Hello everybody!
Here we are again after the summer break... I am about to meet the new students in 4th of ESO... I would like to share with you an ice-breaker activity that I learned in Pilgrims, University of Kent, some years ago. I attended a course called Drama Techniques for Creative Teaching, which I really recommend to all English teachers.
Clapping
In a circle, the teacher starts clapping to the person on the right just once. There must be always eye contact in this kind of games. Then, this student on the right claps to the teacher back, letting him/her know that she/he has received the clap, and then to the person on his/her right and so on. Once the whole group has done it, the teacher starts doing the same, but this time with no order (no necessarily the person on your right). Then the teacher must increase the rhythm to play faster.
With a group that you don’t know, or they don’t know each other, you can add your name when you clap de first time. Then, your partner says your name back while clapping back to you, and then says her name to another person clapping as well. This person says the person’s name and her/his own name looking at someone else, and so on.
Eye contact is very important. If a student doesn’t do it, you can invite him/ her to step out of the group and watch out how the activity works.
