Math ice breakers pdf

Here are some math-themed icebreaker activities that you can use to get to know your students or colleagues:

1. "Math Bingo"

• Create bingo cards with math-related terms or concepts (e.g. "pi", "prime number", "equation")
• Each student gets a bingo card and a marker
• Call out math-related terms or concepts and have students mark the corresponding squares
• The first student to get five in a row wins

2. "Human Graph"

• Have each student write their name and a few fun facts about themselves on a piece of paper (e.g. "I love playing soccer", "I have a pet cat")
• Then, have each student draw a graph with x and y axes
• Each student plots their own graph, using the fun facts as coordinates
• The other students have to guess which graph belongs to which person

3. "Math Scavenger Hunt"

• Create a list of math-related items or challenges (e.g. "find something in the room that is a perfect square", "take a photo of a shape that is not a rectangle")
• Divide the students into teams and give each team a copy of the list
• The teams have to find or complete each item on the list
• The team that completes the most items on the list wins

4. "Math Charades"

• Write down math-related terms or concepts (e.g. "addition", "subtraction", "multiplication")
• Each student takes a turn acting out a math-related term or concept without speaking
• The other students have to guess what the term or concept is

5. "Math Would You Rather"

• Come up with a list of math-related "Would You Rather" questions (e.g. "Would you rather have a calculator that always gives you the correct answer or a pencil that always writes in perfect cursive?")
• Have each student choose which option they would prefer and explain why
• This can lead to some interesting discussions and insights into each other's preferences and values

6. "Math Two Truths and a Lie"

• Have each student come up with two true statements about themselves related to math (e.g. "I love solving math problems", "I'm really good at geometry")
• And one false statement (e.g. "I'm a math genius")
• The other students have to guess which statement is the lie

7. "Math Word Association"

• Have each student write down a math-related word (e.g. "pi", "algorithm", "equation")
• Then, have each student take turns saying a word that is associated with the previous word (e.g. "circle" for "pi", "computer" for "algorithm")
• This can lead to some interesting and creative connections between words

8. "Math Storytelling"

• Have each student come up with a short story that incorporates math in some way (e.g. a character who loves solving math problems, a mystery that involves math)
• Then, have each student share their story with the group
• This can be a fun way to get to know each other's creative sides and interests

9. "Math Would You Pay"

• Come up with a list of math-related scenarios (e.g. "Would you pay $5 to have someone else do your math homework for you?", "Would you pay $10 to have a guaranteed A on your math test?")
• Have each student decide whether they would pay for each scenario and explain why
• This can lead to some interesting discussions about values and priorities

10. "Math Trivia"

• Create a list of math-related trivia questions (e.g. "What is the value of pi?", "Who is the father of calculus?")
• Divide the students into teams and have them take turns answering the questions
• The team that answers the most questions correctly wins

I hope these ideas are helpful!