There is no better time than the beginning of the semester to help your class become a community. Help your students become a group of people who can support each other intellectually, emotionally and technologically! Design activities leading them get to know each other and finding common ground through some of the ice-breaking activities below. They can be done asynchronously with a discussion forum, a Padlet wall, a Jamboard, a Google or any shared writing space online. Start with your own sample post so students can see an example and know the format of post. Devote some time during the first day or week to discuss what students wrote and refer back to it periodically throughout the semester, especially when students are forming groups to work collaboratively or getting ready to make presentations.
- 2 truths & 1 lie: Ask students to post two statements that are true about them and one that it is not. Then, allow some time for interaction guessing which is the lie.
- 2-1-1: Ask students to post two things they do for fun, one other course they are taking and one image that says something about them. (This could be a selfie, an avatar, a pet, a quote or a favorite painting.)
- a pronoun & a favorite: Ask students to write their preferred pronoun next to their name and one favorite something. (This could be a favorite movie, book, food, city or place to hang out on campus.)
- our class values: As a modified version of “this I believe,” ask students to post ideas about what they think is important in the learning community and environment that they are inhabiting in your class. Start a list with “questions” and “patience” as a starting point and ask students to propose more ideas and vote for the ones that they want to see included in an “our class values” document. When it is complete, add the list to the end of your syllabus or make a word cloud that can be used as a course site banner.
- what people can’t tell: Ask students to write one thing that people cannot tell by looking at them. Some ideas are for example:
- People can’t tell that I can speak Spanish fluently.
- I spend all my money on comic books.
- My secret weapon is mac-and-cheese.
- I’m a fortune teller.
You can also ask students to connect with each other and the content the course through a:
- course playlist: Create a list on Spotify and ask students to contribute songs that are related to the course or songs that they might listen to when they are studying for the course
- a meme or comic that they relate to: Select three or four images that poke fun at the field or show stereotypes of people in the profession. Ask students to pick one and say why they connect to it or find it funny.
- what do you think of when you hear the word…?: Ask students to write three words that come to mind when you give them a prompt. See what connections they are making to their lived experiences and what misconceptions you might need to address.
Other ideas for activities for the beginning of the semester can be found at:
