"Who (or what) Am I" activity

It never fails!  I always learn something from the learners in my Saint Mary's community members.  This morning it was a new twist on a post-it note activity that many groups have used during icebreakers or energizers.

Typically when I'm asked to participate in this type of activity, my skin starts to itch and I get anxious.  I hate not knowing things and am afraid to look stupid.  Someone slaps a post-it on my back and my mind starts to race because the word on the back that I'm supposed to guess seems to be too hard - too wide open.  But our energizer group today offered a new way to do the activity that not only gets learner out of their seat and onto their feet, but it has the possibilities to be used with content curriculum as well. 

The leaders of our group this morning broke up the group of about 35 into 5 smaller groups, then they asked us to come up with a "theme" for the activity.  Themes could be: popular vacation posts, zoo animals, popular singers, etc.  After the theme is created the people write on a post-it note the name of something that belongs in that category.  The post-its go on people's backs and then they ask yes/no questions to try and figure out the word on their back.

I really liked the way this activity was structured because it too the anxiety out of doing it it a wide-open way.  Creating categories was a very effective way for participants to begin the process - talking together - and then narrow the focus.

Learners shared ways to use this activity in the classroom to connect curriculum.  I could use this as a vocabulary review with science terms or to review the famous scientists we studied during our scientist project.  Another learner told about how she used a similar idea with name tags at the beginning of the year.  She teaches science and creates name tags for students with an "easy" science term on the back.  The tags are on a string and hung on the kids back instead of the front.  First they do the "who (what) am I" activity with the term, and then when they figure it out they group up with others who have the same term for another get-to-know-you activity.  How fun - and how connected to the content, right form the first day!