4 Class Room Activities That Will Help Students Become More Familiar With Each Other

1.Little Pebbles

The game Little Pebbles can serve to help students become more familiar with each other. It can be used

with a new group of students as well as to extend mutual recognition of each other within an “old” group.

You need a lot of pebbles. Put the pebbles in a cup or bag. Each student takes as many pebbles as they want. Tell your students that each pebble has something hidden about themselves – a piece of information. According to the number of pebbles everybody has to say important information about themselves. A person who has only one pebble says only one piece of information, while a person who has more pebbles says more information.

For example:

Student Sarah takes three pebbles. He says:

“I have three brothers and one sister. I am the oldest one.”

“I like reading in my free time, and I especially like adventure books.”

“My favorite food is doro wot. It is a spicy chicken sauce cooked with butter, onion, chilli, garlic and other spices.”

Application:

This activity can be used in the learning process too. You can assign each student to count as many exercises (or has to describe as many animals or has to locate as many towns or .....) to as many pebbles they have and so on. In addition, the activity can be used at the end of the lesson (after the new content has been learnt) to help students actively revise the new content. Since the activity can take up more time, it is practical to use it at the end of a major topic or a unit to devote the whole period for active revision. For example a teacher teaching about the digestive system in a given unit can make students draw little pebbles and tell some piece of information they have learnt during the unit. Even though it might be time consuming, there are still options to use the activity for a revision of a single lesson. In this case, instead of giving the pebbles to individuals, the pebbles can be given to groups and each group can offer as much information as possible according to the number of pebbles they received.

2.Mingle Mingle

This activity can be used as an ice breaking activity that gives participants the opportunity to become more familiar with each other. It can be also used any time when you need the participants or students to discuss a topic or a question briefly but intensively.

In our training we use Mingle Mingle the first time to explore participants’ expectations and fears and also to let them get to know each other better. The participants work alone to think over their expectations and fears of attending this training for 5 minutes and write them down.

Then they slowly walk around the room silently. They think about their expectations for this training. When a bell rings or the trainer gives another signal, they stop walking and form a pair with the nearest person. They share for 3 minute their expectations and fears. They are not allowed to write anything down on the paper or their hands. After the time is over they continue walking. They think about what they have heard. After another signal, they stop again and they form a new pair with a different person. They share their own expectations and fears and also those which they heard from others. After the bell rings again they continue walking and the process is repeated. It is up to the teacher how much time they devote to the brief discussions. We recommend 3 minutes as a minimum, 5 minutes as a maximum. Afterward, participants sit down in a circle and they inform the rest of the group about the expectations and fears they heard during the activity from their partners. They should identify the source and then they should freely repeat the expectations of this person. The trainer writes down each new expectation or fear. He makes marks on those expectations that appear repeatedly. In place of expectations, the participants can discuss any topic, idea or question.

Be sure you are watching the time properly. If you see that one person in a pair used the entire time of the group to talk about his/her expectations you should comment on this. Do so in a friendly way (you may ask if he realizes that the others will not have a chance to learn about his partner’s expectations).

3.Community Circle

1. Each child takes their chair and makes a class circle. Everybody should be able to face the rest of the group.

2. A topic for discussion is selected. It must be of common interest to the whole group.

(An issue concerning class life; possible life experience of children; future plans of the class; reading experience; a problem raised within the class, etc.)

3. The teacher sends a “speech giving” object around the circle from one child to another in the order in which they’re sitting.

4. A stone, small toy, little bell, or any other object with a relationship to the class can serve as the “speech giving” object.

5. The child who holds the “speech giving” object is allowed to speak about the selected topic. They can say whatever they want. The only limit is the topic.

6. The speaker should think about other possible speakers so that his/her particular contribution to the discussion is not too long.

7. No one is allowed to contribute without holding the “speech giving” objects. Speaking out of the order is understood as interrupting.

8. If a child wants to forfeit contribution, they are absolutely free to do so. No one should be forced to speak against their will.

9. Each speech, each contribution must be accepted with full respect by the audience – both by the teacher and the rest of the children. Children must learn not to laugh or make painful comments.

10. After the “speech giving” object goes around the whole circle, everybody is welcome to take it once more and add to the topic. It is no longer necessary that the object circulates from one child to another in the order in which they’re sitting.

4. Our Collective Tree

The students look for common qualities, attributes, characteristics.

Prepare in advance a tree silhouette on a poster (or you can use a dry tree). The students form a pair and try to look for common qualities, attributes or characteristics (interests, needs, worries, hopes, wishes…) which they have in common with their partner.

They draw a leaf, a flower or a fruit and cut it out of paper. (If possible the paper should be colorful.) They write their names and their common items on the leaf, the flower or the fruit. When they are ready, they attach it to the tree.

Afterward they change partners and they repeat this procedure in new pairs. They continue until their tree has a new “coat” (perhaps three different rounds-depending on the number of students).

The activity comes in useful in the beginning of a school year or as a way for getting to know each other. The collective tree can decorate a classroom. You can use the collective tree in the learning process too. The students can look for animals, plants, towns, countries or materials that share similarities.

Discussion about the activity after it is completed allows your students to express ideas that came to their minds during it. Was it a pleasant activity? Was it easy to discover mutual qualities, hobbies, preferences, wishes....? Do they know each other better now? Did they find out something surprising about a person they have known for several years? Etc. – according to unique conditions and the situation of the group you work with.

Possible change of the activity:

If you doubt your students’ ability to use the scissors effectively, you can prepare the shapes (leaves, fruits, blossoms) in advance. Or you can make the cutting a special relaxation activity, spending about 20 minutes with the participants cutting paper.

 If you found this article interesting and worth sharing then please do share this on your network via “Share the knowledge” section.