Autograph Bingo works well as one of the first activities in the classroom. In this activity, students are given index cards with various instructions, such as find someone who plays a musical instrument or someone who has a pet. Students are not only getting acquainted by learning facts about each other, but they also have the chance to find common interests.
Not only does the game Two Truths and a Lie give students the chance to develop their language skills by asking and answering questions, but they will also learn more about each other. In this game, the student shares three statements about herself, two of which are true and one of which is a lie. His classmates must guess which fact is a lie by asking relevant questions.
In this activity, a student makes a statement about something she did the previous day, such as "Yesterday I went to the movies." The other students ask questions to learn more, such as "What did you see?" or "Whom did you go with?" By disclosing and sharing information about common daily activities, students gain insight into life outside of the classroom environment.
The chain story exercise is a writing activity that can foster the feeling of community. Each student is given two minutes to begin a story. Then he passes the paper to the next person, who builds on the same story for another two minutes, and so on. Finally the communal story of many writers is read out loud, usually to amusing effect.