Ice Breakers Lesson Plan Ashley Tortolano HST 860 UU May 28, 2015
Program Title: Ice Breakers Description Facilitating ice breaker activities before a business meeting or any class setting allows people to be more comfortable with each other. It is used to reduce or eliminate the awkwardness and tension that is present when first meeting new people, and allows ideas to flow more freely. Ice breaker activities relieve stress and allow people to be more relaxed, because it is a way for people to find common grounds with others. It also helps with team building and generating enthusiasm amongst the participants. This Lesson Plan is intended for the purpose of teaching people who work with others in groups such as business meetings or in class settings about the importance of ice breakers as a way of beginning a training session. Objectives Evaluation Demonstrate understanding and knowledge about different ice breaker activities and their importance as a way of getting to know new people. Synthesis Design and formulate ice breaker questions and activities and facilitate these activities. Analysis Categorize various ice breaker activities that would be appropriate for different types of meetings and events. Application Apply knowledge and understanding learned in this training session and use it as a tool when meeting new groups of people. Comprehension Explain the importance of ice breakers when meeting new people or as a way of starting a training session or meeting. Knowledge Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of ice breakers and use that knowledge to effectively participate in various ice breaker activities. Timeline Time Topic Notes 0-2 minutes Ice Breaker/Humour Introduction of the presentation material and presenters 2
2-4 minutes Discussion about what presenters are going to cover in the presentation 4-9 minutes In depth information about ice Learning outcomes, agenda (background, activity, evaluation, conclusion) Introduce the topic, importance, how it s used in business breakers 9-11 minutes Instructions on ice breaker activity Give instruction to facilitate the activity. Align the desks and chairs in a straight line with two rows of chairs facing each other. 11-26 minutes Ice breaker activity (questions are listed in the next section) 26-30 minutes Conclusion and evaluation questions Ice breaker exercise: 1. The first icebreaker question will appear on the PowerPoint and one of our group members will read it out loud to the class. 2. Participants will answer and discuss the ice breaker question with the person seated across from them. 3. Everyone will have a chance to discuss the ice breaker question with the person seated across from them for a maximum of 50 seconds. 4. When the 50 seconds are over, the buzzer will buzz to signal that everyone will get up and switch to the next seat to the right of them. 5. This process will repeat until everyone in the class has a chance to discuss a different ice breaker to everyone in the class. 6. The activity will end when you end up sitting across from the first person you sat across from. Regroup for ice breaker exercise and wrap up the topic by asking multiple choice questions on overall importance of ice breakers. Ice breaker activity questions: 1. Describe yourself in 3 words 2. What is your favorite movie? Why? 3. What 3 things would you take with you if you were stranded on an island? 4. What s the grossest thing you ve ever eaten? 5. What would you do if you had a ring of invisibility? 3
6. What is your favorite hobby? 7. What is your favorite thing to eat/drink? 8. How would you dispose of a dead body? 9. What was your childhood nickname? Current nickname? 10. If you were a super hero what would your powers be? 11. What was your favorite cartoon growing up? 12. If you won a million dollars what would you buy? 13. Where is your dream vacation destination? 14. If you were mayor for the day, what three things would you change about your city? 15. Share one bizarre encounter you ve had in life (could be at work, personal, from travel, with friends) 16. What is your biggest pet peeve? 17. Which person in your life do you most admire? Why? 18. If you had a band what would you name it? Evaluation Multiple Choice Questions: 1. The majority of ice breakers are formal activities? A. True B. False 2. What is a benefit of using ice breakers before any group activity? A. Relieves stress B. Meet new people C. Discover similar interests D. All of the above 3. What is the purpose of using ice breakers? A. To literally break some ice B. To socialize only with the people that you know 4
C. To eliminate or reduce tension that allow ideas to flow more freely D. To compete against each other for ultimate victory Answers: 1 B, 2 D, 3 C Resources The resources needed for this training session will include: Computer and projector with screen, PowerPoints slides, chairs and tables, Ice breaker questions, activity questions, and buzzer for timing. Audience The audience includes people who work with others in groups such as business meetings or in class settings. Technology Enhanced Learning E-learning can enhance learning abilities because using multi-media sources such as auto, video recording, online quizzes and games makes learning more interesting and engaging. This learning facilitation on ice breakers can be transformed into an online course using www.coursesites.com. The trainees will be able to access the website anywhere and complete the online training course at anytime. The website will include all the information and descriptions about ice breakers listed above and a link to the PowerPoint slides will be given. The PowerPoint will have an auto recording of all that is said and talked about on the slides. The instructions on the ice breaker activity can be shown in a video on YouTube posted on the website. This video will be an animation using pictures words and auto to help explain and instruct the audience on how to facilitate the ice breaker activity. The evaluation multiple choice questions will be done and imputed at the end of the course in test format. After completing the quiz the trainees will instantly see their mark for the quiz and the correct answers. 5
Works Cited Currie, Graeme. "Teambuilding Training in a Clinical Environment." Journal of Managerial Psychology 9.3 (1994): 8. ProQuest. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. Kavanagh, Marie, Marilyn Clark-Murphy, and Leigh Wood. The First Class: Using Icebreakers to Facilitate Transition in a Tertiary Environment. Asian Social Science Vol. 7, No. 4, April 2011: 84-92. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. 6