Toilet Paper Introductions
Any time you are working with a new group or a group of people where not everyone knows each other, it’s a great idea to start off with an icebreaker! This icebreaker fosters creativity and fun while providing a little “get to know you” nudge. We led this activity during Georgia Teen Institute 2015 at the beginning of Team Meetings to help Youth Action Team members learn about their teammates. This got them sharing, laughing and ready to work together throughout the process of planning their prevention project at camp.
Time Needed: 10-15 minutes
Group Size: 8-12 people
Materials: Roll of toilet paper
Description & Directions: Pass around the toilet paper roll and ask each person to tear off as many sheets as they normally use at one time, then pass it to another member of the group and ask them to do the same. Don’t explain the purpose at this point – it just adds to the mystery! Continue until everyone in the group has torn off some paper. Some people will take only a couple of sheets, others will reel off heaps! You can embellish the reason for passing around the toilet paper once it starts to go around by stating, “This is the last roll of toilet paper in the building,” or “We’re going on a camping trip, so we’ve got to be prepared.” Some worried faces might appear!
Once the roll has been around to everyone, explain the next part. For each piece of paper torn off, they must reveal one fact about themselves. The facts can be simple such as their middle name, where they were born, countries visited, etc. The more pieces they have, the more facts they share. Sometimes you REALLY get to know a person by the number of pieces they have torn off.
We hope you enjoy this activity and get to know members of your team better!