Introduction Games

Check out the games here, then look for more on the websites included at the bottom.

Five W's Ball Toss

Use a beach ball with Question frames on it that students will gently toss to one another in a circle. Example “what is your name?”, “where are you from?” “how old are you?"

Introduction

Model how you would introduce yourself to someone. Have the students repeat the framed sentence several times. Then ask them to find a partner and share their responses. My name is _____________. What's your name? Its nice to meet you.

Do you have ______???

Students circle up and share responses to framed questions. The teacher creates a question with a response, and all those with the same response would move to the center of the circle. You could support the question with a picture to increase understanding. Do you have a __dog____?

Self portrait

Have the students draw a picture of themselves and on the reverse, include things about themselves, then could and cut out the shape. favorite colour, food, place, sport, book, treat, movie, animal

Yes/No

Using an index card with yes on one side and no on the other, ask question of the class to see their responses. Use an image if possible to support language.

Camoflague Cameleon

Have the students colour and cut out cameleon shadow approximately the span of your hand. Record the prepositions; in, on, under, behind, beside. Have the students practice the words using the space of their desk and chair, by following the teachers commands "In" (the chair), "On" (the chair), "Beside" (the chair)... Then dim the lights, and take one minute to quickly and silently distribute the cameleons around the room. After everyone is seated, students should go on a hunt to locate as many as possible, and without removing them, check off the locations they found.

Three Things About Me

Spend a short time learning sentence frames such as "my name is...", "I am from...", " I like...", "I don't like...". At the end of the day or a class, distribute paper bags, and ask the students to fill them with 3 items that represent them (or what they like) for the next class. Tell them you will practice the language that they just learned. When the students bring their items, they will introduce themselves, tell where they come from and name the three things they like. Be sure that you participate as well for a great get to know you activity. Students could journal or draw their items with labels as a followup for display.

Four Corners

Have student respond to questions by moving to an appropriate corner for a 30 second discussion. This may be a beginner or intermediate activity based on the questions. Use pictures for new language learners.

Here are a few examples of what you may ask:

• Which one of these is your favorite sports? 1. basketball 2. soccer 3. baseball 4. American football
• What type of movies do you like? 1. Comedies 2. Dramas 3. Horror 4. Documentaries
• If you could learn a new language overnight, which one would you choose? 1. French 2.Spanish 3.English 4.German
• What is your favorite season? 1. Spring 2. Summer 3. Fall 4. Winter

Here are some game sites you can check out.

FluentU Icebreakers

ESL Kids Games

Games for Teens

Activity Village Icebreakers for Kids