When starting a program, whether it is for children or for adults, starting with some sort of icebreaker activity can set the stage for a successful presentation. It will help your group ease into the class and feel relaxed and ready to participate. It would be best to first start with an introduction (perhaps give name tags too), and the answer to a question, like how long have you been doing genealogy….or a question that pertains to the theme of the class you are about to teach. Then introduce an icebreaker game before you begin your lesson. Some can be done from the comfort of the participant’s chair, and others (depending on your class) can be done in small groups. Once your students have had an opportunity to “meet” one another, and are feeling at ease, you can start your lesson!
Some Icebreaker Activities:
One of the easiest icebreakers you can do is to have your “class” bring pictures of their families. For young learners, this activity is a foundation to build off of, and for the older learner, it can help strengthen recall. After all, everyone’s favorite topic is “themselves!” Then they can share their pictures and tell the story behind the picture.
Write the name of historical figures on the back of sticky-notes. Put a stick-note on the back of each of your students. They must ask questions about who they think their historical figure may be (yes or no answers). One question per person, that way the speak to everyone in the room. They may remove the stick-note once they have correctly guessed who is their historical figure.
Give out pennies and look at the dates. Go around the room and share something that occurred for you in the year of the penny. It can be something about your school history or it can be just about life. You’ll need a good collection of pennies with recent dates.
Two Truths and a Lie: you share two things that are true and one lie about yourself and the group tries to guess which one is the lie. “What you would like to be true?” is the follow up question.
Divide your class into groups of 5-8 students and ask each team to act out a famous scene in history. Each team can choose the scene and the characters they wish to play. As the teams take turns presenting their scene, the “audience” (students not currently performing) try to guess the historic event being portrayed. If time permits, hold a class discussion after each performance, asking the students to contribute historic facts that were not revealed during the skit.
Gone Shopping. (This requires some preparation) You will need 5 to 8 shopping bags. In each shopping bag place a vintage item. They may have a theme, like all clothes, or they may be a combination of items. Also in the shopping bag place a list of discussion questions. What do you think this is? Who
Laurie L. Kearney 