Getting teens talking can be one of the hardest things about running a program. One of the quickest ways to get them talking is an icebreaker, so I rarely start a program without one. Here are my five of favourites.
- Apples to Apples -- Teens love this game, so if you've got it in your cupboard, grab it out and play a few rounds. Be prepared to explain words if you have some ESL teens in the group. Popular enough to play frequently.
- The Screaming Game -- possibly the most silly icebreaker out there. Everyone stands in a circle. At the words "heads down" everyone looks at the ground. When you say "up" everyone looks up randomly across the circle at someone else. If two peoples' eyes meet, they point at each other, scream, and fall to the ground. The more dramatic you get, the better. Play until no one is left. Works best with regular programs where the teens are somewhat familiar with each other, but still need help getting a conversation going. Too simple to use very often.
- Two Truths and a Lie -- a classic, sometimes played as Two Lies and a Truth. Everyone takes turns saying two truths and a lie about themselves, and people have to guess which one is the lie.
- The Jellybean Game -- make a list of questions and number them. Prepare cups with random numbers of jellybeans in them, and let the teens choose which cup they want. Have them answer the question that corresponds to the number of jellybeans in their cup. Difficulty level: moderate -- teens tend to eat the jellybeans before you have a chance to start the game.
- The Smarties (or m&m's) Game -- Similar to the jellybean game. Give everyone a cup with some Smarties in it. Tell them they can eat all of the candies except for one colour. The colour they leave corresponds to a colour coded question they have to answer. Difficulty level: moderate -- see jellybean game.
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