Icebreakers ESL

Icebreaker Games for campers
What are icebreaker games for kids?

An icebreaker game is an organized activity where children are encouraged to play,
communicate, and interact with their peers. Like a warm-up before a workout, these games
prepare kids for group experiences in classrooms, camps, parties, and sleepovers. They should
incite laughter and conversations and share things about themselves.
1. Find a Friend Bingo
It’s suitable for kids of all ages and works great with a large group.
What You Will Need: A pen and printed Bingo sheet for every child.
Find a Friend Who…
Set-Up: Bring everyone into a circle and pass around one Bingo sheet and pen to each
participant.
How to Play: Instruct the kids that they will have 10 minutes to find at least one person to write
their name in each square. They will have to talk to each other to determine who meets the
criteria for the box they want to fill. Only one person can write their name for one space. The
first one to get a complete “BINGO” wins a prize. Then start a timer and say, “ready, set, go!”.
2. Candy Bowl “About Me” Game
What You Will Need: A bowl full of different types of candy or treats (enough for each
participant to have at least 5 pieces)
Set-Up: Sit the kids in a circle and pass the bowl around. Ask everyone to take 1 to 5 pieces of
candy. Don’t tell them what they will do with it, but be sure they know not to eat it yet.
How to Play: Go around the circle again and tell each kid to share something about themselves
for every piece of candy they took. You can assign a specific topic to each type of candy. For
example, chocolate means they have to share something about their family, or jawbreakers mean
they have to talk about their favorite things. After everybody has a turn to share, they can enjoy
the candy together.
3. Line-Up Game
What You Will Need: No materials necessary, just a larger group of children ages 6+
Set-Up: Split the group into teams of 5-7 people and have them select one group member to be
the “caller.”
How to Play: Announce to everyone that the caller will say, “everyone, please line up _____” at
the beginning of each round. They can finish the phrase with “everyone, please line up from
youngest to oldest” or “from shortest to tallest” or “in alphabetical order by your middle name.”
Then, begin a countdown of 10 seconds to see which group can get lined up first. This game
requires kids to communicate with their group about their place in line. There is also a friendly
competition between groups. The fastest groups to line up can get a small prize.
4. High Five Competition
What You Will Need: Nothing!
Set-Up: Gather a large group of kids and ensure their hands are clean.
How to Play: Instruct the kids that they are having a high five contest. They will have a set
amount of time (5-10 minutes) to go around to their peers, ask their names, and exchange a high
five. Optionally, create an upbeat atmosphere with a timer and music that gets kids excited to
high-five as many new friends as possible. When the timer goes off, gather everyone together
and say, “raise your hand if you high-fived 10 people… 20 people…” and onward.
5. Team Architect
Creative art projects are proven to help people feel more relaxed to socializing. With this game,
even introverted kids can find some inspiration to make something unique and learn some team-
building skills.
What You Will Need: Miscellaneous art and building materials such as marshmallows,
toothpicks, books, bottles, popsicle sticks, or tape.
Set-Up: Divide the group into small teams of 4-8 kids and sit them at tables with equally
distributed supplies.
How to Play: Instruct everyone that they will have a certain amount of time to pretend like they
are architects. They have to create a structure out of the limited or unusual art supplies provided,
and they aren’t allowed to use anything else. Tell them their structure should be as strong or as
big as possible.
You may want to demonstrate by using toothpicks and marshmallows to build a tower that
supports an empty bottle at the top. Or perhaps construct a bridge of popsicle sticks and duct tape
that can hold a book. Let each group get creative with how they can use the random supplies to
their advantage. Then, the whole group can vote on the best structure to win.
6. A Great Wind Blows Chair Game
What You Will Need: One chair for each participant
Set-Up: Arrange the chairs in a circle with the seats facing inward (similar to musical chairs).
Have every child sit down before starting the game. Assign one kid or adult as the “caller” to
stand in the middle and lead the game.
How to Play: The caller begins by saying, “a great wind blows for everyone who….” They finish
the phrase with a characteristic that can apply to different children in the group, for example, “a
great wind blows for everyone who… has a dog, ate fruit for breakfast, has blue eyes, has curly
hair, has a younger sister, etc.” Let the caller get creative with the category.
Then, anyone who identifies with the phrase has to stand up and move seats. Their new seat
needs to be at least 2 chairs away from where they started. Like musical chairs, one chair is
removed every round, and anyone left standing goes “out.” The last child with a seat wins the
game and gets a prize.
7. Beach Ball “Get to Know You”
What You Will Need: An inflatable beach ball (no hard-surface balls)
Set-Up: Stand with children in a large circle and have one person start by holding the beach ball.
How to Play: The person with the ball begins by saying someone’s name and tossing the ball to
that person (for example, “John”). The child who catches the ball must repeat their first name
aloud and share one thing about themselves (for example, “I’m John and I like fishing”). Next,
they say the name of somebody else and toss it to another person in the group.
The game continues until every participant received the beach ball. Then, you can go one quicker
round to help everyone remember each other’s names. Except for this time, the thrower says,
“this is for John who likes fishing,” and tosses it to John. Continue until everyone has caught the
ball and repeated someone’s name/fun fact for the second time.
8. Never Have I Ever
What You Will Need: Participants can sit or stand in a circle facing each other.
Set-Up: Instruct everyone to begin with both hands up and all ten fingers extended. One person
will be the first speaker. Then the game will move clockwise around the circle.
How to Play: As you go around to each person in the group, participants say something they
have never done before. As the leader of the game, be sure to provide plenty of examples to start,
such as:
 Never have I ever gone to summer camp.
 Never have I ever had a pet.
 Never have I ever wet the bed.
 Never have I ever played basketball.
 Never have I ever worn a dress.
Don’t be afraid to let kids get a little silly with their phrases! If the child has done the activity,
they put one of their fingers down. The first player to put all the fingers down wins the game.
According to the plan describe, organize and demonstrate one of the icebreaker games.
1. Name of the game
2. Type of game
3. Purpose of the game
4. Age of participants
5. Period of session (organizational, main, final)
6. Number of participants
7. Rules of the game
8. Game progress
9. Game duration
10. Equipment
11. Reflection

Icebreakers ESL

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What are some examples of icebreaker games described in the passage?

How does the 'Line-Up Game' work?

Icebreaker Games for campers

What are icebreaker games for kids?

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