Call me crazy, but it seems to me that having a bunch of strangers congregating in a room together for the first time for a common purpose calls for introductions.  Have everybody tell a little about themselves, including what they want to accomplish in a comp/writing class (my guess is that many of them will say that they want to improve their grammar). To me, a formal "icebreaker" is a very contrived form.  If you want to link this introduction exercise to the work of the class, it's an easy transition from an "introduction" in the classroom to an "introduction" in a story or essay.  Why are introductions important? Perhaps you can have the students go back and "edit" their introductions - how can they transform them from the typical "and then and then and then" format to something more interesting - "I always thought I was the world's worst writer, but I placed into the credit course when I thought I'd be in basic writing." Or, "I always thought I was the next Fitzgerald and wouldn't ya know it, I got placed in basic writing." If the "I want to learn grammar" comes up, it's a great opportunity to discuss grammar - why is it important?

Geoff Layton
 Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:00:50 -0400
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: First Day Icebreakers for College English
To: [log in to unmask]








It's your first day and theirs as well. I'm sure they are nervous. I would 
suggest doing something that offers reassurance that they can succeed in their 
new endeavor. How about some kind of listing activity that would generate a 
profusion of language on a given topic. Propose a rich and open topic: 
communication, college, science... and have the students brainstorm its nouns 
(first concrete, then abstract), adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. Do something 
fun that gets them talking to each other.
Amy
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