Race to 100

This is a fun ice breaker that takes teamwork, cooperation and listening skills. Challenge the class to count to 100 as quickly as possible without two people talking at the same time. Once the game begins, they are only allowed to say the numbers from 1 to 100. If two people talk at the same time they must start over with 1. If the numbers are repeated or said out of order, the counting must start again at 1. It adds an element of competition if you time them or if you set a time limit.

This game works really well as a discussion starter for teamwork. After playing a couple of times, stop and talk about the difficulties and what could make it more successful. Then give the students 1-2 minutes of planning time allowing only one person to talk at a time during the planning time too.

After planning, let the class try the Race to 100 again. Then talk about how this attempt was the same or different from the other attempts. If it was more successful, have the class discuss the reasons why. Hopefully, these reasons lead back to planning and teamwork!