ICEBREAKERS & ENERGIZERS

The students are to get the signature of a person who meets the criteria for each section. You might want to implement a rule that a person can only sign another person's paper in two spots. The first person with a completed card wins.

Don't forget to include the teacher.  Put in something to which only YOU can answer yes.  For example, for mine I put "married to a detective."  My teammate put "adopted two children from Kazikstan" for hers.

If a group has a hard time getting started, give them some guidance by asking questions such as, "What is your favorite music?", "When is your birthday?", "What sports do you like?, or "Where were you born?"

Design a system for secretly identifying the "criminal" and the "cop." We used a deck of cards. You only need enough cards so each player may have one card. One card needs to be a jack--the criminal, and one needs to be an ace--the cop. All of the other cards should be below ten in rank. Let each person draw and keep a card, without showing it to anyone.

The criminal needs to recruit other criminals by winking at them, but without getting caught by the cop. Any person who sees a wink is to wait a few seconds, so as not to be obvious, and then say, "I committed a crime." That person then turns in his card and is out of the game. Play continues until the criminal recruits all players without being caught by the cop, or the cop identifies the criminal. If the cop misidentifies the criminal, he loses the game.

1. Put your name in the center of your card.
   
   
2. In the upper left corner, write four things that you like to do.
   
   
3. In the upper right corner, write your four favorite singers or groups.
   
   
4. In the lower left corner, write your four favorite movies.
   
   
5. In the lower right corner, write four adjectives that describe you.
   
   

When everyone finishes, have them mingle with the group for a few minutes. Without talking, they are to read the upper left corner of the other group members' cards. When time is up, they are to find one or two people who are most like them and visit for a few minutes. When time is up, they are to mingle again reading the upper right corner of the other group members' cards. They then find the one or two people most like them and visit. Repeat with the lower left corner and lower right corner information.

To make sure everyone visits with several people, you could implement a rule that no two people can be in the same group more than once.

Now the groups have to untangle themselves without letting go of hands. They may have to loosen their grips a little to allow for twisting and turning. They may have to step over or under other people. The first group to untangle their knot is the winner.

SPECIAL NOTE: There are four possible solutions to the knot.

1. One large circle with people facing either direction.
   
   
2. Two interlocking circles.
   
   
3. A figure eight.
   
   
4. A circle within a circle.
   

Place a sticky note on the back (or forehead) of each participant. The participants are to figure out who they are, but can only do so in the following manner. Find a partner and read each other's sticky notes. You may ask the other person three questions to which there are yes or no answers.

Once your questions have been asked and answered, make a guess as to your identity. If you are correct, move the sticky note to your chest and you become a "consultant" who gives clues to those still trying to figure out their identities. If you are not correct, find a new partner and repeat the process.

SPECIAL NOTE: Be sure to choose characters that are appropriate to the age of the participants to avoid "generation gap frustration."

Give each participant a slip of paper, but tell them to keep their animal a secret. The participants are to find the rest of their kind, but there is no talking. So how do they find the others? They have to make the noise of the animal. Once two of the same kind have found each other, they stay together to find more. Continue until all of the like animals have created one big group.

Use Animal Scramble, but add a hint of danger by planting a couple of danger animals who if incorrectly approached can take you out of the game ( snake, lion, tiger, etc). The last survivor of non-dangerous animals is winner (Non-dangerous animals need to gather say 4 of a kind to be safe in a  pack; they can even fake being a dangerous animal but cannot take out anyone - someone catches onto this and the fun begins!)