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The Lunch Game

Hey everybody,

Check out this video from our new friend Herman Otten. He make video’s on teambuilding activities and icebreakers.

In this video he explains the icebreaker called The Lunch Game.

This is how it works:

First, you assemble all the participants in a circle, then you divide the group by three. As a result you get multiple groups of three. So for example if you are with a group of fifteen, you get five groups of three people. Secondly, you tell the groups to each come up with a assignment. This assignment can be anything they want it to be, as long as it can be done during lunch. Then each group passes their assignment on to the next group. (group 2 get their assignment from group 1, and 3 from 2, etc.). Lastly each group goes to lunch and does their assignment. Afterwards you show each other what you have accompliced.

On his Youtube channel you will find some variations.

 

Teach like a Champion 2.0

Doug Lemov

Content

Teach like a Champion 2.0 is not like a the other books we discussed before. Instead of a book with icebreakers and energizers, this book lays it’s focus on teaching. It is a fantastic book that ever teacher should have on his shelf. But also if you are not a teacher we, from 101icebreakers, believe that Teach like a Champion can help you in your professional life. Despite the fact that it was not made for meetings and teambuilding. The principals used to engage students, can be used to engage employees or other member of your team. Moreover the book can help you develope  your teaching skills. And many of the thing used by teachers are also valuable in businesslife.

Appearance

Teach like a Champion 2.0 consists of 12 chapters. Each chapter has it’s own purpose. For example, Building character and trust, Systems and routines, or Setting high expectations. These are all themes that occur in books about icebreakers. And with the book comes a set of videos in which teachers show you how you can handle certain situations. The writer, Doug Lemov, is also managing director of Uncommon Schools. It is their mission to raise the standards at low-incomes schools through great teachers and give the students a better chance of getting to college.

If you want to order the book or read more about it, you can click here.

The Big Book of Team-Motivating Games

Mary & Edward Scannell

Content

In The big book of team-motivating games you will find games that improve cooperation, communication, and spirit. If you have difficulty trying to create a great atmosphere, this is the book for you. It will help promote interaction betweem team members and it encourages a culture of cooperation. It also improves atmosphere, it can help to motivate the team and make something fun out of a boring meeting. This collection of High-energy games will give you the tools to tackle problems suchs as low team spirit, bad communication, distrust.

Appearance

The big book of team-motivating games starts with an introduction. This intruction tells the basics of team-motivating. Then you get a page called ‘You Key To Succes’ which expains step by step the best way to motivate your team. The writers of the book use sometimes quotes to make a point more and this can be very clarifying. The games are high energy and can be played in or outside of the office. And best of all need no or very few props.

If you want to order the book or read more about it, you can click here.

 

 

Silver Bullets: A Revised Guide to Initiative Problems, Adventure Games, and Trust Activities. 2nd Edition

By Karl Rohnke

Content

Silver Bullets is used effectively by many people from teacher, counselors and therapist to church leaders. But it can also be very effective if you are for example a camp director. Silver Bullets is great when dealing with initiative problems. It contains a lot of adventure games and trust activities. The activities in this book will bring people together, help building trust, break down barriers. But most of all it will provide a enthusiastic vibe amongst the group.

The activities are adaptable to every age.

 

Mine field

You can use Mine field if you want to teach people how to adapt to the style of communication that others have. But it is also very entertaining.

This activity promotes:

  • Teambuilding
  • Acceptation & Understanding
  • Making Agreements
  • Teamwork
  • Many more….

Instructions:

Time: 20 – 30 min

Participants: 2 or more

Inside and Outside

Active

Required materials:

Anything that can be used as a obstacle (mine). Think of  frisbees, pillars, plates, bags and more. You can use ropes to define the Mine field.

Arrangement

Give instructionds while the participants stand in a circle.

Frame

The participant work in couples.

How it works:

  • One of the two is blindfolded( you can also close your eyes).
  • The other stand on the other side of the mine field and will guide the person that is blindfolded through the field.
  • Guided by the instruction of the other the blindfolded person walks through the mine field. If he/she touches one of the mines however they have to start again.
  • If the blindfolded person makes it to the other side. He/she makes contact with the other persons hand and the mission has been accomplished.

Differentation

  • Multiple people cross the mine field from different directions.

Evaluation

What happened?

What did the other person need?

What did you learn?

Security check

Give good intructions and pay attention to the game. Avoid people walking into walls if you play indoors.

 

Clap clap

A very simple energizer which can give a lot of new insights is ‘Clap Clap’. (I love it when it’s more than just an energizer).

The participants stand in a circle. You as the trainer start by making a quarter turn with your body and look at the person which stands left to you. While you are making eye contact with this person you clap in your hands. Ask the other person to clap in his or her hands at the same time. Ask him or her to turn to the person which stands left from him or her and to do the same.

In this way you can make a cycle until everyone has participated.

After this you can do it again and challenge the participants to clap at exactly the same time. This happens best if people make contact with one another.

You can challenge the participants by asking them to do it faster. Or you can ask them to choose between clapping at exactly the same time or not clapping at exactly the same time.

This is always hilarious and can give a lot of insights in making contact, cooperation and focus.

Inside out

This is a group exercise/ energizer in which we won’t give you the solution but just challenge you to do it.

How it works:

Everyone stands in a circle and holds the hand of the neighbour/ neighbor.

This means that everyone looks in the inside.

Challenge:

You give the group the task to stand faced to the opposed side without releasing the hands.

It is possible without making all kinds of weird quirks with your body!

This is a great energizer that requires teamwork and out of the box thinking.

Maze alive

A hilarious energizer. It’s playing tag with surprising twists.

Deze activiteit bevordert:

Here is the instruction:

Time: 5 – 10 min


Participants: 8 or more


Outside


Active

Required materials


nothing

How it works:

Arrange all the participants in such a manner that the explanation can be heard well. Tell them that we are going to do ‘Maze alive’ and that it involves playing tag. After that you ask the group to stand in rows behind one another. Everyone is faced to the same side.

Independently of the size of the group all participants are supposed to form a square with eachother in the same way as the example beneath shows.

0 – 0 – 0

0 – 0 – 0

0 – 0 – 0

When the group is bigger there could be for example five rows of five people. The distance between the participants is about the length of their arms. If they put their arms to the side they can touch eachother’s hands. Make sure that the rows are arranged in sequence.

The people in the row keep standing and hold their arms up horizontally.

Two people won’t stand in the rows.

One of them is the tagger and the other person is the one who has to be tagged.

It works in this way.

 

Tell the participants that you (the trainer) will give them the command ‘turn’ constantly.

This means that a person has to turn a quarter clockwise. If you give the command again the people turn back.

It is a good idea to practice this before doing it.

Because the standing people keep their arms up horizontally a kind of wall is created which the tagger and the runner can’t pass. They can run though where there are no arms.

The tagger and the runner run through the standing people.

Now the one who gives the commands can say ‘turn’ unexpectedly. Everyone who stands turns a quarter to the right or back. A maze is being created for the tagger and the runner which constantly changes.

The tagger and runner swap roles when the runner is tagged.

Differentiation

  • Differentiate with the rule: the runner can give the commands.
  • It’s the same for the tagger.
  • Let someone from the group give the command.
  • There are two taggers…

Evaluation


Enjoy it! Look at it and if it is just fun;

why would you evaluate?

Security check


Geef instructie dat de mensen die hun armen omhoog houden opletten dat ze de loper of tikker niet slaan tijdens het draaien. Met nat gras is dit niet aan te raden omdat de tikker en de loper heel vaak moeten veranderen van richting.

Explain that the people which hold their arms up have to pay attention and that they don’t beat the runner or tagger while they are turning.

 

Clap-Step-Scratch

This energy-boosting exercise takes very short, is hilarious and can let the cerebral hemispheres work together again.

How it works:

Form couples.

Each couple keeps working together so there is no change.

  • Count to three together;
  • First one person says: 1
  • After that the other one says: 2
  • Finally the first person counts again and says: 3.
  • Let the participants do this for about half a minute.

Then the next phase starts:

Replace the ‘1’ by clapping in the hands. The other says: 2, then 3 and then there has to be clapped again.

Then the next phase starts:

The ’2′ is replaced by stamping with your right foot.

Then the next phase starts:

The ’3′ is replaced by ‘scratching’ at the arm of the other.

Roundcounter

Something to do in between the training is ’the roundcounter’. It’s energetic, big fun and after it’s finished people have learned a few things.

This activity promotes:

Required materials


None

How does it work/Instruction

  • The participants get a group assignment.
  • Laat de groep in een cirkel polonaise gaan staan, zonder de handen op de schouders te leggen.
  • Let the group stand in a circle  without putting the hands on the shoulders.

The instruction for the group is as following:”You have to take ten staps forward, after that you turn 180 degrees and you take nine steps back, you turn 180 degrees again and you take nine steps back, then you turn 180 degrees again and you take eight steps back, etc. etc. until you can’t take steps anymore.”

Evaluation:


One person will take the lead and count out loud. The other person will have mostly big FUN while another person wants to be guided by others and another person wonders why he/she is doing this. What did you show? What have you learnt as a group for the future?

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