Ice Breaker Games: Ball Toss

This game will get students up out of their seats and encourage some healthy competition! Great for first day of class or workshop, as well as a good tool to reinforce new information.

Participants toss a ball to each other in a pattern.

Good for: Middle School, High School, Adults

Indoor or outdoor, standing in place

Maximizes energy and concentration

Facilitates getting to know each other, vocabulary development

Materials needed:

• 2 - 3 small, light balls (think whiffle ball or plastic ball filled with air from Dollar Tree; DON'T use a baseball, or any kind of ball that would really hurt if you caught it in the face)

Set up:

• Ask the group to get into a circle-ish form, where everyone can see everyone else easily. There should preferably be nothing within the circle that people can trip over or bump into if they're moving around. Be a part of the circle to help demonstrate the game as the facilitator.

Play:

Playing for introductions (at the beginning of the school year, workshop, when people don't really know each other) 

• Go around the circle and ask everyone to give their first name. Ask the group to repeat names back after each person has been introduced.
• When everyone has said their name to the group, instruct everyone that they will be gently tossing a ball to someone across the circle from them. When they toss the ball, they should say that person's name to make sure they know the ball is coming toward them. Then that person will receive the ball and toss it to someone else across the circle from them, saying the that person's name out loud.
• Demonstrate this by calling out the name of a person across the circle from you. Toss them the ball and then instruct them to toss the ball to someone else, saying that person's name. Go around with the ball until everyone has been able to toss/receive the ball. The last person to toss the ball should toss it to you.
• Prompt participants to remember who tossed the ball to them and who they tossed the ball to.
• Now, have everyone toss the ball around the circle in the exact same pattern, making sure to say names out loud. 
• See how long the ball can be tossed around the circle without anyone dropping it. Try going faster and faster.
• When the group has mastered this, start tossing in additional balls. When the ball is tossed to the 3rd or 4th person around the circle, toss in another ball following the same pattern as the first ball. 
• Keep adding balls in the same pattern. It will get confusing and crazy, but just go with it, everyone's probably having fun by now!

Variation 1: If your group already knows each other well, you can replace the introductions element with asking each person to pick one adjective to describe him or herself. For example: Jolly, Sad, Angry, Hungry, Hangry (hunger+anger), Purple, etc. Now, as participants toss the ball, they should say the word the person chose to describe themselves instead of their name.

Variation 2: Use this game to help students learn vocabulary words - have students each select a word to represent themselves instead of names, and proceed as directed.