Sam Mewha Institut Pla Marcell, Cardedeu Icebreaker Sam Mewha Institut Pla Marcell, Cardedeu

Background information For the first time this year, Institut Pla Marcell have decided to get involved in a Comenius Project. The school they have been partnered with is a High School in Poland named- ZESPÓŁ SZKÓŁ NR 2 – GIMNAZJUM NR 3 W in CZERWIONCE LESZCZYNACH. At the end of this school year the students involved in this Comenius project have to visit their partner school in Poland. I decided that this following activity would be a good way for the students from each school to get to know one another.

The Activity A member of staff within Pla Marcell is an instructor of “Biodansa” so alongside her we thought it would be interesting for the students if we incorporated certain aspects of this into our ice breaker activity. Our aim was to enable to students to get to know more about each other in a relaxing yet fun environment

All the students associated with the Comenius project had the opportunity to take part in this activity. The students went to a classroom named, “aula d’expressio”. A bare room with a wooden floor where a variety of classes are carried out Before entering the students were all asked to remove their shoes. There I explained to the pupils the activity that they were going to do.

To Start the activity, all the students made a circle hand in hand To Start the activity, all the students made a circle hand in hand. When the music started, the students had to sway in time with it, but only looking into the eyes of their fellow classmates. Once the song was over, the students, still in the same circle, only this time with their hands around the waists of the people beside them, followed the next song moving, in a circle, towards the right.

Now was when the real fun began! The aim was that the students moved around the classroom on their own in time with the music, and when it stopped they had to find a partner and sit down on the floor with them. Once sat on the floor I told them a question which in turn they had to ask each other and then try and remember the answer. This step was repeated numerous times, so that everybody had the chance to speak with different students and ask a variety of questions.

Example Questions The following are some of the questions which the students asked one another: Who are you? Where do you live? Explain a bit about your family. Explain a hobby or anything you like a lot. Explain a project that you would like to do in your life. What would you like to be in the future/ What would be your dream job? What is your favourite food? Where would your dream holiday be? Describe a typical tradition in your country What celebrity would you like to meet and why? What do you like best about your town? If you had all the money in the world what would you spend it on? These are just examples of questions, based on getting to know someone. However this activity can be repeated with different questions, based on the aim of the session.

Finally, to end with the students sat, once again, in a circle on the floor They were then given the opportunity to volunteer themselves. The students, in turn, had to explain to the rest of the class any information they had learnt about that person during the activity. For example. “His name is David. He has 2 brothers and sisters. His dream holiday would be to America.” Etc.… We took it in turns until every single student in the room had been presented by their fellow classmates.

FEEDBACK In essence the students thoroughly enjoyed this exercise, as it was new and interesting to them I think that this reinforced the idea to do this activity with the Polish students during their trip. I feel that it is not only a great way for the students to practice their English, as it gives each individual the opportunity to speak, but it is also a great way for them to express themselves, and have fun whilst getting to know one another.