us and include which tech tools you used to knock it out of the park.