Getting to Know You
GRADE 7 LESSON 3
Time Required: 30-45 minutes
Content Standards:
AA.S.3 Student will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and
interpersonal skills to help them understand and
respect self and others.
Indicators:
AA.PSD.7.7.11 Demonstrate an understanding of peers to
create an environment of cohesiveness.
GOAL: Students will establish new relationships as they become
acquainted with peers and develop positive interactions with others.
Activity Statements:
1. Students will participate in an activity which will increase their awareness of their
classmates’ likes and lives, and develop a sense of cohesiveness as they learn about
others.
2. In follow-up discussion, the instructor will lead the students in thinking about ways they
are connected with their classmates through common life circumstances.
Materials:
1. One or two balls of yarn. Wrapping yarn around a styrophome ball works best. Make
sure each ball has plenty of yarn.
Procedures:
1. In groups of twenty or more, it is best to divide the class in half and instruct each group
to make a close-knit circle. (If using two groups, two yarn balls will be needed.)
2. When students have made their circle, give the students the following instructions:
a. When you have possession of the yarn ball, you give the following information:
your name, how many brothers and sisters you have, whether or not you have
pets (what kind), and your favorite hobby or sport. (Instruct the students to
listen carefully.)
b. After giving that information, hold on to the end of the yarn and throw the yarn
ball across the circle to another student. After that student in turn provides the
Getting To Know You
GRADE 7 LESSON 3
c. same information, he/she holds onto the yarn while throwing the yarn ball to
another student across from them. It is important for the students to hold onto
the yarn keeping the yarn strings straight and somewhat taut as they throw the
ball to another student. A web will begin to form as the ball is thrown back and
forth across the circle with each student throwing the ball with the trailing yarn
over the web. Each student in the circle is given the opportunity to catch the
yarn ball and provide their personal information. The final product is a web of
yarn.
Discussion ( while students stand with the web in the circle):
1. While the students are standing looking at the web, some discussion questions may
include:
a. What does the yarn in the center represent to you? Entertain any and all
answers, but ask the students to explain why.
b. Discuss the idea that all the students are connected in some way. Ask students
to think about the ways they are connected and discuss their suggestions.
(Examples may include: we are all students; we all have hobbies; we all want
to be accepted and belong to a group; we all have fears and insecurities.)
c. If the yarn is compared to a spider web, discuss the strength that is present
when the web is connected in a manner like this. In what ways are students
stronger when they are connected to others?
At the conclusion of the discussion:
1. Instruct students how the web is going to be undone - backwards. Instruct the
last student who received the yarn ball to throw the ball back to the person who
threw it to him/her. Before throwing the ball back, the student is to repeat what
that student had said before passing the yarn ball to him/her. For example, “This
is Sara. She has 3 brothers, two sisters, four dogs, and likes to play video games.”
That student then throws the ball back to “Sara.” As Sara is winding the yarn
back on the ball, she repeats the information given by the student who had
thrown the ball to her. She then throws the ball back to that student. This
continues until the original student (or teacher) who threw the ball first receives
it back last. It is OK to help students remember information they may have
forgotten.
Getting To Know You
GRADE 7 LESSON 3
Additional Resources:
Websites for additional activities for building a sense of belonging:
www.icebreakers.ws/get-to-know-you
www.education-world.com/e_lesson/lesson/lesson196.shtml
www.ehow.com/how_2148567_plan-classroom-icebreakers-kids.html
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/edres.html
Extension Activities:
One of the outcomes of this lesson is to help students become more confident about
meeting new people and sharing information about themselves. Challenge students to
practice this skill with a parent by discussing what could be said when meeting a new
friend.
Resource or Adapted from:
Energizers and Icebreakers for All Ages and Stages by Elizabeth S. Foster, Ed. D.
Adapted by Cathy Grewe, School Counselor, Jackson Middle School (2009)