OTT 254: Break the Ice Without the Cringe – Fun Ways to Build Classroom Community

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Ever found yourself cringing through yet another awkward icebreaker activity? You're not alone. As teachers, we know building classroom community is essential, but finding engaging ways to do it can be challenging. The good news? Creating meaningful connections doesn't have to be painful or embarrassing for you or your students.

When students feel safe, seen, and connected, everything improves dramatically. Behavior management becomes easier, learning deepens, and the classroom environment transforms into a space where everyone thrives. This episode explores practical, low-pressure ways to build authentic classroom community without the eye-rolling or uncomfortable silences that sometimes accompany traditional icebreakers.

From simple but effective "Would You Rather" questions that get students moving and sharing opinions to "Find Someone Who" activities that create natural conversation starters, we dive into options that work across grade levels. I share my experiences implementing these in both elementary classrooms and virtual settings during the pandemic, along with tips for making connection a daily habit rather than a one-time event. The episode highlights how teacher vulnerability plays a crucial role in building trust and creating a classroom where students feel comfortable being themselves.

Ready to create a classroom that feels joyful from day one? Download the free Would You Rather: Back to School Edition resource mentioned in this episode and transform how you approach community building this year. Your students (and your classroom management plan) will thank you! Subscribe for next week's episode on setting up strong reading routines without adding more to your plate.

Download Free Would You Rather Back to School Edition

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
Episode 254, break the IceWithout the Cringe Fun Ways to
Build Classroom Community.
So welcome back.
And today we're talking aboutbuilding community, building
rapport, building that reallypositive classroom family
environment without that cringey.

(00:23):
This is dorky.
I hate this kind of feelingthat sometimes can occur when we
are doing icebreakers.
So let's talk about that today.
Hope you stick around.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
And even though she may need anap, this teacher is ready to
wake up and speak her truthabout the trials and treasures
of teaching here.
She is wide awake.
Wait, she's not asleep rightnow, is she?
She is awake right.
Okay, from Trina Devery,teaching and Learning your host,
trina Devery.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Hey.
So, yes, my voice is still alittle bit raspy.
I'm batch recording, whichmeans I'm recording all of this
at the same time, so last week'sepisode I had a little raspy
voice.
This week it's going to be thatway, probably for the month of
August, unfortunately, so I'm sosorry about that.
Eventually, my voice will beback All right.

(01:24):
So welcome back to One TiredTeacher.
Okay, I want you to raise yourhand.
If you've ever cringed your waythrough an icebreaker, yeah,
same.
But let's have some real talkhere.
Helping students feel safe, seenand connected early makes
everything else go smoother.

(01:45):
I feel like I need to say thatagain.
When kids feel safe, seen,connected, loved, cared about,
when this happens when we buildthis community, it makes our
lives a thousand times easier.
It makes everything better forthe kids.
It makes everything better forthe kids.
It makes everything better forthe teacher.

(02:06):
So today we're going to talkabout how to build a classroom
community without theawkwardness.
I'm going to share some of myfavorite low pressure ways to
help kids connect and how tokeep things light but meaningful
during those first few weeks.
Okay so, let's talk about it.
Why icebreakers matter and whyteachers hate them.

(02:28):
Okay so, connection buildssafety and safety fuels learning
.
It's like the Maslow, you know,the what is it that saying that
they say about?
You got to do?
Oh, I don't know, it just wentright out of my head, so just
ignore that.
It's just important for kids tohave their basic needs met
before any kind of learningoccurs.

(02:50):
So when they feel safe and theyfeel connected, they're able,
their brains are able toactually learn.
But we don't want to be cheesyor do these forced activities
that make kids uncomfortable orlike oh gosh or roll their eyes.
I think this is easier in theelementary grades because I
think most kids will think it'sfun.

(03:11):
I think when you're talkingabout middle school and high
school it starts to feel morecringy, but I think we're pretty
safe in elementary school.
I don't know, maybe fifth gradestarts to think it's a little
bit cringey, but I think we'repretty safe in elementary school
.
I don't know, maybe fifth gradestarts to think it's a little
bit cringey.
So we have to be a little,maybe even fourth grade.
I found that my second graderswere like okay, here we go and
they were good.

(03:31):
So you know, just keep that inmind.
But they you know some of ourideas.
They don't always land andsometimes kids are like what are
we doing?
And we?
We don't want that.
That's the opposite of what wewant.
The key is keeping it simple.
It can be silly, it can bestudent-centered, it can be so
fun.
I know that I have had.

(03:54):
I can't think of an example ofwhen I had an icebreaker totally
flop, thank goodness, like mostof the time, every time I can
actually think of kids actuallyloved it, whether it was like a
find someone who, or a, wouldyou rather, or you know a pair,
you know a partner pair share,or a four corners or something

(04:19):
like that, like the movingaround any kind of Kagan
cooperative learning activity.
My kids really loved that.
And I know I had a teacherrecently in the last like five
years tell me that that was soold school and I was like highly
offended because I'm like maybewe need to bring some of that
old school back because thesekids look pretty miserable and

(04:41):
they don't know how to worktogether.
So that's just my two cents onKagan.
I love Kagan, I think Kagan wasa game changer in the classroom
and I think that we need moreof that kind of thinking.
Anyway, and that also brings meto the fact that I never had an

(05:02):
icebreaker flop, but I wouldlove to hear about an icebreaker
flop because I think it wouldbe an interesting examination.
So if you have an icebreakerflop story, I think it would be
an interesting like examination.
So if you have a icebreakerflop story, I'd love to hear it.
All right, so let's talk abouteasy, engaging options that
actually work.
So one of my favorites is wouldyou rather they're?

(05:23):
Would you rather questions?
They're silly, they're quick,there's no wrong answers.
They're fun because kids haveto, like, give their opinion.
I also love to do a.
Would you rather, as like twocorners instead of four corners,
like you know, would you ratherhop around on one leg or would
you rather whistle when youspeak?
And who you know?
Would you rather hop around onone leg?

(05:44):
You're going to go to this sideof the classroom If you'd
rather whistle when you speak.
You're going to go to this sideof the classroom if you'd
rather whistle when you speak.
You're going to go to this sideof the classroom and then kids
go to their.
You know their choice and thenthey have a discussion with the
people that are there about whythey picked that and then they
have a cross communication witheach other like why did you pick
this, why did you pick this?
And I just think that's can bereally fun.

(06:06):
It gets kids up and moving.
It also gets kids thinking.
It makes.
It adds an element of you know,of fun to an already fun.
Would you rather?
Also I love, would you rather Icreated, would you rather?
During the quarantine for myonline kids because I couldn't
get them to talk and I was like,oh my goodness, now isn't that

(06:27):
funny?
Like in the classroom we can'tget them to be quiet, but in
online I couldn't get them totalk.
And but I think that they workin all settings.
I just think they're so fun.
I even wrote a, did a book, aworkbook.
I have a workbook of Would youRather that I sell on Amazon and
it is so much fun.
I'm not plugging that I, I'mjust saying like that was a

(06:50):
really fun thing to do, toactually create a physical book.
All right, what's another one?
Easy, ongoing options.
So we've got would you rather?
Partner interviews with a funtwist.
I love things like find someonewho like the.
Find someone who bingo isreally fun.
Find someone who is a Kagancooperative I feel like it is.

(07:12):
Maybe it's not, anyway, I lovewould find someone who.
I love to put those.
I always put those in my backto school packs Because I think
they're so such a great anothergreat way to get kids up and
moving.
I usually like play music andby the time the song, a song or
two songs end, then you knowbasically your time's up.
So they're walking aroundtrying to find a person that you

(07:34):
know who, who drives a blackcar, who has you know three
siblings, or who went to thebeach this summer or whatever.
Just really fun things for findsomeone who another one is low
pressure, sharing like circleswith prompts, like one thing
that makes you smile.
I think you could also do likean inside outside circle.

(07:54):
For these you don't necessarilyjust have to be in a circle.
Like an inside outside circleis a cake in cooperative
learning.
So you've got an inside circleand you've got an outside circle
and you rotate however manytimes you decide and then,
wherever they that person youknow, maybe it's the inside
circle that rotates and theoutside circle stands still, and
then when they, you tell themto turn five times and then they

(08:16):
get to that new partner andthen they share, like one thing
that makes you smile and theother person shares one thing
that makes them smile.
Another fun one is a book-basedcommunity builder.
Like a read aloud, a discussion, maybe art.
I like to do makerspace, I liketo add in some makerspace with
books so that they are thinkingcritically and problem solving.

(08:37):
I think that can be really fun.
I always, always, always, do afind someone who.
That is my actual go-to one.
But I think that there are, youknow, a million different fun,
easy icebreakers that we can doin the beginning of the year and
we want to make them asenjoyable as possible.

(08:58):
And also, if there's any chanceof getting movement in, it
really, really helps youngerkids.
I think it helps everyone.
I feel that way as well.
All right, so building routinesaround connection.
So we want to make connection adaily habit, not a one and done
.
We don't want to just do like ateam builder or a class builder

(09:18):
one time and that's it Like wewant to make this a regular
occurrence.
We can do things like morningmeetings, buddy chats, check-in
journals.
All those kinds of things arereally great about, you know,
building in the connection aswell as like breaking the ice
for the day.
It can be breaking the ice atthe beginning of the year.

(09:39):
It can be breaking the ice, youknow, every single day.
We want to let students see usalso model vulnerability and joy
, and I think that when we allowourselves to share our personal
stories or share our personalfeelings, it helps build trust
early on and it makes classroommanagement 10 times easier.

(10:04):
And that is oh, that is suchkey.
Okay, so, if you're looking forsomething fun to get started,
I've got a free, would youRather Back to School edition.
This is a shorter one.
I do have longer versions.
I do have, you know, a longpacket.
And then I do have thatworkbook on Amazon that I guess
is a plug, but anyway, I do havethat workbook on Amazon.
That, I guess is a plug, butanyway, I do have a free one for

(10:27):
you.
It's Would you Rather Back toSchool, and it's great for
morning meetings, it's great fortransitions or just bringing a
little laughter into that firstweek of school.
And I'm going to try to tellyou an easy URL, but I'm also
going to drop it in the shownotes.
So it's Trina Debrie,teachingandlearningcom.
Forward slash.
Would you rather BTS?

(10:49):
Would you rather BTS?
All one word.
Would you rather BTS?
I feel like I'm rhyming, anyway.
So that is an option and youcan grab that.
It's a little freebie for youto get you started at the
beginning of the year, sohopefully that helps.
All right, so let's wrap thisup.
So back to school doesn't haveto mean stiff name games and

(11:12):
groans.
A little lightness goes a longway and you deserve a classroom
that feels joyful from the start.
Thanks for hanging out with me.
Next week, we're talking aboutsetting up strong reading
routines without adding more toyour plate.
Next week, we're talking aboutsetting up strong reading
routines without adding more toyour plate.
Until then, sweet dreams andsleep tight.