Think Outside the Bag: Middle School Icebreaker

What do a wooden spoon, neon vest, ball of yarn, and rubber duck have in common? In my classroom, they become tools students use to solve real-world problems. If you are looking for a fresh, memorable start to your new school year, then this creative icebreaker game is for you.

Preparation:

• Begin gathering random items from your house. Literally, anything can be used for this activity... Potato smashers and other cooking utensils, stuffies, decks of cards, dice, baskets, etc. The more unusual the item, the more fun it is for students to use. Just avoid delicate items because students get competitive with this game.
  

• Place a variety of the objects you gathered in different bags. Make one bag per team. Be sure that each bag is filled with different items so that no two bags are the same.
• Download the Scenario Slide Deck to use with the whole class. Or, you can print the slides as cards and have different groups of students solve different scenarios as rotating stations.

Instructions:

• Divide the students into groups and distribute a bag to each group.
  
• Show the students a problem-solving scenario from the Slide Desk. Tell them that they must work together to use the items in the bag to creatively solve the problem.
  
• After they have had time to communicate about their answer, have each group tell which items they would use and how they would use them to solve the scenario problem. (Tip: I always set a timer for each scenario.)

Why I Like This Activity

This activity builds community and brings positive energy into the classroom for the first week of school. It's always exciting to see students’ creativity in action. They find interesting ways to transform random objects into meaningful solutions. Since every group approaches the challenge differently, it’s fun to watch.