One way to make students comfortable in the classroom is to have them share something personal. This activity allows them to tell the rest of the class about themselves, as well as be creative. Have each student come to the front of the class one at a time. Each student must reveal three things about himself, two true and one false. The rest of the class must vote on which is the false statement before the student reveals the answer. Students will learn surprising information and experiences about one another and laugh together while doing so.
Breaking your class into small groups can be a less-intimidating way for new students to get to know one another. Break the class into groups of two; allow one group of three if you have an odd number of students. Ask each student to interview her partner, asking about place of birth, siblings, interests, hobbies and anything else. Have each pair come to the front of the room one at a time. Students introduce their partners to the rest of the class.
Active icebreakers are also an occasion for having students learn each other's names, with a bit of silliness mixed in to break the tension. Have the class sit in a circle on the floor. Ask the first person to state his name. The next person must state the first student's name followed by his own. As you go around the circle, each student must state every student's name that came before him. Allow students to give prompts when someone forgets, or continue until someone can remember every student's name.
You can use active icebreakers to force students to mingle and talk to one another. Make up a sheet of paper with a 4-by-5 grid. In each box, write one characteristic that at least one person in the class is likely to have, such as "owns a pet," "has traveled to Europe" or is taller than 6 feet." Photocopy the sheet and distribute one to each student. Students must mingle and find a student who fits the criteria of each box, getting a signature to prove it. The first student to complete the entire sheet wins.